Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire is an American author, born on June 9, 1954, in Albany, New York. He is best known for his work in children's and adult literature, particularly for his novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West," which reimagines the backstory of the iconic character from "The Wizard of Oz." Maguire's literary career began with children's books and ecological fantasies, such as "The Lightning Time," but he later expanded his focus to include realistic stories that tackle serious themes like grief and disabilities.
After earning multiple degrees, including a Ph.D. from Tufts University, he became involved in promoting children's literature through various organizations. His unique approach to storytelling often involves updating classic fairy tales for adult audiences, as seen in his subsequent works like "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" and the sequels to "Wicked." In addition to his acclaimed literature, Maguire has received numerous awards for his contributions to children's literature. More recently, he has continued the "Wicked" series with new novels, further exploring the rich universe he created. Through his diverse body of work, Maguire has established a significant presence in contemporary literature, appealing to readers of all ages.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Gregory Maguire
Fiction and Children's Literature Writer
- Born: June 9, 1954
- Place of Birth: Albany, New York
Biography
Gregory Peter Maguire was born on June 9, 1954, in Albany, New York, the son of John Maguire, a journalist, and Helen Gregory Maguire. His mother died while giving birth to him. His father was unable to care for the newborn infant, so Maguire was raised by an aunt and in a Catholic orphanage until his father remarried. An avid reader, he began writing and keeping a journal at an early age.
Maguire earned a BA from the State University of New York at Albany in 1976. He then began teaching at an elementary school in Albany while also working as the music director of a local Catholic church. He earned an MA at Simmons College in 1978, and from 1979 to 1987 he was a faculty member and director of the college’s Center for the Study of Children’s Literature. He received a PhD from Tufts University in 1990.
While pursuing his graduate studies, he published his first book, The Lightning Time (1978), an ecological fantasy for young adults involving talking animals. He soon published two additional novels in a similar vein, The Daughter of the Moon (1980) and Lights on the Lake (1981), both about magical doings at Canaan Lake, a town in upstate New York. His fourth novel, The Dream Stealer (1983), was based on a tale from Russian folklore, extended to novel length.
Since 1987, when he cofounded Children’s Literature New England, Inc., a nonprofit educational charity, Maguire has served as codirector of the organization, which promotes the importance of reading in children’s lives. Around the same time, Maguire began writing a number of realistic, youth-oriented novels focusing on serious issues, including I Feel Like the Morning Star (1989), about teenagers living in a fallout shelter; Missing Sisters (1994), about disabilities; Oasis (1996), which deals with grief; and The Good Liar (1995), set during World War II, which asks if it is ever a good thing to lie. Maguire has also published picture books for younger readers, including The Peace and Quiet Diner (1988), Lucas Fishbone (1990), and Crabby Cratchitt (2000). His Hamlet Chronicles series, beginning with Seven Spiders Spinning (1994), consists of lighthearted fantasies about prehistoric animals, aliens, and other characters.
In the mid-1990s, Maguire added a new dimension to his writing with his first adult novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. The book was adapted as a big-budget Broadway musical in 2003. Since then, Maguire has released additional adult novels that employ the technique of updating children’s fairy tales for adult audiences. These books include Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (1999), Mirror Mirror (2003), Son of a Witch (2005), A Lion among Men (2008), Out of Oz (2011), and After Alice (2015), which coincided with the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll's original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). At the same time, despite the continued success of the musical adaptation of Wicked (still running as of 2016), Maguire announced in 2013 that Out of Oz would ultimately be his final sequel in the Wicked series. He published another children's book, Egg and Spoon, which brushes upon the modern concept of climate change, in 2014. For his literary contributions, particularly to children’s literature, Maguire has been awarded numerous fellowships and has received many Children’s Book of the Year citations, Parent’s Choice and Teacher’s Choice Awards, and other honors from a variety of domestic and foreign organizations.
In 2021, Maguire published The Brides of Maracoor, the first novel of his Wicked sequel trilogy, Another Day. The author followed The Brides of Maracoor with The Oracle of Maracoor (2022) and The Witch of Maracoor (2023). In 2024, he published Elphie: A Wicked Childhood, a prequel to Wicked. Maguire also published an unrelated adult novel, A Wild Winter Swan, in 2020, as well as the children's book Cress Watercress (2022).
Bibliography
Hill, Joe. Rev. of After Alice, by Gregory Maguire. New York Times. New York Times. 28 Oct. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
Maguire, Gregory. "Interview: Gregory Maguire on Why the World Needs Magic and Egg and Spoon." Interview by Shelley Diaz. School Library Journal. SLJ, 26 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
Maguire, Gregory. "Q&A with Gregory Maguire." Interview by Sue Corbett. Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, 4 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
Maguire, Gregory. "A Wicked Good Interview with Gregory Maguire." Interview by Peter DeWitt. Education Week. Editorial Projects in Education, 31 May 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
"Wicked Author Gregory Maguire Is Headed out of Oz." Wired. Condé Nast, 20 Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
"Wicked Author Gregory Maguire Goes Behind the Curtain on Elphaba's Origin Story." GBH, 10 Apr. 2024, www.wgbh.org/culture/books/2024-04-10/wicked-author-gregory-maguire-goes-behind-the-curtain-on-elphabas-origin-story. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.