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Lex Croucher is a British author and social media personality. They are known for adult and young adult historical novels. Their young adult novel Gwen & Art Are Not in Love was a New York Times Bestseller and won the YA Book Prize 2024.[1][2]
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Croucher previous worked with social media and non-governmental organizations.[1]
Adult novels
[edit]After leaving her position as a columnist, Rowell began working for an ad agency and writing what would become her first published novel, Attachments, as a pastime.[3] Rowell gave birth to her first son during this period and paused work on the manuscript for two years.[3] The novel, a contemporary romantic comedy about a company's IT guy who falls in love with a woman whose email he has been monitoring, was published in 2011. Kirkus Reviews listed it as one of the outstanding debuts that year.[4]
In 2014, Rowell published Landline, a contemporary adult novel about a marriage in trouble.[5]
Upcoming works
[edit]In August 2023, Rowell sold the future publishing rights to four adult novels. The first, titled Slow Dance, will be released in summer of 2024.[6]
Young adult novels
[edit]You're Killing It!
[edit]In 2012, Rowell published the young adult novel, Eleanor & Park. This and her other novel Fangirl were both named by The New York Times as among the best young adult fiction of the year.[7] Eleanor & Park was also chosen by Amazon as one of the 10 best books of 2013,[8] and it also won as Goodreads' best young adult fiction of the year.[9] In 2014, DreamWorks optioned Eleanor & Park, and Rowell worked on a screenplay, but in 2016, Rowell said the option timed out and the rights reverted to her.[10][11] In 2019, it was announced that Picturestart had acquired the film rights, with Rowell writing the screenplay and executive producing.[12]
Rowell's work garnered some negative attention in 2013 when a parents' group at a Minnesota high school challenged Eleanor & Park and Rowell was disinvited to a library event; a panel ultimately determined that the book could stay on library shelves.[13] Rowell noted in an interview that the material that these parents were calling "profane" was what many kids in difficult situations realistically had to deal with, and that "when these people call Eleanor & Park an obscene story, I feel like they’re saying that rising above your situation isn’t possible."[14]
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
[edit]"Gwen & Art was my lockdown book! I wrote it while I was devouring the kind of queer YA that really didn’t exist when I was a teenager and desperate for escape. I wanted it to be absolutely over-the-top ridiculous, funny, escapist; full of things like flirty sword fights and terrible puns. It’s for people like me who get very invested in character and love to love things."[15]
Personal life
[edit]Croucher grew up in Surrey, and they now live in London.[16]
Bibliography
[edit]Young adult
[edit]- You're Crushing It! Positivity for Living Your Real Life (2019)
- Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (2023)
- Not for the Faint of Heart (2024)
Adult
[edit]- Reputation (2021)
- Infamous (2022)
- Trouble (2023)
- The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones (coming 2025)
References
[edit]- ^ Kan, Toni (2024-08-23). "Lex Croucher wins 2024 YA Book Prize for 'Gwen and Art Are Not in Love'". The Lagos Review. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "Gwen and Art Are Not in Love". Lex Croucher. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ a b Ford, Ashley C. (August 7, 2014). "How Rainbow Rowell Turned A Bomb Into A Best-Selling Novel". BuzzFeed Books. BuzzFeed. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
- ^ "Outstanding Debuts of 2011". Kirkus Reviews. 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (9 July 2014). "Marriage Gone Sour? Go Home to Ma Bell - In Rainbow Rowell's 'Landline,' Magic May Fix Things". New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ Deahl |, Rachel. "Book Deals: Week of August 14, 2023". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
- ^ Schulten, Katherine (December 4, 2013). "What Are the Best Things You've Read, Watched, Heard or Played This Year?". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ Deutsch, Lindsay (November 7, 2013). "Amazon releases its 10 best books of 2013". USA Today. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ Willett, Megan (December 3, 2013). "The Best New Books Of The Year, According To Goodreads". Business Insider. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ Elavsky, Cindy (27 April 2014). "Celebrity Extra". King Features. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ^ "'Eleanor & Park' movie isn't happening, says Rainbow Rowell". Hypable. 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2019-05-14). "Picturestart, Plan B Team For Film Adaptation Of Rainbow Rowell Bestseller 'Eleanor & Park'". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
- ^ Prather, Shannon (November 22, 2013). "Challenged book to stay on Anoka High library shelves". The Star Tribune. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ Ortberg, Mallory (September 14, 2013). "A Chat With Rainbow Rowell About Love and Censorship". The Toast. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
- ^ "Lex Croucher | 'I wrote it while I was devouring the kind of queer YA that didn't exist when I was a teenager'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ "Bio". Lex Croucher. Retrieved 2024-08-29.