Leigh Bardugo

Leigh Bardugo (born April 6, 1975, in Jerusalem, Israel) is a bestselling American fantasy author best known for creating the Grishaverse—an expansive fantasy world brought to life in her Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology. Raised in Los Angeles, Bardugo graduated from Yale University with a degree in English and worked in copywriting and makeup artistry before publishing her debut novel.

Her breakout book, Shadow and Bone (2012), launched a richly imagined world inspired by Tsarist Russia, where magic and political intrigue collide. It was followed by Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising, completing the original trilogy. Bardugo then expanded the universe with the Six of Crows duology—grittier, heist-driven novels set in the same world but with a new cast. The sequel duology, King of Scars, further deepens the Grishaverse, tying characters and conflicts together with emotional and political complexity.

In 2019, Bardugo made her adult fantasy debut with Ninth House, a dark academia thriller set at a secret magical society at Yale. The book became a New York Times bestseller and marked the beginning of the Alex Stern series, which continued with Hell Bent in 2023.

Her works have been translated into over 40 languages and adapted into the Netflix original series Shadow and Bone, which blends elements from her original trilogy and Six of Crows. Known for writing diverse, complex characters and morally layered plots, Bardugo has become a prominent voice in contemporary fantasy fiction.

She lives and writes in Los Angeles and is a vocal advocate for chronic illness awareness, often drawing on her own experiences with osteonecrosis to shape characters and themes.