Sara Gruen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sara Gruen is a Canadian-born dual citizen (Canadian and American) author. Her books deal greatly with animals and she is a supporter of numerous charitable organizations that support animals and wildlife.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Personal life
Sara Gruen was born in Vancouver and raised in London, Ontario. She studied English literature at Carleton University in Ottawa. In 1999, she moved to the United States to continue her career as a technical writer. When she was laid off in 2001, she decided to write fiction full-time rather than looking for another job in the software field. She now resides in the town of Grayslake, Illinois.
[edit] Writing career
Gruen's first two novels, Riding Lessons and Flying Changes, both enjoyed moderate critical success. Her third release, Water for Elephants, was initially turned down by her publisher at the time, Avon Books, a HarperCollins imprint, forcing Gruen to find another publisher.[2] She interested Algonquin in the book, but they paid just $55,000 for the manuscript in 2004. Water for Elephants spent 12 weeks on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list and sold 248,000 copies.[2] The movie rights were optioned to Andrew R. Tennenbaum, a co-producer of the Jason Bourne spy movies, in a deal worth more than $1 million if the movie is made.
Last fall, Gruen sold her fourth novel, Ape House, on the basis of a 12-page summary to Spiegel & Grau, who paid $5 million for Ape House and another as-yet-unnamed book. It is slated to be released in October, 2008. The New York Times has reported on how the megadeal has changed Gruen's life:
"Ms. Gruen, a mother of three, said that as a result of the earnings from “Water for Elephants” and the new advance, she and her husband were buying a home where they can house two horses, along with a menagerie of four cats, two dogs and three goats."[2]
