Deborah Harkness

Author Deborah Harkness had a strong background in history. An eminent scholar who studied in the United States and at Oxford in England she received a BA from Mount Holyoke College, an MA from Northwestern University, and a PHD from the University of California, Davis, alongside multiple honors and fellowships on both side of the Atlantic, her area of expertise being the history of science, medicine and magic. She took up a position as Associate Professor at Colgate University, NY, in 1994 before moving to her alma mater University of California, Davis, in 1999 where she published her first book. John Dee's Conversations with Angels (1999) was a nonfiction account of the relationship between science and religion in the work of Queen Elizabeth I's advisor. Moving to the University of Southern California in 2004, Harkness launched her popular internet blog "Good Wine Under $20," an accessible guide to choosing a tasty tipple that won't break the bank. Her second nonfiction book The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution was published in 2007 and received several awards including The John Ben Snow Prize of the North American Conference of British Studies and the Pfizer Prize of the History of Science Society. While browsing through an airport bookstore, Harkness was struck by the popularity of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. She began work on her first novel, bringing to bear her knowledge of magic through the ages for a fusion of fantasy, horror, the occult and historical fact for A Discovery of Witches (2011). The book debuted at number two on the New York Times Best Seller List, readers and critics appreciating her mix of authentic historical detail and fantasy elements following the story of Diana Bishop as she is drawn into a world of magic and vampires. Translated into over 30 languages it became a global hit. Warner Brothers almost instantly brought the film rights. A Discovery of Witches became the first book in Harkness' All Souls Trilogy with being published in 2012. Continuing the story of Diana Bishop, as she travels back in time to the Elizabethan era, this tome went one better and topped the New York Times Best Seller List. Despite several names being attached to the project -- including writer David Auburn (2005's "Proof" and 2006's "The Lake House") alongside producer Denise Di Novi (1989's "Heathers," 1994's "Little Women" and 2005's "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants") -- Warner Brothers struggled to adapt the source material and came to a mutual decision with Harkness that the rights should revert back to the author. Despite her busy academic schedule, the final entry in the trilogy, The Book of Life, was published in 2014.