BC About the Author: Sara Gruen

Sara Gruen is a Canadian-born duel citizen author. She was born in Vancouver, raised in London, Ontario, and 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 two years later, instead of looking for another job, she decided to take a gamble on writing fiction full-time.

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, forcing Gruen to find another publisher. Water for Elephants spent 12 weeks on the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list and sold 248,000 copies, and movie rights to the book have been optioned. Many of the characters and incidents in the novel are based on real people and true stories gleaned from her extensive research into the world of traveling circuses of the 1930s. +/-

Her fourth novel, Ape House, is a story about Bonobo apes, which are more closely related to humans than chimpanzees, and will be released in August of next year. Some of her favorite books include Niagara Falls All Over Again by Elizabeth McCracken, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.

Gruen’s books deal greatly with animals and she is a supporter of numerous charitable organizations that support animals and wildlife. You can find out more information about these organizations on her website. Until 2007, Gruen lived in an environmentalist community in northern Illinois. She now lives with her husband, three children, two dogs, four cats, two horses, and a goat in Asheville, North Carolina.

Click here to visit her website.