Ransom Riggs

Ransom Riggs
Riggs in 2012
Born	(1979-02-03) February 3, 1979 (age 45) Maryland, U.S.
Occupation	Author
Alma mater	Kenyon College (BA) University of Southern California (MFA)
Genre	Children's literature
Notable works	Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Spouse	Tahereh Mafi ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	1
Website
www.ransomriggs.com

Ransom Riggs (born February 3, 1979)[1] is an American writer and filmmaker best known for the book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

Early life and education

Riggs was born in Maryland in 1979 on a 200-year-old farm, and grew up in Florida, where he attended Pine View School for the Gifted.[2][3] He studied English literature at Kenyon College in Ohio,[4] where he was a good friend of John Green.[5] He later studied film at the University of Southern California.[6]

Career

His work on short films for the Internet and blogging for Mental Floss got him a job writing The Sherlock Holmes Handbook which was released as a tie-in to the 2009 Sherlock Holmes film.[6]

Riggs had collected curious vernacular photographs and approached his publisher, Quirk Books, about using some of them in a picture book. On the suggestion of an editor, Riggs used the photographs as a guide from which to put together a narrative.[6] The resulting book was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which made The New York Times Best Seller list, and was adapted into the 2016 film of the same name.[7]

Another book inspired by old photographs, Talking Pictures, was published by HarperCollins in October 2012.[8]

The second novel in the Miss Peregrine series, Hollow City, was released in January 2014,[9] with the third installment, Library of Souls, following in September 2015.[10] A spin-off book of short stories, Tales of the Peculiar, was released in September 2016.[10] The fourth novel in the series, A Map of Days, was released in October 2018. The fifth novel in the series, The Conference of the Birds, was released in January 2020. The sixth, The Desolations of Devil's Acre, was released on February 23, 2021.[11]

Personal life

Riggs married author Tahereh Mafi in 2013. They lived in Santa Monica, California[12] and later moved to Irvine, California. Their first child, a daughter, Layla, was born on May 30, 2017.[13][14]

Works

Young adult novels

Miss Peregrine series

• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2011)[15]
• Hollow City (2014)[16]
• Library of Souls (2015)[17]
• A Map of Days (2018)[18]
• The Conference of the Birds (2020)[19]
• The Desolations of Devil's Acre (2021)[20]

Companion Books

• Tales of the Peculiar (2016), short stories collection[21]

• Miss Peregrine's Museum of Wonders: An Indispensable Guide to the Dangers and Delights of the Peculiar World for the Instruction of New Arrivals (2022)[22]

Sunderworld series

• Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry (2024)
• Sunderworld, Vol. II: The Unfortunate Responsibilities of Leopold Berry (2025)

Stand-alone

• Arcanum (2015)

Comics

Miss Peregrine series

• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children: The Graphic Novel (2011), with Cassandra Jean
• Hollow City: The Graphic Novel (2016), with Cassandra Jean

Non-fiction

• The Sherlock Holmes Handbook: The Methods and Mysteries of the World's Greatest Detective (2009), guide[23]
• Talking Pictures: Images and Messages Rescued from the Past (2012), photographies[24]

Adaptations

• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), film directed by Tim Burton, based on young adult novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

References

1. "Ransom Riggs". IMDb. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
2. "Ransom Riggs - Bio". ransomriggs.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012.
3. Medley, Mark (June 21, 2011). "Freak chic: The "universal creepiness" of Ransom Riggs' new novel". National Post. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013.
4. Kit, Borys (May 17, 2011). "Heated auction begins by studios for unpublished book". Reuters. Archived from the original on September 24, 2011.
5. "Very Peculiar". Kenyon.edu. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015.
6. Rife, Susan (December 16, 2011). "Ransom Riggs visits alma mater to discuss 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on February 1, 2012.
7. "Best Sellers - Children's Chapter Books". The New York Times. August 21, 2011. Archived from the original on June 23, 2013.
8. "Talking Pictures: Images and Messages Rescued from the Past by Ransom Riggs". Harper Collins. October 5, 2012. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012.
9. "Announcing the HOLLOW CITY tour!" (Press release). December 31, 2013. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014.
10. Romney, Ginny (February 21, 2015). "Author Ransom Riggs draws inspiration from old photos for Peculiar Children series, sequel 'Hollow City". Deseret News. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015.
11. "Miss Peregrine's Book Six: All we know about the release date, cover, plot". Bookstacked. October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
12. "The Future of Books Is Experimental: At Home with Tahereh Mafi and Ransom Riggs". Mental Floss. February 27, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
13. "birth announcement". Instagram.
14. "How Author Tahereh Mafi Made Her Family-Friendly Kitchen Her Own". Architectural Digest. August 2, 2021.
15. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Quirk Books. June 7, 2011. ISBN 978-1-59474-513-3.
16. Hollow City. Quirk Books. January 14, 2014. ISBN 978-1-59474-612-3.
17. Library of Souls. Quirk Books. September 22, 2015. ISBN 978-1-59474-758-8.
18. A Map of Days. Dutton Books for Young Readers. October 2, 2018. ISBN 978-0-735-23214-3.
19. The Conference of the Birds. Dutton Books for Young Readers. January 14, 2020. ISBN 978-0-593-11015-7.
20. The Desolations of Devil's Acre. Dutton Books for Young Readers. February 23, 2021. ISBN 978-0241320945.
21. Tales of the Peculiar. Dutton Children's Books. September 3, 2016. ISBN 978-0-399-53853-7.
22. Miss Peregrine's Museum of Wonders: An Indispensable Guide to the Dangers and Delights of the Peculiar World for the Instruction of New Arrivals. Dutton Books for Young Readers. September 27, 2022. ISBN 978-0-399-53856-8.
23. The Sherlock Holmes Handbook: The Methods and Mysteries of the World's Greatest Detective. Quirk Books. September 30, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59474-429-7.
24. Talking Pictures: Images and Messages Rescued from the Past. Harper Collins. February 14, 2012. ISBN 978-0-06-209949-5.

External links

• Official website
• Ransom Riggs at IMDb
• Ransom Riggs at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database