Gail Carson Levine

In 1967, she married David Levine. She majored in philosophy at New York's City College, where she received her B.A. in 1969. She spent the next 27 years working for the government of the state of New York, mainly as a welfare administrator, helping people find jobs. She also has an Airedale Terrier named Reggie.

After taking a class in writing and illustrating for children, Levine discovered that she enjoyed writing far more than illustrating. Thus in 1987, she began writing, but over the next nine years, all of her manuscripts were rejected. During this time she took writing classes and joined writer's groups. Reflecting on her experiences, Levine says "those years were some of my happiest. I was learning to write."

Her first published novel was Ella Enchanted, which was accepted for publication by HarperTrophy. Levine recalls, "That day, April 17, 1996, was one of the happiest in my life." The book was published in 1997, and in 1998, it received a Newbery Honor. It would later be the inspiration for the 2004 film of the same name. The success of Ella Enchanted made it possible for Levine to retire from government work and pursue writing full-time.

Levine also wrote an illustrated novel for young readers called Fairy Dust and the Quest For the Egg, which was published in 2005 by Disney Press as the cornerstone of the new "Disney Fairies" franchise. The novel explores the world of Never Land (of Barrie's and Disney's Peter Pan) and the community of fairies who live in the area of the island known as Fairy Haven. Familiar characters such as Tinker Bell and Captain Hook appear in the story, as well as original characters. The book was followed in 2007 by a sequel, entitled Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand. Another sequel, Fairies and the Quest for Never Land, was released in 2010.

Levine, following the success of her adaptation of the Cinderella story into Ella Enchanted, continued telling fairy tales with a twist in what would become her Princess Tales series. According to Levine, "After Ella Enchanted was published, I submitted some of my old, much rejected picture books to my editor. She liked one, which was then called Talk Is Cheap? But she thought it should be a short novel, rather than a picture book, and she asked me to do three more. That picture book turned into The Fairy's Mistake, and that's how the series got started." Her six short stories reinvent traditional fairy tales, looking to fill gaps in logic. As Levine says, "In Sleeping Beauty, the prince falls in love with the princess when he knows only three things about her: she's pretty, she's a princess, and she doesn't snore. In Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep... I give the prince a real reason to kiss Sonora even though, after 100 years, she's covered with spider webs!" Keeping with this genre, Levine also wrote a picture book, Betsy Who Cried Wolf, adapted from Aesop's fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. In 2010 she released a second picture book titled Betsy Red Hoodie, an adaptation of the fable Little Red Riding Hood.

Literary Birthday - 17 September - Gail Carson Levine | Writers Write

Gail Carson Levine is an American author of young adult books. Her first novel, Ella Enchanted, received a Newbery Honor.