E. L. James

E. L. James
E. L. James at the 2019 London Book Fair
E. L. James at the 2019 London Book Fair
BornErika Mitchell
(1963-03-07) 7 March 1963 (age 61)
Willesden, London, England
Pen nameE. L. James
Snowqueens Icedragon
OccupationAuthor
EducationWycombe High School
Alma materUniversity of Kent
GenreRomance, erotica, fan fiction
Years active2011–present
Spouse
Niall Leonard
​
(m. 1987)​
[1]
Children2[1]
Website
eljamesauthor.com

Erika Mitchell (born 7 March 1963),[1][2] known by her pen name E. L. James, is a British author. She wrote the best-selling Fifty Shades series of erotic romance novels,[3][4] which spawned a multimedia franchise including a film trilogy of the same name.[5] Prior to this, she wrote the Twilight fan fiction "Master of the Universe" that served as the basis for the Fifty Shades series under the web name Snowqueens Icedragon. In 2019 she published her first book unconnected with the fictional world of Fifty Shades, The Mister, to negative critical reaction.[6][7][8]

The Fifty Shades novels have sold over 150 million copies worldwide, over 35 million copies in the United States and set the record in the United Kingdom as the fastest selling paperback of all time.[9][10][11][12] In 2012, Time magazine named her one of "The World's 100 Most Influential People".[13]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Brennan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Acuna, Kirsten (13 September 2016). "Meet the author behind the steamy 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' phenomenon". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  3. ^ Bosman, Julie (21 May 2012). "Libraries Debate Stocking 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Trilogy". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Luscombe, Belinda (29 March 2012). "The Shy British Mum Behind 50 Shades of Grey". Time.
  5. ^ Belloni, Matthew (20 February 2013). "Universal Chairman Wants 'Fifty Shades' for Summer 2014, More 'Bourne' and 'Van Helsing' Reboot (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  6. ^ Cain, Sian (17 April 2019). "EL James's The Mister – turns out books and sex can be this bad". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  7. ^ Faircloth, Kelly (15 May 2019). "E.L. James's The Mister Fucks a Duck". Jezebel.
  8. ^ Gilbert, Sophie (18 April 2019). "The Indelible Awfulness of E. L. James's 'The Mister'". The Atlantic.
  9. ^ "EL James' 'Freed,' as told by Christian Grey, coming in June". The Detroit News. Associated Press. 8 March 2021.
  10. ^ Doward, Jamie (2 April 2017). "Fifty Shades of Grey author EL James now worth £37m". The Guardian.
  11. ^ Luscombe, Belinda. "E.L. James - Who Should be Time's Person of the Year 2012?". Time. Archived from the original on 26 November 2012.
  12. ^ "'Fifty Shades of Grey' coming in hardcover". Salon.com. Associated Press. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  13. ^ "The World's 100 Most Influential People". Time. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012.