Twilight (novel series)

Twilight
The six covers for the Twilight novel series.
AuthorStephenie Meyer
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy romance, young adult fiction
PublisherLittle, Brown and Company
Published
  • 2005–2020
Media typePrint
No. of books5 (with 3 companions)

Twilight is a series of four fantasy romance novels, two companion novels, and one novella written by American author Stephenie Meyer. Released annually from 2005 through 2008, the four novels chart the later teen years of Bella Swan, a girl who moves to Forks, Washington, from Phoenix, Arizona and falls in love with a 104-year-old vampire named Edward Cullen. The series is told primarily from Bella's point of view, with the epilogue of Eclipse and the second part of Breaking Dawn being told from the viewpoint of character Jacob Black, a werewolf. A novella, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, which tells the story of a newborn vampire who appeared in Eclipse, was published on 2010.[1] The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, a definitive encyclopedic reference with nearly 100 full color illustrations, was released in bookstores in 2011.[2] In 2015, Meyer published a new novel in honor of the 10th anniversary of the book series, Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, with the genders of the original protagonists switched.[3] Midnight Sun, a retelling of the first book, Twilight, from Edward Cullen's point of view, was published in 2020.

Since the release of the first novel, Twilight, in 2005, the books have gained immense popularity and commercial success around the world. The series is most popular among young adults; the four books have won multiple awards, most notably the 2008 British Book Award for Children's Book of the Year for Breaking Dawn,[4] while the series as a whole won the 2009 Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Book.[5]

As of August 2020, the series had sold over 160 million copies worldwide with translations into 49 different languages.[6] The four Twilight books have consecutively set records as the biggest-selling novels of 2008 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list[7] and have spent over 235 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Series Books.[8]

The novels have been adapted into The Twilight Saga film series by Summit Entertainment. The film adaptations of the first three novels were released in 2008, 2009, and 2010, respectively. The fourth novel was adapted into two films, the first film being released in 2011 and the second film in 2012.[9] An animated television series based on Midnight Sun is also in development at Netflix.[10]

  1. ^ "Twilight author Meyer to publish next book for free". The Australia Times. March 31, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2010.
  2. ^ Oldenburg, Ann (October 6, 2010). "'The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide' coming in April". USA Today. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  3. ^ Maane Khatchatourian (October 6, 2015). "'Twilight' Gets Gender-Swapped Novel – Variety". Variety. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Anderson, Hephzibah (April 3, 2009). "Obama's 'Dreams,' Meyer's Vampires Capture 'Nibbie' Book Awards". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
  5. ^ "Twilight". Kids' Choice Awards. Nickelodeon. 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  6. ^ Stephenie Meyer says more books coming in 'Twilight' saga as 'Midnight Sun' sells 1M copies
  7. ^ Cadden, Mary (January 15, 2008). "New star authors made, old ones rediscovered in 2008". USA Today. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
  8. ^ Grossman, Lev (November 13, 2009). "It's Twilight in America". Time. Archived from the original on November 16, 2009. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
  9. ^ Weintraub, Stephen 'Steve' (November 3, 2010). "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Gets Released November 16, 2012". Collider. Archived from the original on December 8, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  10. ^ https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/twilight-animated-series-midnight-sun-release-date-news