Barry Lyga
Called a “YA rebel-author” by Kirkus Reviews, Barry Lyga has published seventeen novels in various genres in his eleven-year career, including the New York Times bestselling I Hunt Killers. His books have been or are slated to be published in more than a dozen different languages in North America, Australia, Europe, and Asia.
After graduating from Yale with a degree in English, Lyga worked in the comic book industry before quitting to pursue his lifelong love of writing. In 2006, his first young adult novel, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, was published to rave reviews, including starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal. Publishers Weekly named Lyga a “Flying Start” in December 2006 on the strength of the debut.
His second young adult novel, Boy Toy, received starred reviews in SLJ, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus. VOYA gave it its highest critical rating, and the Chicago Tribune called it “…an astounding portrayal of what it is like to be the young male victim.” His third novel, Hero-Type, according to VOYA “proves that there are still fresh ideas and new, interesting story lines to be explored in young adult literature.”
Since then, he has also written Goth Girl Rising (the sequel to his first novel), as well as the Archvillain series for middle-grade readers and the graphic novel Mangaman (with art by Colleen Doran).
His latest series is I Hunt Killers, called by the LA Times “one of the more daring concepts in recent years by a young-adult author” and an “extreme and utterly alluring narrative about nature versus nurture.” The first book landed on both the New York Times and USAToday bestsellers lists.
Lyga lives and podcasts near New York City with his wife, Morgan Baden, their nigh-omnipotent daughter, and their preternaturally chill son. His comic book collection is a lot smaller than it used to be, but is still way too big.
Not sure which books to read? Let our TBF authors tell you which ones they recommend! Visit our Resources page, then scroll down to "TBF One Book Recommendations". You will also find a more complete list of books by each author under TBF Book List.
Helpful Links
When we asked our authors what they were or might have been voted in HS, Barry answered I can't put my hands on my yearbook at the moment, but I do remember being named one of the "Brain Trust.".
Other Fun Facts
- Both of my kids have looked frighteningly like Astro Boy at certain points in their lives.
- I wrote an entire trilogy in less than 10 months.
- My wife and I have written a novel together - it should be out in 2018!
- I eat peanut butter and jelly almost every day.
- I've owned a bunch of computers, but have used the same keyboard for almost twenty years.
- If I were a superhero, I would be Tired Man, with the power to never get quite enough sleep.
- If you can only read one of my books in time for TBF, it should be The Secret Sea because it combines so many elements of what I love to write about: science fiction, magic, fantasy, friendship, horror, mystery...it's all in there!