Gregory Maguire

Author Gregory Maguire, born in Albany N.Y., in 1954, has written many acclaimed fantasy novels and short stories for adults and children. In his novel “Wicked,” he presents the Wicked Witch of the West as a complex and sympathetic character – not as the villain we know from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. A Broadway musical based on “Wicked” became a major hit that continues to break box office records around the world. The show was nominated for ten 2004 Tony Awards, winning those for Best Actress, Scenic Design and Costume Design. It also won six Drama Desk Awards.

Maguire was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children’s Literature from 1979 – 1985, founded Children’s Literature New England and is a board member of the national Children’s Book and Literature Alliance, a national not-for-profit that advocated for literacy, literature and libraries.