| Meg Cabot | |
| Pseudonym: | Meg Cabot Patricia Cabot Jenny Carroll |
| Birth Name: | Meggin Patricia Cabot |
| Birth Date: | 1 February 1967 |
| Birth Place: | Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Writer |
| Genre: | Chick-lit, Mystery, Romance |
| Notableworks: | The Princess Diaries The Mediator Avalon High |
| Alma Mater: | Indiana University (BA) [1] |
Meggin Patricia Cabot (born February 1, 1967) is an American novelist. She has written and published over 50 novels of young adult and adult fiction and is best known for her young adult series The Princess Diaries, which was later adapted by Walt Disney Pictures into two feature films.[2] Cabot has been the recipient of numerous book awards, including the New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, the American Library Association Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers, the Tennessee Volunteer State TASL Book Award,[3] the Book Sense Pick, the Evergreen Young Adult Book Award,[4] the IRA/CBC Young Adult Choice,[5] and many others. She has also had number-one New York Times bestsellers,[6] [7] and more than 25 million copies of her books are in print across the world.[8]
Meggin Patricia Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, in Bloomington, Indiana. After she graduated from Indiana University, Cabot moved to New York City, with the original aim of pursuing a career as an illustrator. However, she soon quit this job and started working as an assistant manager of the freshman dormitory at New York University.[9]
Meg Cabot married financial writer and poet, Benjamin D. Egnatz on April 1, 1993. Their wedding date, April Fool's Day, was a deliberate play on her husband's belief that only fools get married in the first place. The wedding was an elopement in Italy.[10] Her novel Every Boy's Got One is loosely based on her elopement.[11]
She has cats, Henrietta (a one-eyed cat) (1993-Jan 2013), and Gem, about whom she often blogs.[12]
After living in Indiana, California, New York, and France, she now lives in Key West, FL with her husband.[13]
| Year[14] | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Moving Day | ||
| 2008 | The New Girl | ||
| 2009 | Best Friends and Drama Queens | ||
| 2010 | Stage Fright | ||
| 2011 | Glitter Girls and the Great Fake Out | ||
| 2012 | Blast From the Past |
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess | ||
| 2016 | Royal Wedding Disaster | ||
| 2016 | Royal Day Out | (free e-short) | |
| 2017 | Royal Crush | ||
| 2018 | Royal Crown |
From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess is a series for "tween" readers featuring Princess Mia's half-sister, Olivia Grace. The books are illustrated by Meg Cabot.[15]
See main article: The Princess Diaries.
The Princess Diaries series is the most critically acclaimed series written by Meg Cabot and has been published in more than 40 countries.[16] The first book in the series was published in October 2000; the series spent 48 weeks on the New York Times Children's Series Best Sellers List and was sold to publishers in 37 foreign countries. In 2021 Time Magazine named The Princess Diaries one of the 100 Best YA Books of All Time.[17]
In 2001 and 2004, respectively, the series was brought to the big screen by Walt Disney Pictures as The Princess Diaries and starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews.
In the UK and Australia, the books are published under titles based on the volume number (e.g.: Mia Goes Fourth).
| Year | Title | UK, AUS, NZ Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Princess Diaries, Volume I | The Princess Diaries | Time's 100 Best YA Books of All Time | |
| 2001 | Volume II: Princess in the Spotlight | The Princess Diaries: Take Two | ||
| 2002 | The Princess Diaries: Third Time Lucky |
| ||
| 2003 | Volume IV: Princess in Waiting | The Princess Diaries: Mia Goes Fourth |
| |
| 2003 | ||||
| 2004 | Volume V: Princess in Pink | The Princess Diaries: Give Me Five | ||
| 2005 | Volume VI: Princess in Training | The Princess Diaries: Sixsational | ||
| 2004 | ||||
| 2006 | The Princess Diaries: Seventh Heaven | |||
| 2006 | Volume VII and 1/2: Sweet Sixteen Princess | |||
| 2006 | Volume VII and 3/4: Valentine Princess | |||
| 2006 | Volume VIII: Princess on the Brink | The Princess Diaries: After Eight | ||
| 2007 | Volume IX: Princess Mia | The Princess Diaries: To The Nines | ||
| 2009 | Volume X: Forever Princess | The Princess Diaries: Ten Out Of Ten | ||
| 2015 | Volume XI: Royal Wedding | The Princess Diaries: Royal Weddling | ||
| 2023 | Volume XII: The Quarantine Princess | The Quarantine Princess Diaries |
Illustrated by Chelsey McLaren:
On January 6, 2009, a companion book to Volume X: Forever Princess entitled Ransom My Heart was published under the name Princess of Genovia, Mia Thermopolis by Avon Books, the adult division of HarperCollins, the Princess Diaries series publisher.[20] All author proceeds from the novel, which was printed on 100% recycled paper, go to Greenpeace.
Cabot has published a spin-off middle grade series titles "From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess", taken from the point of view of Mia's long-lost sister, Olivia Grace. As listed above, there are 4 books in the series.[21]
| Year | Title | Alternate Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Shadowland | Love You To Death | originally released under the pseudonym Jenny Carroll | |
| 2001 | Ninth Key | High Stakes | originally released under the pseudonym Jenny Carroll | |
| 2001 | Reunion | Mean Spirits | originally released under the pseudonym Jenny Carroll | |
| 2001 | Darkest Hour | Young Blood | originally released under the pseudonym Jenny Carroll | |
| 2003 | Haunted | Grave Doubts | ||
| 2005 | Twilight | Heaven Sent | ||
| 2016 | Proposal: A Mediator Novella | |||
| 2016 | Remembrance |
The Mediator Series is about a 16-year-old girl named Susannah "Suze" Simon. Suze is a mediator, whose role is to help ghosts finish their business on earth so they can pass on to the afterlife.[22] To this end, she can see, touch, communicate with, hit, punch, and 'kick ghost butt' when she must. The series begins just after Suze's widowed mother marries Andy Ackerman, so Suze has moved to Carmel, California, to live in an old house complete with three stepbrothers.[23] To make matters worse, her bedroom is haunted by an attractive male ghost named Jesse de Silva, who died 150 years earlier. Suze remembers that back in New York, a fortune teller had told her that she was a mediator (which proved correct) and that she would only fall in love once, but it would last for an eternity.
The first four books were originally released under the pseudonym Jenny Carroll (this was when Cabot was working with different publishing houses). Haunted was the first title to have Meg Cabot's name on it. The first four books were later reprinted under Cabot's real name in 2005 with new cover art when Twilight was released in hardcover. The UK titles for the series were: Shadowland- Love You to Death, Ninth Key- High Stakes, Reunion- Mean Spirits, Darkest Hour- Young Blood, Haunted- Grave Doubts, and Twilight- Heaven Sent.[24]
In December 2010, HarperTeen reprinted an omnibus edition titled The Mediator: Shadowland and Ninth Key.
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | When Lightning Strikes | originally written under Cabot's pseudonym, Jenny Carroll | |
| 2001 | Code Name Cassandra | originally written under Cabot's pseudonym, Jenny Carroll | |
| 2002 | Safe House | originally written under Cabot's pseudonym, Jenny Carroll | |
| 2002 | Sanctuary | originally written under Cabot's pseudonym, Jenny Carroll | |
| 2006 | Missing You |
This series revolves around Jessica Mastriani, an ordinary 16-year-old girl given extraordinary psychic powers after being struck by lightning. Her powers allow her to know the exact location of missing children; after seeing a picture of a person, they appear in her dreams.[25] [26] The first four books take place over less than a year and chronicle her attempts to help missing children while trying to avoid the scrutiny of the federal government. The fifth book, published four years after the fourth book, picks up the storyline after Jess has turned 19. Over the course of the book, Jess is romantically involved with Rob Wilkins, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks.[27]
The first four books were originally written under Cabot's pseudonym, Jenny Carroll. The books were re-released in 2004 under Cabot's real name. Cabot was unhappy with the discontinuation; she stated that she wanted to take the series up to eight books. Her current publishing house agreed to publish one more installment.[28] Missing You was released in December 2006 and that was the end of the series.
The 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series was the basis for the television show Missing, which aired on the Lifetime cable network for three seasons from 2003 to 2006.
The series has been reprinted in the US in an omnibus edition and retitled Vanished.
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | All American Girl |
| |
| 2005 | Ready or Not: An All-American Girl Novel |
|
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Avalon High | ||
| 2007 | The Merlin Prophecy | Avalon High: Coronation (three-book manga series) | |
| 2008 | Homecoming | Avalon High: Coronation (three-book manga series) | |
| 2009 | Hunter's Moon | Avalon High: Coronation (three-book manga series) |
Avalon High is a contemporary retelling of the King Arthur tale set in a modern high school. Avalon High: Coronation is sequel to the first Avalon High novel, instead of a regular novel, is part of a new partnership HarperCollins brokered with Tokyopop. It has been released as a three-book manga series, called Avalon High: Coronation. The first manga, titled The Merlin Prophecy, was released on July 3, 2007, and was drawn by manga artist Jinky Coronado, creator of the Banzai Girl manga. She also illustrated the other two manga.[30]
The Avalon High film was shown on Disney Channel on November 12, 2010.[31] Britt Robertson played Ally (Elaine), while Gregg Sulkin played Will.[32]
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Airhead | ||
| 2009 | Being Nikki | ||
| 2010 | Runaway |
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Abandon | ||
| 2012 | Underworld | ||
| 2013 | Awaken |
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Nicola and the Viscount | ||
| 2003 | Victoria and the Rogue | ||
| 2004 | Teen Idol |
| |
| 2006 | |||
| 2006 | Pants on Fire | UK title: Tommy Sullivan is a Freak | |
| 2007 | Jinx |
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Boy Next Door | ||
| 2004 | Boy Meets Girl | ||
| 2005 | Every Boy's Got One | ||
| 2016 | The Boy is Back |
These books are loosely connected romantic comedies told in emails, IMs, and brief journal entries. The Boy Next Door was a Kelly Ripa Book Club Pick on LIVE! with Regis and Kelly.[35]
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Size 12 is Not Fat | ||
| 2006 | Size 14 is Not Fat Either | ||
| 2007 | Big Boned | ||
| 2012 | Size 12 and Ready to Rock | ||
| 2013 | The Bride Wore Size 12 |
The Heather Wells series is an adult mystery series that features former pop star, Heather Wells. Heather was once a teen star but was fired by her recording company when she asked to sing songs she had written instead of the ones they composed for her. The book opens just after Heather has gotten a job as a residential house coordinator at New York College and quickly discovers that young girls in the dorm are being murdered.
The second book was originally titled Phat Chick, but this was changed by the publishers to It's Not Over Until The Size 12 Chick Sings, and finally, Size 14 is Not Fat Either, which continued Heather's amateur sleuthing adventures.
The third book in the series is published under the title Size Doesn't Matter in Australia and Great Britain.(In other countries, such as the U.S. and Canada, it was entitled Big Boned.) In Size Doesn't Matter, Heather solves another mystery and is involved in a love triangle with Tad, her boyfriend, and Cooper, whom she secretly loves, but who rejected her.
In March 2008 the series was contracted for two additional books, which were released in 2012 and 2013.
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Queen of Babble | ||
| 2007 | Queen of Babble in the Big City | ||
| 2008 | Queen of Babble Gets Hitched |
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Insatiable | ||
| 2011 | Overbite |
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Bridal Boot Camp | ||
| 2019 | No Judgments | ||
| 2020 | No Offense | ||
| 2021 | No Words |
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Where Roses Grow Wild | written under Cabot's pseudonym Patricia Cabot | |
| 1999 | Portrait of My Heart | written under Cabot's pseudonym Patricia Cabot | |
| 1999 | An Improper Proposal | written under Cabot's pseudonym Patricia Cabot | |
| 2000 | A Little Scandal | written under Cabot's pseudonym Patricia Cabot | |
| 2000 | Lady of Skye | written under Cabot's pseudonym Patricia Cabot | |
| 2001 | Educating Caroline | written under Cabot's pseudonym Patricia Cabot | |
| 2002 | Kiss the Bride | written under Cabot's pseudonym Patricia Cabot | |
| 2009 | Ransom My Heart | Written by Amelia "Mia" Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia with help from Meg Cabot |
She Went All the Way is a romantic comedy novel with elements of a (mild) thriller. The plot focuses on a recently dumped screenwriter, Lou (a woman) whose actor-ex elopes two-weeks post-breakup—with someone else. The recently married bride also unceremoniously dumped her boyfriend, Jack, an A-list actor. When Lou is assigned the fourth installment in Jack's major movie franchise, they not only meet but share a wacky adventure, with moments of genuine danger.
| Year | Title | Where Published | Notes | Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2000 | The Christmas Captive | the adult romance anthology A Season in the Highlands | written under Cabot's pseudonym Patricia Cabot | [41] | |
| August 2003 | Girl's Guide to New York through the Movies | Metropolis Found: New York Is Book Country 25th Anniversary Collection | [42] | ||
| October 2003 | Kate the Great | Thirteen: Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen | [43] | ||
| January 2004 | You Rock, Jen Greenley | the short story collection Short Stories | |||
| September 2004 | Party Planner | the adult short story collection Girls' Night In | [44] | ||
| August 2005 | Connie "Hunter" Williams, Psychic Teacher | the teen short story collection Friends: Stories About New Friends, Old Friends, and Unexpectedly True Friends | [45] | ||
| April 2006 | Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls | the CosmoGIRL! short story collection Shining On | [46] | ||
| June 2006 | Reunion | the adult short story collection Girls' Night Out | [47] | ||
| Spring 2007 | Cry, Linda, Cry: Judy Blume's Blubber and The Cruelest Thing in the World | Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume | [48] | ||
| May 2007 | The Exterminator's Daughter | Prom Nights From Hell | [49] | ||
| July 2007 | Ask Annie | Midnight Feast | [50] | ||
| September 2008 | Another All-American Girl | Our White House, Looking In, Looking Out | |||
| February 2009 | Where's My Belt? | My Little Red Book | |||
| July 2009 | Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret | Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading | |||
| May 2010 | Legacy | Queen of Teen | |||
| Every Girl's Dream | A short story written by Cabot out of the Mediator Series. | [51] | |||
| September 2010 | Princess Prettypants | the anthology Zombie vs. Unicorns | [52] | ||
| September 2010 | The Night Hunter | the anthology Fear: 13 Stories of Horror and Suspense | [53] | ||
| August 2011 | Falling in Lust at the Jersey Shore | Cosmo's Sexiest Stories Ever: Three Naughty Tales | |||
| September 2011 | The Protectionist | the young adult short story collection What You Wish For | [54] | ||
| August 2012 | Out of the Blue | the anthology Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction | [55] | ||
| June 2013 | The Model and The Monster | "O Livro das Princesas" (Book of Princesses) | only in Brazil | [56] | |
| October 2017 | Beru Whitesun Lars | the collection From A Certain Point of View: 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of Star Wars |
Meg has teamed with the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Starlight Children's Foundation to mentor seriously and terminally ill children.[63]
10% of the author's US proceeds from Quarantine Princess Diaries, published in 2023 will go to Vow for Girls, a global charity that aims to end child marriage.[67]
In 2012, Meg's short story Wooden Animal appeared in Significant Objects, an anthology that benefitted Girls Write Now.[68]
And in 2011, Meg contributed the story The Protectionist to the anthology What You Wish For. One hundred percent of proceeds benefited the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, which builds libraries in Darfuri refugee camps in Chad.[69]
All of Meg's proceeds from her story The Exterminator's Daughter, in the anthology Prom Nights From Hell, benefit First Book, a nonprofit organization connecting book publishers and community organizations to provide access to new books for children in need.
All of Meg's proceeds from The Princess Diaries, Volume 4 1/2, Project Princess, go to benefit The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York City. Editions sold to publishers in 10 countries outside the US benefited local charities in those countries.
All of Meg's proceeds from the novel Ransom My Heart by Mia Thermopolis, Princess of Genovia (with help from Meg Cabot) go to benefit Greenpeace (Ransom My Heart is also printed on recycled paper). The proceeds from sales of Ransom My Heart to publishers in 8 countries have also gone to Mia's favorite charity.[70]
Meg's story The Night Hunter was included in the anthology Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense. All author proceeds from this book benefit the Reading Is Fundamental literacy program for children.[71]
In 2008, Meg contributed a story (Another All-American Girl) to the anthology Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. All proceeds benefit the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance].[72]
Meg's also written short stories for anthologies that have benefited the Teenage Cancer Trust,[73] War Child,[74] No Strings,[75] Lisa Libraries,[76] Kids Company,[77] and the New York Public Libraries, among other organizations