Audrey Niffenegger: From Visual Artist to Best-Selling Author
- Janeth
- Jul 27
- 2 min read
Audrey Niffenegger, born on June 13, 1963, didn’t start out as a writer. In fact, she was a visual artist trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She later earned her MFA from Northwestern University’s Department of Art Theory and Practice. Since 1987, her work has been regularly exhibited at Printworks Gallery, showcasing everything from prints and artist books to paintings, comics, and drawings.
Photo by betül akyürek from Pexels
Some of her visual storytelling has even made it into print, including The Adventuress and The Three Incestuous Sisters—both beautifully illustrated and uniquely eerie.
A Time-Bending Debut and Fantastical Follow-Ups
Niffenegger is best known for her debut novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife, a love story with a sci-fi twist. It follows a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel involuntarily, and his wife, who has to cope with his unpredictable disappearances. Fun fact: it was originally meant to be a graphic novel! Published in 2003, the book became an international bestseller and was adapted into a 2009 film starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams.
Her second novel, Her Fearful Symmetry (2009), proved she had a knack for the fantastical. This story centers on identical twins who inherit their late aunt’s London apartment. As they settle in, they uncover secrets about their aunt, who had been estranged from her own twin, the girls’ mother. The aunt’s ghost also still lingers in the apartment.
Then came Raven Girl in 2013, an illustrated novella about a postman who falls in love with a raven. Their child, the titular Raven Girl, is born a raven trapped in a human body. The story was so compelling it was adapted into a ballet by the Royal Opera House.
Beyond the Page: Teaching, Collaborating, and Creating
Niffenegger wears many hats. She’s a professor in the Department of Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago and a founding member of Text 3 (T3), a group of artists and writers who perform and exhibit in Chicago. She also helped establish the Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts, where she once taught.
Currently, she’s working on her third novel, The Chinchilla Girl in Exile, as well as a sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife. She’s also collaborating with Eddie Campbell, the illustrator of From Hell, on a modern romance comic.
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