Gregory Maguire

Gregory Maguire (born June 9, 1954) is an American novelist. He is the author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and several dozen other novels for adults and children. Many of Maguire's adult novels are inspired by classic children's stories. Maguire published his first novel, The Lightning Time, in 1978. Wicked, published in 1995, was his first novel for adults. Though unsuccessful at first, it was adapted into a popular Broadway musical in 2003. Maguire is married to American painter Andy Newman, in one of the first gay marriages performed in the state of New York. They have three children. Born and raised in Albany, New York, Gregory Maguire is the middle child of four. His mother died shortly after giving birth to him and his father sent him to live with an aunt, who later turned him over to a local orphanage. Maguire's father later remarried and had three more children with his new wife. The nuns at the orphanage nicknamed Maguire "Gregory the Executive" for his serious expression.