Early Fantasy Love

Sarah J. Maas founded a Lord of the Rings club in high school and wrote crossover fan fiction.

Buffy's Impact

Buffy Summers helped shape Celaena Sardothien, a young assassin who loves clothes and dancing.

“Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer was probably my favorite and one of the most life-changing heroines.”

Star Wars Inspiration

Star Wars made Sarah J. Maas long to see women taking center stage in epic adventures.

“Watching Star Wars, I loved Princess Leia, but I daydreamed about being a Jedi.”

Cinderella's Music

A piece of Disney's Cinderella score inspired the entire Throne of Glass series.

“Music literally inspired this entire series for me.”

Sailor Moon and Harry Potter

Sailor Moon and Harry Potter helped Sarah J. Maas write her own fantasy stories.

“I started writing fan fiction and that’s how I learned to write.”

Fairy Tales and Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga from Russian folklore inspired the witches in Throne of Glass.

“Baba Yaga is my all-time favorite character from folklore.”

Key Books

Garth Nix's Sabriel and Robin McKinley's The Hero and the Crown inspired Sarah J. Maas.

Paper Bag Princess

Robert Munsch's The Paper Bag Princess shaped Sarah J. Maas's identity as a human being.

“I made my parents read it to me a bajillion times.”

Throne of Glass Origin

Sarah J. Maas rewrote Cinderella as an assassin who tried to kill the Prince.

“What if she was an assassin who tried to kill the Prince?”

Fan Fiction Legacy

Sarah J. Maas's books inspire millions of fan fiction and fan art.

“I find it weirdly full-circle when people write fanfic about my stories.”

Why It Matters

Sarah J. Maas created fantasy worlds where women aren't confined to one role.

The Result

Millions of readers now imagine what they might create in their own fantasy worlds.

The Future

Sarah J. Maas continues to inspire new generations of fantasy writers.

The Pattern

Sarah J. Maas gravitated toward stories where women weren't confined to one role.