Miguel Lopez de Leon is a novelist who lives in Los Angeles. He writes young-adult, middle-grade, and dark fantasy novels. Miguel's novels include Blue Cloak Warrior, It Took Billy, Babble Magic, The Light Dweller, The Covens of Elmeeria, The Unicorn, Carry the Knight, and the Galadria fantasy trilogy. His debut novel Galadria: Peter Huddleston & The Rites of Passage was chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the "Best Books of 2014." Early Work: Miguel is a graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. At the academy, Miguel enjoyed studying scripts and dialogue, and especially enjoyed reading Shakespeare plays. It was during this time that he began writing many short-film screenplays, as well as short stories. Over 30 of Miguel's short stories were chosen for publication and appeared in various magazines and collections. One of his short stories, A Working Professional, won First Place in Writer's Digest Magazine's "Your Story #24" writing contest, and beat out over 550 other international submissions. Career: Miguel's debut novel was Galadria: Peter Huddleston & The Rites of Passage. Kirkus Reviews declared it "A resounding success that will have audiences begging for more." Miguel followed the success of his first novel with the next two books in the Galadria trilogy: Galadria: Peter Huddleston & The Mists of the Three Lakes, and Galadria: Peter Huddleston & The Knights of the Leaf. Carry the Knight and The Unicorn were released in 2014, The Covens of Elmeeria and The Light Dweller in 2017, Babble Magic and It Took Billy in 2018, and Blue Cloak Warrior in 2020. Babble Magic appeared on the cover of the September 2, 2019 issue of Publishers Weekly Magazine. Blue Cloak Warrior appeared on the cover of the August 31, 2020 issue of Publishers Weekly Magazine. Miguel himself was on the cover of the December 2020 issue of Story Monsters Ink Magazine with the headline "Miguel Lopez De Leon Empowers Young Readers to Reach for the Stars." Miguel has received literary awards from the I.A.N Book of the Year Awards, Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, Eric Hoffer Book Awards, Kirkus Reviews, National Indie Excellence Awards, Reader Views Literary Awards, and the Nautilus Book Awards. He is also a B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree. Miguel regularly joins many literary events and conventions. He has had his own book booths at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and the L.A. Comic Con, as well as the Miami Book Fair Online, and the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Virtual Meeting & Exhibits. Miguel also participates in numerous bookstore events, and in particular has enjoyed his book launches at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena. Charities: Miguel is an active supporter of Kids Need to Read, a national nonprofit foundation that promotes childhood literacy and provides books to disadvantaged children across America.
