An internationally known author who spent her teen years in Wayne County will sign copies of her latest novel, which is a thriller focused on high school students.
Wayne County Convention & Tourism Bureau is offering a meet and greet for Jennifer Niven, a 1986 Richmond High School graduate.
The gathering will take place from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Welcome Center, 5701 National Road East, Richmond.
Copies of Niven’s new book, “When We Were Monsters,” which became available in September, can be purchased. Niven also welcomes fans to bring her previous books for signatures.
In “Monsters,” Niven shares the story of eight aspiring teen writers chosen to work with an accomplished writer, director and actress while they live in an isolated estate of their school’s founder. Only one will earn a life-changing creative opportunity. The teens eventually turn on the instructor after her unorthodox methods reveal their darkest secrets, prompt them to take unthinkable risks and push them past the breaking point.
Niven is the Emmy award-winning No. 1 New York Times and International bestselling author of 12 books, including the young adult novel “All the Bright Places,” which was made into a movie with stars including Elle Fanning.
“All the Bright Places” has won literary awards around the world, including the GoodReads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction of 2015. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Time Magazine, NPR, the Guardian, Publisher’s Weekly, Young Adult Library Services Association, Barnes & Noble, BuzzFeed, New York Public Library and others, and was the No. 1 Kids’ Indie Next Book for Winter ’14-’15.
Her other young adult titles include “Holding up the Universe,” “Breathless” and “Take Me With You When You Go,” which was written with David Levithan.
Niven’s books have been translated in more than 75 languages.
She also oversees Germ, a literary and lifestyle web magazine for high schoolers and beyond.
Before writing for young adults, she wrote a four-novel series for adults about Southern teen Velva Jean. After a hardscrabble youth, she pursues dreams of singing at the Grand Ole Opry, becomes a World War II pilot and then receives Hollywood promises to make her a star.
Niven also wrote three nonfiction books, starting with two tales of deadly Arctic adventures, followed by the “Aqua Net Diaries,” a memoir of her 1980s RHS experiences.
She began writing full-time in 2000.
“At first glance, my books are all over the map, but if you look closely they share a common theme: they are stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things,” Niven wrote on her website.
She and her husband, Justin, divide time between coastal Georgia and Los Angeles.
For more information about her Richmond visit, call the tourism bureau at 765-935-8686.
A version of this article appeared in the October 22 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.