“I’ve learned that the creative life may or may not be the apex of human civilization, but either way it’s not what I thought it was. It doesn’t make you special and sparkly. You don’t have to walk alone. You can work in an office — I’ve worked in offices for the past 15 years and written five novels while doing it. The creative life is forgiving: You can betray it all you want, again and again, and no matter how many times you do, it will always take you back.”

American novelist and journalist

Lev Grossman is an American novelist and journalist. He is best known for the Magicians trilogy, which began with The Magicians in 2009 and continued with The Magician King and The Magician’s Land. He was book critic and lead technology writer at Time magazine from 2002 to 2016. His later work includes the children’s books The Silver Arrow and The Golden Swift, the novel The Bright Sword, a reimagining of the King Arthur legend, and the screenplay for The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, adapted from his short story.