About The Author

Gillian Schieber Flynn (born February 24, 1971) is an American author, screenwriter, comic book writer and former television critic for Entertainment Weekly. Flynn’s three published novels are the thrillers Sharp Objects, Dark Places, and Gone Girl, the last of which she adapted for the screen in the 2014 film of the same name directed by David Fincher. After graduating from Northwestern, Flynn worked freelance briefly at U.S. News & World Report before being hired as a feature writer in 1998 at Entertainment Weekly. She was promoted to television critic and wrote about films, but was laid off in December 2008.

She attributes her craft to her 15-some years in journalism. She said, “I could not have written a novel if I hadn’t been a journalist first, because it taught me that there’s no muse that’s going to come down and bestow upon you the mood to write. You just have to do it. I’m definitely not precious.”

Some critics have accused Flynn of misogyny due to the often unflattering depiction of female characters in her books. Flynn identifies as a feminist. She feels that feminism allows for women to be bad characters in literature. She states, “The one thing that really frustrates me is this idea that women are innately good, innately nurturing.” Flynn also said people will dismiss “trampy, vampy, bitchy types – but there’s still a big pushback against the idea that women can be just pragmatically evil, bad, and selfish”. In 2015, Flynn explained her decision to write cruel female characters, saying, “I’ve grown quite weary of the spunky heroines, brave rape victims, soul-searching fashionistas that stock so many books. I particularly mourn the lack of female villains – good, potent female villains.”