William Alexander

William Alexander is an American author born on October 9, 1976. He studied theater and folklore at Oberlin College before earning an English degree from the University of Vermont, and teaches as an adjunct professor of liberal arts at Vermont College of Fine Arts. He writes speculative fiction primarily for young readers, most notably the novels set in the magical city of Zombay, Goblin Secrets (2012) and Ghoulish Song (2013); Goblin Secrets, about an orphaned boy who runs away to find his lost brother, won the 2012 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. He has also written the middle-grade Properly Unhaunted Place duology and the Ambassador series, and the adult novel Sunward (2025). He has cited Ursula K. Le Guin as a formative influence.