Jay Asher

Biography

Jay Asher was born in 1975 in Arcadia, California, and grew up in Saratoga. He worked in shoe stores, libraries, and bookstores before publishing his debut novel at 31. Thirteen Reasons Why emerged from a real emotional experience: a close relative's attempted suicide and, separately, a visit to a museum where an audio guide led him through rooms — the guided-listener concept sparked the cassette tape structure. The novel was rejected multiple times before Razorbill (Penguin) acquired it. It debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in 2011, four years after publication, when word-of-mouth finally caught.

Jay Asher at a glance