Prior to his acclaimed career as a novelist, Mark Lawrence distinguished himself as a research scientist, holding secret-level clearance with both US and UK governments for his contributions to sensitive projects, including the ‘Star Wars’ missile-defense program. Specializing in artificial intelligence, image processing, and decision and reasoning theory, he leveraged his academic background with a PhD in mathematics. Transitioning into literature, Lawrence published his debut novel, ‘Prince of Thorns,’ in August 2011. This work initiated ‘The Broken Empire’ trilogy, becoming a Goodreads Choice Award finalist for ‘Best Fantasy 2011,’ one of Barnes & Noble’s ‘Best Fantasy Releases of 2011,’ and a finalist for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award in 2012.
Lawrence continued the trilogy’s success with ‘King of Thorns’ (August 2012), a Goodreads Choice Award finalist and a Barnes & Noble ‘Best Fantasy Release’ in 2012. The series culminated with ‘Emperor of Thorns’ (August 2013), which achieved Sunday Times Bestseller status in 2013 and won the prestigious David Gemmell Award for Fantasy in 2014. Expanding his prolific output, Lawrence launched ‘The Red Queen’s War’ trilogy in June 2014 with ‘Prince of Fools,’ which was a David Gemmell Legend Award Finalist in 2015. His works have achieved global recognition, with approximately two million books sold worldwide and translations into 28 languages.
He also released ‘The Book of the Ice’ trilogy between April 2020 and April 2022. In 2021, Lawrence’s broader impact was recognized with a nomination and shortlisting for the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to a North Carolina committee on justice reform. Most recently, he commenced ‘The Library Trilogy’ with ‘The Book That Wouldn’t Burn’ (May 2023) and ‘The Book That Broke the World’ (April 2024), with the final installment, ‘The Book That Held Her Heart,’ anticipated in April 2025.