Rae Carson is an American fantasy writer. Her debut novel, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, was published in 2011. It was a finalist for the William C. Morris YA Award and the Andre Norton Award, and it was the winner of the Ohioana Book Award for Young Adult Literature. It was also selected as a 2012 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults by the Young Adult Library Services Association. The series was a New York Times bestseller. Her books have been translated into languages around the world. Beginning in 2017, she has written several tie-in stories for the Star Wars universe, including the official novelization of The Rise of Skywalker.

Rae was born in Oakland, California, and developed an enthusiasm for storytelling in her earliest childhood. She studied social sciences and worked in various industries after graduating from university before she realized her dream and became a writer. In her own words, she "write[s] books about teens who must do brave things. [Her] books tend to contain lots of adventure, a little magic and romance, and smart girls who make (mostly) smart choices. [She] especially love[s] to write about questions [she doesn't] know the answers to."