The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers presents the Alumni Achievement Award to Scholastic Awards alumni who’ve forged their own paths in their careers. Since the beginning of the Awards, alumni have been leaders in their fields, from artists and writers to astronomers and filmmakers. This year, we are thrilled to honor the illustrious visual artist and writer Audrey Niffenegger. 

Her book art, prints, and paintings are included in the collections of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NWMA), the Art Institute of Chicago, the Newberry Library, and the Library of Congress, among others. She had a retrospective at the NWMA in 2013, which was documented in the catalogue Awake in the Dream World. 

In 2019, she founded Artists Book House, a non-profit center for the literary and book arts. Ms. Niffenegger was also one of the founders of the Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts. She was a Professor at Columbia College until 2015. 

She has published eight books, including the novels The Time Traveler’s Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry, as well as the graphic novels Raven Girl, The Night Bookmobile, and Bizarre Romance (with Eddie Campbell). 

The Time Traveler’s Wife was adapted into an HBO television series by Steven Moffat. A West End stage musical is also in the works. Previous adaptations and collaborations include a ballet of Raven Girl, which was created by the choreographer Wayne McGregor in 2013 for the Royal Opera House Ballet. 

Ms. Niffenegger is currently at work on The Other Husband, a sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife, and divides her time between Chicago and London. She received her Scholastic Award for a drawing in 1981.