15 authors who published best-selling books when they were teenagers

Matthew WilsonJul 10, 2020, 02:24 IST

Matt Dillon and S.E. Hinton.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

These best-selling authors were published when they were still teenagers.
S.E. Hinton published her seminal novel, "The Outsiders," when she was 18.
Kody Keplinger worked on her debut novel, "The Duff," when she was still in high school.

Sometimes success comes early in life, and that's true in the literary world, too.

These authors were published while they were still in, or had barely left, high school — and many people went on to read their works or see the film adaptations.

Here are 15 authors who published best-selling books when they were teenagers

Kody Keplinger wrote the best-selling novel "The Duff" when she was still in high school.

Kody Keplinger. David Livingston/Getty Images

S.E. Hinton was also in high school when she wrote the seminal novel "The Outsiders."

Matt Dillon and S.E. Hinton. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Helen Oyeyemi was only 18 when she wrote "The Icarus Girl."

Helen Oyeyemi. Colin McPherson/Corbis via Getty Images

Christopher Paolini self-published his fantasy novel "Eragon" at 19.

Christopher Paolini William Campbell/Corbis via Getty Images

Stefan Bachmann's book about fairies called "The Peculiar" was published when he was 19.

Stefan Bachmann. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Image

Susan Hill's "The Enclosure" was also published when the author was 19.

Susan Hill. Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Alexandra Adornetto published an entire fantasy series and started another before she was 20.

Alexandra Adornetto. Fairfax Media via Getty Images

John Steptoe worked on his first picture book, "Stevie," at 16 and had it published three years later.

John Steptoe. Bob Peterson/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images

Flavia Bujor was just 14 years old when her book "The Prophecy of the Stones" was published.

Flavia Bujor. FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images

When he was 19, Ned Vizzini published his memoir, "Teen Angst? Naaah."

Ned Vizzini. Linda Rosier/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images

The Netflix film "The Kissing Booth" was based on a novel by Beth Reekles, which debuted when she was 17.

A scene from the Netflix adaptation. Netflix

Isabel Kaplan signed her first book deal at 16 for "Hancock Park," which was published when she was 19.

Isabel Kaplan. Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Samantha Shannon secured a seven-book publishing deal when she was 17.

Samantha Shannon. Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images

Prolific author Gordon Korman released multiple books before he was 20.

Gordon Korman. Brian Pickell/Toronto Star via Getty Images

Lucy Saxon's novel "Take Back the Skies" was published when she was 19.

Lucy Saxon. Will Ireland/SFX Magazine/Future via Getty Images

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