Cecily von Ziegesar

Cecily von Ziegesar is an American author best known for the Gossip Girl young-adult novel series, set among wealthy teenagers on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

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Gossip Girl: A young-adult novel series by Cecily von Ziegesar about privilege, rivalry, and romance among Manhattan teenagers. This is von Ziegesar’s signature series and the work most closely associated with her name.
Manhattan: The most densely populated borough of New York City, located between the Hudson and East rivers. Gossip Girl’s elite social world is situated in this borough.
Alloy Entertainment: An American entertainment company that develops books and other properties for young audiences. The company developed the Gossip Girl book property with von Ziegesar.
The O.C.: An American television drama about teenagers and families in affluent Orange County, California. It offers a television counterpart to Gossip Girl’s portrayal of wealthy adolescents in another coastal setting.
Gossip Girl (TV series): An American television drama adapted from Cecily von Ziegesar’s novels and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. The adaptation brought her fictional Upper East Side to television audiences.
Social class: A system of social ranking shaped by wealth, occupation, education, and status. Differences in wealth and status drive many of the novels’ conflicts.
Josh Schwartz: An American television producer and screenwriter who co-created the Gossip Girl television adaptation. He helped translate von Ziegesar’s novels into a television drama.
Pretty Little Liars: A young-adult mystery novel series by Sara Shepard about four girls targeted by an anonymous tormentor. Both series use anonymous messages, but Pretty Little Liars centers on secrets and danger rather than Manhattan status.
The It Girl: A young-adult novel series by Cecily von Ziegesar centered on Jenny Humphrey at an elite boarding school. This spin-off carries a Gossip Girl character into a separate series.
Jenny Humphrey: A fictional teenager in the Gossip Girl novels who seeks acceptance among Manhattan’s wealthy students. Her ambitions lead into the spin-off series The It Girl.