Sarah J. Maas ignited the literary world when she was announced as the latest guest on Alex Cooper’s popular “Call Her Daddy” podcast, sparking frantic speculation that she is about to announce a release date for the sixth book in her wildly popular “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, also known as “ACOTAR.”
Maas, 39, was born in New York City and has launched three major romantic fantasy—or “romantasy”—franchises, beginning with the “Throne of Glass” trilogy, which she began writing when she was barely 16. However, the first book was not officially released until August 2012.
She went on to publish eight volumes on the “Throne of Glass” world while also working on “ACOTAR,” which debuted in 2015, and her third series, “Crescent City,” which debuted in 2020.
The author’s books were an instant success; however, the rise of TikTok’s “BookTok” trend in the early 2020s transformed them into cult obsessions, with Publishers Weekly reporting in June 2022 that Maas’ titles saw an 86% increase in sales between February 2021 and February 2022, helping to propel her publisher, Bloomsbury, to a record year.
According to her website, the #acotar hashtag has generated billions of TikTok views, and her novels have sold more than 70 million English-language copies globally.
And Maas’ success appears ready to continue with her participation on “Call Her Daddy,” which airs March 4 at 8 p.m. ET, reigniting interest in her books, particularly those in the “ACOTAR” series, which tells the narrative of a young woman named Feyre.
Maas, who began her literary career by self-publishing her work online, began writing her first “ACOTAR” novel in 2009. However, it would take six more years before it was formally published.
Maas’ life has altered dramatically in the years since she rose to literary prominence: she relocated from New York City, where she was reared, to Pennsylvania with her husband, Josh Wasserman, whom she met in college. The couple had a son, Taran, in June 2018 and a daughter, Sloane, in 2022.During a 2024 interview with Jenna Bush Hager on the “Today” show, Maas expressed gratitude for her companion, whom she has known since childhood.I’ve been with him for more than half my life now. He was my first boyfriend, or anything. This sounds clichéd, but I believe I can write about true love because I get to live it every day, with someone who supports me, cheers for me, and is just cheering for me, and is not scared by my success.”
Three years after the first “ACOTAR” book was published, the family moved into a large Tudor-style estate in Haverford, Pennsylvania, paying $3.3 million for the seven-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom home in 2018, according to property records.
The listing characterized the home, which sits on 0.9 acres, as being set on “one of the most coveted” lanes in its community and having “8,000 square feet of carefully designed perfection.”
Among its more lavish facilities are a “stunning chef’s kitchen,” a circular stone stairway leading to a “custom built wine cellar,” and a breathtaking pool area in the backyard.
During their tenure in the house, the couple had their second child, Sloane, and Maas released four books: two in the “ACOTAR” series, “Kingdom of Ash,” the finale of “Throne of Glass,” and “House of Earth and Blood,” her debut “Crescent City” novel.
It was also around this time that Maas’ fame skyrocketed, with the author admitting in February 2020 that she’d been forced to cover the foyer of her home with hundreds of boxes containing autographed books requested during an online event.
“Behold: the state of chaos that my house has become!” she commented, showing photographs of her home on Instagram. “Thank you so, so much to everyone who ordered a copy—I can’t wait for you guys to read this book!!!”
While the author has tried to keep her private life out of the spotlight, she and her husband, who goes by Papa Maas online, have offered several insights inside their household, including adorable photos of Wasserman trick-or-treating with his son in the neighborhood.
However, in 2021, the couple quietly sold the home, which had originally been listed for $3.75 million in August 2020, with Maas later revealing that the family had relocated to Los Angeles, sparking furious speculation that she had moved to the West Coast to work on the TV adaptation of her “ACOTAR” series.
In May 2021, she announced on Instagram that she was collaborating with showrunner Ronald D. Moore on a pilot script for the program, which was picked up by Hulu. She joked that her husband had mistakenly leaked the news.So it’s official (and thank you, Josh, for accidently leaking the secret!). Ron Moore (creator of Outlander and one of my creative idols) and I will co-adapt ‘ACOTAR’ as a TV show for Hulu!
“I’m now working on the pilot with Ron (!!!!!), and while there’s SO much more news to share with you about bringing this series to reality, it feels so good to finally be able to talk about it! Stay tuned for additional information!!”
Maas spent two years in Los Angeles with her family before stating in a June 2023 Instagram post that they were returning to New York City, where they had lived for the previous three years.
The author has yet to announce if they intend to stay in the Big Apple. However, in 2025, she implied that part of the sixth book in the “ACOTAR” series was written in a more secluded location in the mountains, releasing a tongue-in-cheek video of herself closing her laptop and popping Champagne in front of a very rural backdrop.
