She met her spouse, Dean Hale, freshman year at West High School he was also involved in theater. with an improvisational theater group whose productions highlighted a range of teen issues. Hale also took part in drama competitions and traveled throughout Utah and the U.S. She participated in both school and community theater productions, including The Secret Garden. She took a creative writing class and worked as an editor of fiction for her high school's literary magazine. She then attended West High School, where she cultivated passions for English and drama. In junior high, she participated on the school literary magazine. Her elementary school teachers encouraged her creative endeavors, and, in the fourth grade, Hale announced that she wanted to be a writer as an adult. She also began to write fantasy books at age 10, often featuring herself as the protagonist.

She enjoyed writing, reading, and acting as a young girl she often created plays that she would act out with friends. She is the middle child of five children she has two older sisters, one younger sister, and one younger brother. Hale was born on January 26, 1974, in Salt Lake City to Wallace and Bonnie Bryner. She has also co-written with her husband, Dean. She is a graduate of the University of Utah and the University of Montana. Her first novel for adults, Austenland, was adapted into a film in 2013. Shannon Hale (née Shannon Bryner born January 26, 1974) is an American author primarily of young adult fantasy, including the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy and The Goose Girl.

The princess in black by shannon hale