Most people know Lev Grossman as one of today’s premiere journalists, serving as one of TIME Magazine’s lynchpin writers (he’s their lead technology writer and chief book critic.) Something you may not know about Grossman? He’s an accomplished and celebrated author. In 2009’s The Magicians, Grossman crafted a compelling and mature fantasy epic, mixing the magic of the Narnia and Harry Potter series with the real-life issues of collegiate and post collegiate coming of age. The long-awaited sequel The Magician King will be released this summer.

Grossman has been selected as a participant in this year’s International Festival of Authors, joining the likes of Douglas Coupland and Michael Ondaatje. The Festival, which takes place every fall in Toronto, “has played an important role in the cultural life of Canada by presenting the finest international novelists, poets, playwrights, short story writers and biographers, while simultaneously providing Canadian writers with an internationally recognized forum in which to present their work.” With his selection to the festival, Grossman has cemented himself as an author on the rise. With the release of The Magician King this summer, Grossman looks to take the literary world by storm, and add another chapter to his wildly successful fantasy franchise.