Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Tehran. As a child Clare traveled frequently, spending time in Switzerland, England, and France. Clare returned to Los Angeles for high school, and from then on split her time between California and New York, where she worked at various entertainment magazines and tabloids including The Hollywood Reporter.

In 2004, Clare started working on her first-published novel City of Bones, inspired by the urban landscape of Manhattan. City of Bones was released by Simon & Schuster in 2007.

City of Bones, a contemporary fantasy story revolving around characters Clary Fray, Jace Wayland, and Simon Lewis became a New York Times bestseller upon its release. City of Ashes and City of Glass completed the trilogy. In 2009, a fourth installment, City of Fallen Angels was announced.

Clare has stated that City of Fallen Angels is actually the start of a second Mortal Instruments cycle, which will include two other books named 'City of Lost Souls' and 'City of Heavenly Fire'. She said this new cycle is going to be focusing on the same characters as in the first 'cycle', as well as a few new characters we will meet in the new books.

In 2009 Clare also announced a new series of prequels called The Infernal Devices set in the same universe as The Mortal Instruments, but in the Victorian era. This series is planned to consist of three books: The Clockwork Angel, scheduled to be published August 31, 2010, with The Clockwork Prince, expected to be published September 2011, and The Clockwork Princess, slated for release in September 2012.

The Mortal Instruments series has been optioned for film by Unique Features and Constantin Films. First-time writer Jessica Postigo has been hired to write the screenplay, based on the first three novels of the series.

City of Bones

• 2010 Georgia Peach Book Awards for Teen Readers
• Finalist for the Locus Award for Best First Novel of 2007
• An American Library Association Teens Top Ten Award winner, 2008
• 2010 Georgia Peach Book Awards for Teen Readers
• Winner of The 2010 Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award
• Winner of the 2010 Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader’s Choice Award
• A Texas TAYSHAS title 2010
• Shortlisted for the 2010 Evergreen Young Adult Book Award
• Shortlisted for The 2010 Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
• Shortlisted for The North Carolina School Library Media Association Young Adult Book Award
• Grand Canyon Reader Award Nominee (Teen) 2010
• Iowa High School Book Award Nominee 2009-2010
• North Carolina YA Book Award Nominee 2009-2010
• New Hampshire Flume Teen Reader’s Choice Award Nominee, 2010
• Nevada Young Readers’ Award Nominee 2010
• Ohio Buckeye Teen Book Award Nominee, 2009
• Oregon Young Adult Network Book Rave Reading List Title 2008
• South Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee 2009-2010
• Shortlisted for the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards

City of Ashes

• A 2009 ALA Teens Top Ten Title

The Mortal Instruments Series

• City of Bones (2007)
• City of Ashes (2008)
• City of Glass (2009)
• "City of Fallen Angels" (April 5, 2011)
• "City of Lost Souls" (scheduled May, 2012)
• "City of Heavenly Fire" (scheduled September, 2013)

The Infernal Devices Trilogy

• The Clockwork Angel (August 31, 2010)
• The Clockwork Prince (scheduled for September, 2011)
• The Clockwork Princess (scheduled for September, 2012)

Short fiction

• "The Girl’s Guide to Defeating the Dark Lord", Turn the Other Chick, ed. Esther Friesner, Baen Books (2005)
• "Charming", So Fey, ed. Steve Berman, Haworth Press (2007)
• "Graffiti", Magic in the Mirrorstone, ed. Steve Berman, Mirrorstone Books (2008)
• "The Mirror House", Vacations from Hell, HarperCollins Publishers (2009)
• "Other Boys", The Eternal Kiss, ed. Trisha Telep, Running Press Book Publishers (2009)
• “The Mirror House”, "Vacations from Hell", ed. Farrin Jacobs, Harper Collins, 2009.
• “I Never”, "Geektastic", ed. Holly Black and Cecil Castelucci, Little, Brown. 2009
• “Cold Hands”, "ZVU: Zombies Versus Unicorns", ed. Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier, Simon and Schuster, 2010