Diana Wynne Jones
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Diana Wynne Jones (born London August 16, 1934) is a British writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction. One of her most well-known series is her Chrestomanci series, which concerns a few nine-lived enchanters in a series of connected worlds who are responsible for preventing the misuse of magic.
Biography
Jones was raised in the village of Thaxted in Essex, and studied at St Anne's College, Oxford, where she went in 1953, and where she attended lectures by both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Harry Potter books are frequently compared to the works of Diana Wynne Jones. Many of her earlier children's books were out of print in recent years, and they are now being re-issued for the young audience whose interest in fantasy and reading was spurred by Harry Potter. Jones' works are also compared to those of Robin McKinley and Neil Gaiman. She is friends with Gaiman, and they are both fans of each others' work; she dedicated her novel Hexwood to him after something he said in a conversation inspired a key part of the plot.
Charmed Life, the first book in the Chrestomanci series, won the 1977 Guardian Award for Children’s Books. Jones was runner-up for the Children’s Book Award in 1981, and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. In 1999, she won two major fantasy awards: the children’s section of the Mythopeic Award in the USA, and the Karl Edward Wagner Award in the UK, which is awarded by the British Fantasy Society to individuals or organisations who have made a significant impact on fantasy.
Her book Howl's Moving Castle was turned into a Japanese animated movie in 2004, by filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. A version dubbed into English was released in the USA in 2005, with the voice of Howl performed by Christian Bale.
Her non-fiction work on writing fantastic fiction, The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, has a cult following as a reference among writers and critics, despite being difficult to find due to an erratic printing history. It was recently reissued in the UK, and will be reissued in the USA in 2006 by Firebird Books.
Jones married John Burrow, now Professor Emeritus in the English department of the University of Bristol, in 1956; they have three sons. They now live in Clifton, Bristol.
Bibliography
Fiction
''
- Charmed Life [1977: Carnegie Medal Commended; 1978: Guardian Award; Preis der Leseratten (ZDF Schülerexpress, Germany)]
- The Lives of Christopher Chant [1988: Carnegie Medal Commended]
- The Magicians of Caprona
- Witch Week
- Mixed Magics (short stories)
- Conrad's Fate
- The Pinhoe Egg (October 2006)
Derkholm series
- Dark Lord of Derkholm [1999: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award ] See also [Jones' remarks on winning the award.]
- Year of the Griffin
Dalemark Quartet
- Cart and Cwidder (1975)
- Drowned Ammet (1977)
- The Spellcoats (1979)
- Crown of Dalemark (1993)
Castle series
- Howl's Moving Castle 1986: Honor book for the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
- Castle in the Air 1992: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, nominated
Magids series
- Deep Secret (marketed to adults)
- The Merlin Conspiracy
Miscellaneous
- Archer's Goon [1984: Boston Globe - Horn Book Honor Book; World Fantasy Award for Best Novel nominee]
- Black Maria (UK Title) / Aunt Maria (US Title)
- Believing is Seeing (short stories)
- "Chair Person" in Stopping for a Spell
- Changeover
- Dogsbody [1975: Carnegie Medal Commended]
- Eight Days of Luke (1975)
- Fire and Hemlock [1986: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, nominated]
- "The Four Grannies" in Stopping for a Spell
- Hexwood
- Hidden Turnings (short stories)
- The Homeward Bounders
- Minor Arcana (short stories) [1996: British Fantasy Award, nominated]
- The Ogre Downstairs
- Power of Three [1977: Guardian Award Commended; Silberner Griffel (Netherlands)]
- Puss in Boots
- Stopping for a Spell (three novellas)
- A Sudden Wild Magic (marketed to adults) [1996: British Fantasy Award, nominated]
- A Tale of Time City
- The Time of the Ghost
- Warlock at the Wheel (short stories; two Chrestomanci, both also in Mixed Magics)
- "Who Got Rid of Angus Flint?" in Stopping for a Spell
- Wild Robert
- Wilkins' Tooth (UK Title) / Witch's Business (US Title)
- Yes, Dear
Collections
- Fantasy Stories
- Minor Arcana
- Believing is Seeing
- Unexpected Magics
- Everard's Ride
Non-Fiction or Poetry
- "A Slice of Life" in Now We Are Sick
- The Medusa article in which Jones discuss her opinions of adult literature as opposed to children's literature.
- "The Shape of the Narrative in The Lord of The Rings" in the collection Everard's Ride
- The Skiver's Guide
- Tough Guide to Fantasyland [1997: Hugo Awardfor Nonfiction, nominated] World Fantasy Award Finalist
Books About DWJ
- Diana Wynne Jones - An Exciting and Exacting Wisdom [2002] edited by Rosenberg, et al.
External links
- [Diana Wynne Jones Harper Collins Publishers website]
- [Bibliography] on SciFan
- (no connection with Wikipedia)
- [An interview with the BBC]
- [] at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
| Books by Diana Wynne Jones | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Chrestomanci series: The Lives of Christopher Chant | Conrad's Fate | Charmed Life | The Magicians of Caprona Mixed Magics | Witch Week | The Pinhoe Egg'' (Fall 2006) | ||
| Castle series: Howl's Moving Castle | Castle in the Air Derkholm series: Dark Lord of Derkholm | Year of the Griffin | ||
| Dalemark Quartet Cart and Cwidder | Drowned Ammet | The Spellcoats | Crown of Dalemark | ||
|
Other: Archer's Goon | Eight Days of Luke | Fire and Hemlock | Hexwood | The Homeward Bounders Power of Three | A Tale of Time City | The Time of the Ghost | ||
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