Charles de Lint

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Charles de Lint
Born (1951-12-22) December 22, 1951 (age 73)
Bussum, Netherlands
Pen name Samuel M. Key
OccupationAuthor
Nationality Canadian
Period1983–present
Genre Fantasy, horror, mythic fiction, magical realism, urban fantasy
SpouseMaryAnn Harris (m. 1980; d. 2024)
Website
charlesdelint.com

Charles de Lint [1] [2] [3] (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer.

Contents

Primarily a writer of fantasy fiction, he has composed works of urban fantasy, contemporary magical realism, and mythic fiction. [4] Along with authors like Terri Windling, Emma Bull, and John Crowley, de Lint during the 1980s pioneered and popularized the subgenre of urban fantasy. He writes novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, and lyrics. His most famous works include: [5] the Newford series of books (Dreams Underfoot, Widdershins, The Blue Girl, The Onion Girl, Moonlight and Vines, Someplace to be Flying, etc.), as well as Moonheart, The Mystery of Grace, The Painted Boy and A Circle of Cats (children's book illustrated by Charles Vess). His distinctive style of fantasy uses American folklore and European folklore; de Lint was influenced by many authors of mythology, folklore, and science fiction, including [1] J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord Dunsany, William Morris, Mervyn Peake, James Branch Cabell, and E. R. Eddison. Some of his mythic fiction poetry can be found online on the Endicott Studio website. [6]

As an essayist/critic/folklorist he writes book reviews for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction , has judged several literary awards, and has been a writer-in-residence for two public libraries.

Personal life

Charles de Lint was born in 1951 in Bussum, in North Holland in the Netherlands. His family emigrated to Canada when he was four months old. He grew up in Canada, as well as overseas, but has lived in Ottawa since he was age eleven.

In 1974 he met MaryAnn Harris, [7] [8] and they married in 1980. They lived in Ottawa. Harris was first editor of de Lint's fiction and also his business manager. [9]

MaryAnn Harris was hospitalized on September 6, 2021 for Powassan virus, a rare and debilitating tick-borne disease. [10] On his author Facebook page, de Lint announced that MaryAnn passed away as a result of the disease on June 3, 2024. [11] Her obituary noted that she had been de Lint's inspiration, co-musician, first editor, business manager, and artist for many of his published works. The Bruyère Foundation was suggested for memorial donations made in her name as well as to other causes that were important to her, including groups devoted to aiding youth, Indigenous peoples, animal shelters, and the environment. [12]

Career

During his late twenties to early thirties, de Lint worked in a record store and played with a Celtic musical band during weekends. [13]

Writing

Charles de Lint started writing in 1983 and has been a full-time writer ever since, publishing about forty books between 1984 and 1997, and 71 books (excluding foreign editions and reprints), in total, thus gaining a reputation as a master of fantasy.

Charles de Lint was one of the contributors to the 1984 Citybook II: Port O' Call role-playing game supplement from Flying Buffalo. [14] [15]

He published three horror novels using the pseudonym Samuel M. Key [13] which have subsequently been reprinted by Orb Books as by Charles de Lint. He has also published a children's book, A Circle of Cats, illustrated by artist Charles Vess. [16]

Style and settings

His main genre, that of contemporary fantasy, which combines the real world with the "otherworld", allows the co-existence of the natural and the supernatural. This has been termed a metaphor for the lack of indigenous folklore in most of Canada living side-by-side with the living oral traditions of the Native Americans. [17] De Lint, however, draws upon not only North American Aboriginal culture, but also the folklore of other cultures. For example, his novel, Moonheart, uses elements of both Native American and Welsh folklore. [17]

Many of his early books are set in Ottawa, while others (1990–2009) have been set mainly in his fictional North American city of Newford, [13] inspired by de Lint's favourite aspects of various North American cities. A regular set of characters are used in many different books. More recently, de Lint published an adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (Tor 2009), set in his fictional Southwestern US town, Santa de Vado Viejo, as was his most recent young adult novel, The Painted Boy (Viking 2010).

Recognition

De Lint has received many awards, including the 2000 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection for Moonlight and Vines, the Ontario Library Association's White Pine Award, as well as the Great Lakes Great Books Award for his young adult novel The Blue Girl (Viking, 2004). In 1988 he won the Canadian SF/Fantasy Award, the Casper (now known as the Aurora) for his novel Jack, the Giant-killer (Ace 1987). His novel Widdershins (Tor, 2006) won first place, Amazon.com Editors' Picks: Top 10 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2006. [18] His 1984 urban fantasy novel, Moonheart, was a best-selling trade paperback for Tor's Orb line. It has been described as a thriller, detective mystery, and otherworld mythic fantasy. [17]

Other literary work

In addition to being the author of numerous novels and short stories, de Lint is also a poet, folklorist, and critic. His poetry can be found online in the Endicott Studio Journal of Mythic Arts. He has taught creative writing workshops in Canada and the United States, and was writer‑in‑residence for two public libraries in Ottawa. He has also written original songs; his main instruments are flute, fiddle, whistles, vocals and guitar. In 2011, de Lint released his first CD, Old Blue Truck [18] De Lint has also been a judge for the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award and the Bram Stoker Award.

Music and art

De Lint plays folk, Irish and Celtic music with his wife MaryAnn; at one time playing at a local pub, and most recently doing concerts at FaerieWorlds and FaerieCon West in Seattle. He plays multiple instruments and sings and writes his own songs. In 2011 de Lint released his first album, Old Blue Truck, [19] which was released alongside his wife MaryAnn Harris's album, Crow Girls [20] in which he also contributes.

Awards

WorkYear & AwardCategoryResultRef.
The Fane of the Grey Rose1980 Balrog Awards Short FictionNominated [21]
Dragonfields1981 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional Nominated
1981 Balrog AwardsAmatur AchievementNominated [22]
A Patten of Silver Strings1983 Balrog AwardsShort FictionNominated [23]
The Riddle of the Wren 1985 Locus Award First NovelNominated [24]
Moonheart 1985 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
1985 Mythopoeic Awards FantasyNominated
1985 Crawford Award Won
Mulengro1986 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
1986 Aurora Awards NovelNominated
Yarrow 1987 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
1987 Aurora AwardsNovelNominated
Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair1988 Locus AwardNoveletteNominated
Jack, the Giant Killer1988 Aurora AwardsNovelWon
Greenmantle1989 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
The Drowned Man's Reef'1989 Readercon AwardsShort WorkWon [25]
Ghostwood1991 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
Drink Down the Moon1991 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
The Fair in Emain Matcha1991 Aurora AwardsShort FictionNominated
Freewheeling1991 Aurora AwardsShort FictionNominated
Death Leaves an Echo1991 Bram Stoker Award Long FictionNominated
The Little Country1991 HOMer AwardFantasy NovelWon [26]
1992 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
1992 Aurora AwardsNovelNominated
1992 World Fantasy AwardNovelNominated
1994 Mythopoeic AwardsFantasyNominated
1994 Premio Ignotus Foreign NovelNominated
Our Lady of the Harbour1992 Locus AwardNovellaNominated
1992 World Fantasy AwardNovellaNominated
Raven Sings a Medicine Way, Coyote Steals the Pollen1992 Aurora AwardsShort FictionNominated
The Conjure Man1992 World Fantasy Award Short FictionNominated
Pity the Monsters1992 World Fantasy Award Short FictionNominated
Bridges1993 World Fantasy Award Short FictionNominated
Spiritwalk1993 World Fantasy Award CollectionNominated
Paperjack1993 World Fantasy AwardNovellaNominated
The Bone Woman1994 Locus AwardShort StoryNominated
Dreams Underfoot1994 Locus AwardCollectionNominated
1994 World Fantasy AwardCollectionNominated
The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep1994 World Fantasy AwardShort FictionNominated
Memory & Dream1995 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
The Ivory and the Horn1996 Locus AwardCollectionNominated
1996 World Fantasy AwardCollectionNominated
Timeskip1997 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire Foreign Short story/Collection of Foreign Short StoriesNominated [27]
Trader1998 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
1998 World Fantasy AwardNovelNominated
1998 Mythopoeic AwardsAdult LiteratureNominated
1998 Aurora AwardsNovelNominated
Someplace to be Flying1999 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
1999 British Fantasy Award August Derleth AwardNominated [28]
1999 Aurora AwardsNovelNominated
1999 World Fantasy AwardNovelNominated
1999 Mythopoeic AwardsAdult LiteratureNominated
China Doll1999 British Fantasy AwardShort FictionNominated
Moonlight and Vines2000 World Fantasy AwardCollectionWon
2000 Locus AwardCollectionNominated
2000 British Fantasy AwardCollectionNominated
Triskell Tales2001 Locus AwardCollectionNominated
Forests of the Heart2001 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
2001 Nebula Award NovelNominated
2001 Mythopoeic AwardsAdult LiteratureNominated
The Onion Girl 2002 Locus AwardFantasy NovelNominated
2002 World Fantasy AwardNovelNominated
2017 Aurora AwardsBest of the DecadeNominated
Books to Look For2002 Aurora AwardsRelated WorkNominated
Waifs and Strays2003 Locus AwardCollectionNominated
2003 World Fantasy AwardCollectionNominated
Seven Wild Sisters2003 Locus AwardNovellaNominated
2003 World Fantasy AwardNovellaNominated
Circle of Cats2004 World Fantasy AwardShort FictionNominated
The Blue Girl2005 Locus AwardYoung Adult BookNominated
2006 White Pine Award FictionWon
Dingo2009 Sunburst Award Young AdultNominated
The Mystery of Grace2010 Sunburst AwardAdult BookNominated
The Painted Boy2011 Sunburst AwardYoung AdultNominated
Under My Skin2013 Aurora AwardsYA NovelWon
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest2014 Sunburst AwardYoung AdultWon
Out of This World2015 Aurora AwardsYA NovelWon
Newford series2018 World Fantasy Award Lifetime AchievementWon

Bibliography

Novels

Young adult novels

Some additional young adult novels are listed under their series name below.

Novellas

Chapbooks

Short stories published in book form

Collections

Newford series

Newford is a fictional North American city where Charles de Lint has set many of his novels and short stories. Human beings share the city with European and Native American mythological legends, finding common ground as they live out their daily lives or find themselves swept up in adventures. [33]

Newford Series Collections

Short stories

De Lint also scripted several comic books for Barry Blair's Aircel Publishing in the mid-1980s.

His short story, "The Sacred Fire", was made into a short film by Peter Billingsley and Robert Meyer Burnett in 1994. [34] Originally set on and near the campus of Butler University, the setting was changed to Beverly Hills for the film. It was also adapted as an episode of The Hunger in January 2000.

Anthology

Review columns

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint: About Me". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  2. ↑ Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint: Biography". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  3. ↑ Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint: Music". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Mythic Reading Lists". Mythic Reading Lists. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  5. ↑ Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint Bibliography: Novels". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  6. ↑ "JoMA Archives: Poetry". JoMA Archives: Poetry. Archived from the original on May 13, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  7. ↑ "MaryAnn Harris". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  8. ↑ "The Meeting". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  9. ↑ "MaryAnn Harris". www.reclectica.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  10. ↑ Crawford, Blair (March 18, 2023). "A tick bite, the Powassan virus, and MaryAnn's struggle". Ottawa Citizen. PostMedia. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  11. ↑ "MaryAnn Harris (1953-2024)". Locus Online. June 4, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  12. ↑ "MaryAnn Harris". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 John Robert Colombo "de Lint, Charles" The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. Eugene Benson and William Toye. Oxford University Press 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. York University. October 25, 2011 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t201.e374 Archived August 19, 2021, at the Wayback Machine >
  14. ↑ Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. p. 38. ISBN   978-1-907702-58-7.
  15. ↑ Schick, Lawrence (1991). Heroic Worlds: A History and Guide to Role-Playing Games. Prometheus Books. p. 162. ISBN   0-87975-653-5.
  16. ↑ Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint: A Circle of Cats (2003) Description". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  17. 1 2 3 Steven, Lawrence. "Welwyn Wilton Katz and Charles de Lint: New Fantasy as a Canadian Post-colonial Genre." Worlds of Wonder: Readings in Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. Ed. Jean-François Leroux and Camille R. La Bossière. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2004. 57–72. Print.
  18. 1 2 Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  19. 1 2 Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint: Music - Old Blue Truck". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  20. 1 2 Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint: Music - Crow Girls EP by MaryAnn Harris". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  21. ↑ "1980 Balrog Award".
  22. ↑ "1981 Balrog Award".
  23. ↑ "1983 Balrog Award".
  24. ↑ "Sfadb : Locus Awards".
  25. ↑ "Sfadb: Readercon Awards 1989".
  26. ↑ "Sfadb: HOMer Awards 1992".
  27. ↑ "1997 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire".
  28. ↑ https://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_bfs-derleth_index.asp?emulate=&navi=&Page=1&PageLength=100
  29. 1 2 Re-published in Jack of Kinrowan
  30. ↑ Re-published in Spiritwalk
  31. ↑ First published under the pseudonym Samuel M. Key
  32. ↑ 1992 World Fantasy Award nominee
  33. ↑ "Macmillan series: Newford". Macmillan Publishers . Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  34. ↑ "The Sacred Fire (1994)". IMDb . Archived from the original on February 8, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  35. ↑ Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Fantasy and Science Fiction Departments: Books To Look For - Charles de Lint". www.sfsite.com. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  36. ↑ Webmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint: Music - The Loon's Lament—Digital Single". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
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