Charles de Lint

Charles de Lint
Born	December 22, 1951 (1951-12-22) Bussum, Netherlands
Pen name	Samuel M. Key
Occupation	Author
Nationality	Canadian
Genres	Fantasy and horror
www.charlesdelint.com

Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian fantasy author and folk musician. He is also the chief book critic for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Along with writers like Terri Windling and John Crowley, de Lint popularized the genres of urban fantasy and mythic fiction which fall somewhere between classical fantasy literature, and mainstream fiction with a magical realist twist. His distinctive style of fantasy draws upon local and European folklore. His works have been nominated for the Nebula award once and for the World Fantasy award 17 times, winning in 2000 for his short story collection, Moonlight and Vines (Tor 1999).

Biography

Early Life

Charles de Lint was born in 1951 in Bussum, the Netherlands, and 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 eleven. In his late twenties to early thirties, he worked in a record store and played with a Celtic band on the weekends. He now lives in Ottawa with his wife, artist and musician MaryAnn Harris, who is first editor of de Lint's fiction and also his business manager.

Career

Charles de Lint started writing in 1983 and has been a full-time writer ever since, publishing around forty books between 1984 and 1997. He published three horror novels under the pseudonym Samuel M. Key which have subsequently been reprinted by Orb Books as by Charles de Lint.

His 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 called a metaphor for the lack of indigenous folklore in most of multi-cultural Canada living side by side with the living oral traditions of the Native Americans. 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.

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

He 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). His novel Widdershins (Tor, 2006) won First place, Amazon.com Editors' Picks: Top 10 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2006. In 1988 he won Canadian SF/Fantasy Award, the Casper, now known as the Aurora for his novel Jack, the Giant-killer (Ace 1987).

De Lint has also published a children's book, A Circle of Cats, illustrated by artist Charles Vess.

In addition to being the author of numerous novels and short stories, de Lint is also a poet, musician, artist, folklorist, and critic. He 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. His poetry can be found online in the Endicott Studio Journal of Mythic Arts. His short stories tend to be characterized by marginalized protagonists. 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 all in one.

De Lint has published 71 books (excluding foreign editions and reprints), thus gaining a reputation as a master in his field. He has taught creative writing workshops in Canada and the United States, and was writer‑in‑residence for 2 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

A fan message board was created and named in his honor: de Lintiad, Charles de Lint, MoonHeart.

Among dozens of public appearances, on October 9, 2007, de Lint was one of the guests who appeared as part of the Bolen Books Fall Series (with Jack Whyte (Oct. 13), Will Ferguson (Oct. 16) and James Barber (Oct. 20). Bolen Books was awarded the 2007 Libris Award for Bookseller of the Year. Co-ordinator Robert Wiersema said this of him: “He’s a classic storyteller with a tremendously broad appeal. Readers who don’t know him would, I think, be surprised at how much they would like his work.”

Bibliography

Novels

• The Riddle of the Wren (1984)
• Moonheart (1984)
• The Harp of the Grey Rose (1985)
• Mulengro: A Romany Tale (1985)
• Yarrow (1986)
• Jack, the Giant Killer (1987) (re-published in Jack of Kinrowan)
• Greenmantle (1988)
• Wolf Moon (1988)
• Svaha (1989)
• The Valley of Thunder (Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon, Vol. 3, Dungeon series) (1989)
• The Hidden City (Philip José Farmer's The Dungeon, Vol. 5) (1990)
• The Fair in Emain Macha (1990)
• Drink Down the Moon (1990) (re-published in Jack of Kinrowan)
• Angel of Darkness (First published under the pseudonym Samuel M. Key) (1990)
• The Little Country (1991) — 1992 World Fantasy award nominee
• From a Whisper to a Scream (First published under the pseudonym Samuel M. Key) (1992)
• Into The Green (1993)
• I'll Be Watching You (First published under the pseudonym Samuel M. Key) (1994)
• The Wild Wood (Brian Froud's Faerielands, Illustrated by Brian Froud) (1994)
• Memory and Dream (1994)
• Trader (1997) — 1998 World Fantasy award nominee
• Someplace to Be Flying (1998) — 1999 World Fantasy award nominee
• Forests of the Heart (2000) — 2000 Nebula award nominee
• The Road to Lisdoonvarna (2001)
• The Onion Girl (2001) — 2002 World Fantasy award nominee
• Spirits in the Wires (2003)
• Medicine Road (Illustrated by Charles Vess) (2004)
• Widdershins (2006)
• The Mystery of Grace (2009)
• "Eyes Like Leaves" (2009)

Young adult novels

• The Dreaming Place (Illustrated by Brian Froud) (1990)
• The Blue Girl (2004)
• Little (Grrl) Lost (2007)
• Dingo (2008)
• The Painted Boy (2010)

Novellas

• Berlin (1989)
• Our Lady of the Harbour (1991) — 1992 World Fantasy award nominee
• Paperjack (1992) — 1993 World Fantasy award nominee
• Death Leaves an Echo (Part of three novella collection, Cafe Purgatoriam) (1991)
• Seven Wild Sisters (Illustrated by Charles Vess) (2002) — 2003 World Fantasy award nominee
• A Circle of Cats (Illustrated by Charles Vess) (2003) — 2004 World Fantasy award nominee
• Promises to Keep (2007)

Chapbooks

• Ghosts of Wind and Shadow (1991)
• Refinerytown (2003)
• This Moment (2005)
• Make A Joyful Noise (2006)
• Old Man Crow (2007)
• Riding Shotgun (2007)
• Yellow Dog (2008)

Short stories published in book form

• Ascian in Rose (1987) (re-published in Spiritwalk)
• Westlin Wind (1989) (re-published in Spiritwalk)
• Ghostwood (1990) (re-published in Spiritwalk)
• Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair (1991) (re-published in Dreams Underfoot)
• Our Lady of the Harbour (1991) (re-published in Dreams Underfoot)
• Paperjack (1991) (re-published in Dreams Underfoot)
• Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood (1992) (re-published in Spiritwalk)
• The Wishing Well (1993) (re-published in The Ivory and the Horn)
• The Buffalo Man (1999) (re-published in Tapping the Dream Tree)

Picture books

• A Circle of Cats (2003)

Collections

• De Grijze Roos ("The Grey Rose") (1983)
• Hedgework and Guessery (1991)
• Spiritwalk (1992)
• Dreams Underfoot (1993)
• The Ivory and the Horn (1995)
• Jack of Kinrowan (1995)
• Moonlight and Vines (1999)
• The Newford Stories (1999) (Contains the stories from Dreams Underfoot, The Ivory and the Horn, and Moonlight and Vines)
• Triskell Tales (2000)
• Waifs and Strays (2002)
• Tapping the Dream Tree (2002)
• A Handful of Coppers (Collected Early Stories, Vol.1: Heroic Fantasy) (2003)
• Quicksilver & Shadow (Collected Early Stories, Vol.2) (2004)
• The Hour Before Dawn (2005)
• Triskell Tales 2 (2006)
• What the Mouse Found (2008)
• Woods and Waters Wild (2009)
• Muse and Reverie (2009)
• The Very Best of Charles de Lint (2010, Tachyon Publications)

The Newford Series

• The Dreaming Place (1990)
• From a Whisper to a Scream (originally credited to "Samuel M. Key")(1992)
• Dreams Underfoot (1993)
• I'll Be Watching You (originally credited to "Samuel M. Key")(1994)
• Memory and Dream (1994)
• The Ivory and the Horn (1995)
• Trader (1997)
• Someplace to be Flying (1998)
• Moonlight and Vines (1999)
• The Newford Stories (1999) (Compiles Dreams Underfoot, The Ivory and the Horn, and Moonlight and vines)
• Forests of the Heart (2000)
• The Onion Girl (2001)
• Seven Wild Sisters (2002)
• Tapping the Dream Tree (2002)
• Spirits in the Wires (2003)
• Medicine Road (2003)
• A Circle of Cats (2003) (Written as a children's book)
• The Blue Girl (2004)
• The Hour Before Dawn (2005)
• Widdershins (2006)
• Promises to Keep (2007)
• Old Man Crow (2007)
• Dingo (2008)
• Muse and Reverie (2009)

Publication dates taken from Charles de Lint

Short stories

• "The Valley of the Troll" in Sword and Sorceress I (1984)
• "Cold Blows The Wind" in Sword and Sorceress II (1985)
• "The Weeping Oak" in Sword and Sorceress IV (1987)
• "Into the Green" in Sword and Sorceress V (1988)
• "One Chance" in Werewolves (edited by Jane Yolen and Martin H. Greenberg). Reprinted in Bruce Coville's Book of Spine Tinglers (1988)
• "The Butter Spirit's Tithe (2004) in Emerald Magic

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. 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.

Reviews

• De Lint writes a regular review column called "Books to Look For" for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

See also

• Contemporary fantasy

External links

• Charles de Lint
• Charles de Lint at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database