Derek Landy

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Derek Landy
Landy in Edinburgh, August 2011
Landy in Edinburgh, August 2011
BornDerek Landy
(1974-10-23) 23 October 1974 (age 49)
Lusk, County Dublin, Ireland
NationalityIrish
GenreChildren's fantasy
Notable worksSkulduggery Pleasant
Notable awardsRed House Children's Book Award
2008 Skulduggery Pleasant

Derek Landy (born 23 October 1974) is an Irish author and screenwriter, best known for the Skulduggery Pleasant series of young adult's books.

Career

Landy has written two screenplays that have been made into films, the IFTA award winning Dead Bodies and the IFTA nominated Boy Eats Girl starring Samantha Mumba. Landy himself was nominated for an IFTA for Best Script.

Frustrated with the collaborative process of filmmaking, Landy moved on to writing the Skulduggery Pleasant series, starting with Skulduggery Pleasant.[1] The novel was published by Harper Collins, who paid £1.8 million for the publishing rights.[2] There are 13 books in the series, with a 14th said to be in the works. In 2007, he signed a deal with Warner Bros. worth an estimated US$1 million for the rights to adapt his Skulduggery Pleasant series, which he will adapt himself.[3] However, his script was constantly rewritten and Landy, unhappy with the results, bought back the rights. He is currently[when?] working on a script with the producers of Clash of the Titans.

Landy is a fan of Joss Whedon's works, notably Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.[4] He is also a fan of Gilmore Girls and Doctor Who.

Landy wrote a short story based on the tenth Doctor from Doctor Who as part of a short story collection celebrating the show's 50th Anniversary. The story was published by Puffin in 2013, titled "The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage".

Novels

Skulduggery Pleasant

Main article: Skulduggery Pleasant

Demon Road

Miscellaneous

Tanith Low

Tanith Low in the Maleficent Seven

Personal life

Landy was born on 23 October 1974 in Lusk, County Dublin (Ireland).[5] He attended Drogheda Grammar School during his childhood years,He briefly studied animation at Ballyfermot College.[6]He also has a black belt in kenpo karate.[3] Prior to his contract with HarperCollins, he worked on his parents' vegetable farm.[1]

Reception

In a review of his first book, Skulduggery Pleasant, Sarah Webb of the Irish Independent wrote that it "is full of zippy dialogue and fantastically visualised".[2]

Awards

In 2008, Landy won the Red House Children's Book Award.[7] Playing with Fire, Mortal Coil and Last Stand of Dead Men each won the senior Irish Children's Book Award, in 2009, 2010 and 2013.[8] In addition in 2010 Skulduggery Pleasant (Sceptre of the Ancients) was voted as Irish book of the decade.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Dwyer, Clara (11 December 2011). "Plotting a great escape". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b Webb, Sarah (24 February 2007). "Skulduggery that's worth a cool £1.8m!". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Warner Bros. scoops high-profile kids' book series". Reuters. 24 May 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  4. ^ Rowbotham, Jill (6 March 2010). "Pointing the Bone". The Australian. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer". RTÉ.ie. 13 October 2011. Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  6. ^ Spain, John (24 February 2007). "Gardener in ?1.5m book deal hailed as new JK Rowling". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  7. ^ Pauli, Michelle (31 May 2008). "Hay festival: Derek Landy wins Red House prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  8. ^ "List of winners". Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Homepage of Sponsor". Retrieved 16 May 2015.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Derek_Landy&oldid=863981296"