Patricia McKillip biography
Patricia Anne McKillip was born on the 29th February (a leap year), 1948 in Salem, Oregon. The sea coast of Oregon instilled a great love of the sea and the cliffs and she likes nothing more than walking along the beach and admiring the views. McKillip grew up as part of a very strong family, full of love and support. Her father was an Air Force officer and Patricia found herself living with her family in Germany and England between 1958 and 1962 and this gave her an insight into the outside world and their cultures and languages, elements of which she has incorporated into her fantasy novels.
Education
Patricia McKillip received a Bachelor of Arts (English) in 1971 and a Master of Arts in 1973 from San Jose State University.
Writing
Patricia McKillip first began writing at the age of fourteen when she sat overlooking a medieval church and put together a thirty page fairy tale and discovered that she had an active imagination. In 1973, the same year in which she studied for her Master of Arts, saw the publication of her first two books, The Throme of the Erril of Sherril and The House on Parchment Street. It was in 1975, with the publication of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld that the literary world really sat up and took notice, especially when she was awarded the 1975 World Fantasy Award.
A deep love of music (McKillip is an accomplished pianist) runs through her work and there is also a decidedly culinary feel that points to her own love of cooking.
In an effort to counteract the male hero dominated fantasy genre McKillip wrote strong female characters and these, along with her great attention to detail has become her trademark.
Awards
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld won the World Fantasy Award in 1975 and Harpist in The Wind the Locus Award in 1980.
Patricia McKillip books
- The Riddle-Master of Hed
- Heir of Sea and Fire
- Harpist in the Wind
- The House on Parchment Street (1973)
- The Throme of the Erril of Sherril (1973)
- The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (1974)
- The Night Gift (1976)
- The Riddle-Master of Hed (1976)
- Heir of Sea and Fire (1977)
- Harpist in the Wind (1979)
- Riddle of Stars (1979)
- Quest of Riddlemasters (1982)
- Stepping from the Shadows (1982)
- The Quest of the Riddlemaster (1983)
- Something Rich and Strange (1984)
- Moon-Flash (1984)
- The Moon and the Face (1985)
- Fool's Run (1987)
- The Changeling Sea (1988)
- The Sorceress and the Cygnet (1991)
- The Cygnet and the Firebird (1993)
- The Book of Atrix Wolfe (1995)
- Winter Rose (1996)
- Song for the Basilisk (1998)
- Riddle-Master (1999)
- The Tower at Stony Wood (2000)
- The Riddle-Master's Game (2001)
- Ombria in Shadow (2002)
- In the Forests of Serre (2003)
- Alphabet of Thorn (2004)
- Od Magic (2005)
- Harrowing the Dragon (2005)
- Solstice Wood (2006)
Latest news: Patricia McKillip
The Bell At Sealey Head review
Karen Tableiou reviews the latest release from Patricia McKillip. World Fantasy Award-winning Patricia A. McKillip's newest novel, "The Bell at Sealey Head," is the tale of a seaside fishing town that is haunted with the ringing of an ethereal bell at sunset and the people who become wrapped up in d [...]
World Fantasy Awards 2008 nominees
The 2008 World Fantasy Awards will be held in Calgary as part of the World Fantasy Convention between the 30th October and the 2nd of November. The Lifetime Achievement Award winners have already been announced, Patricia McKillip plus Leo and Diane Dillon will be honoured with this prestigious award [...]
Fantasy Masterworks
Fantasy Masterworks is a collection of some of the greatest, most original, and most influential fantasy ever written. These are the books which, along with Tolkien, Peak and others, shaped modern fantasy. I have recently come across Fantasy Masterworks books when researching authors such as Patrici [...]
Patricia McKillip interviews
Published in 1992 in Locus Magazine, this interview is entitled Moving Forward.
Locus Magazine interview with Patricia McKillip >>
Patricia McKillip talks about moving from the city to a village, learning DIY and the art of story-telling.
Springing Surprises by Patricia McKillip >>
Patricia McKillip critical acclaim
"There are no better writers than Patricia A. McKillip" Stephen Donaldson
Book of the Month
Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill
Some doors are better left closed . . . In Barrington House, an upmarket block in London, there is an empty apartment. No one goes in, no one comes out. And it’s been that way for fifty years. Until the night watchman hears a disturbance after midnight and investigates. What he experiences is enough to change his life forever.
Latest interviews
Interviews plus question and answer sessions with authors, narrators and publishers.
Must-reads
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Graham Hancock is the author of The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis, Heaven's Mirror, Supernatural and other bestselling investigations of historical mysteries. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages and have sold over five million copies worldwide. Written with the same page-turning appeal that has made his non-fiction so popular, Entangled is his first work of fiction. We have five signed copies of Entangled to give away as prizes. Email us the answer to the following question and the lucky winner, chosen at random, will receive a copy of the book, signed by the author.
Special Feature: Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe
Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.
Special Feature: Understanding the author of Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll, the elusive author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, has been the subject of enduring fascination for the past hundred years. The destruction of many major documents about his personal life by his descendants has only magnified the mystery. Jenny Woolf's biography, published to coincide with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film, lays waste to the myths and suspicions that have obscured Carroll's reputation by placing him firmly in the context of his own time.
