| Charles de Lint | |
| Pseudonym: | Samuel M. Key |
| Birth Date: | December 22, 1951 |
| Birth Place: | Bussum, Netherlands |
| Occupation: | Author |
| Nationality: | Canadian |
| Period: | 1983–present |
| Genre: | Fantasy, horror, mythic fiction, magical realism, urban fantasy |
| Spouse: | MaryAnn Harris (m. 1980; d. 2024) |
Charles de Lint[1] [2] [3] (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer.
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.
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]
During his late twenties to early thirties, de Lint worked in a record store and played with a Celtic musical band during weekends.[13]
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 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]
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).
De Lint has received many awards, including the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2018.[18] Other awards include 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).[19] 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). He also received the award for Under My Skin in 2013 and Out of This World in 2015. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest received a Sunburst Award in 2014. His novel Widdershins (Tor, 2006) won first place, Amazon.com Editors' Picks: Top 10 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2006.[20] His 1984 urban fantasy novel, Moonheart, was a best-selling trade paperback for Tor's Orb line and won a Crawford Award. It has been described as a thriller, detective mystery, and otherworld mythic fantasy.[17]
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[20] De Lint has also been a judge for the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award and the Bram Stoker Award.
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,[21] which was released alongside his wife MaryAnn Harris's album, Crow Girls [22] in which he also contributes.
| Work | Year & Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Fane of the Grey Rose | 1980 Balrog Awards | Short Fiction | [23] | |
| Dragonfields | 1981 World Fantasy Special Award—Non-professional | |||
| 1981 Balrog Awards | Amatur Achievement | [24] | ||
| A Patten of Silver Strings | 1983 Balrog Awards | Short Fiction | [25] | |
| The Riddle of the Wren | 1985 Locus Award | First Novel | [26] | |
| Moonheart | 1985 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| 1985 Mythopoeic Awards | Fantasy | |||
| 1985 Crawford Award | ||||
| Mulengro | 1986 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| 1986 Aurora Awards | Novel | |||
| Yarrow | 1987 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| 1987 Aurora Awards | Novel | |||
| Uncle Dobbin's Parrot Fair | 1988 Locus Award | Novelette | ||
| Jack, the Giant Killer | 1988 Aurora Awards | Novel | ||
| Greenmantle | 1989 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| The Drowned Man's Reef | 1989 Readercon Awards | Short Work | [27] | |
| Ghostwood | 1991 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| Drink Down the Moon | 1991 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| The Fair in Emain Matcha | 1991 Aurora Awards | Short Fiction | ||
| Freewheeling | 1991 Aurora Awards | Short Fiction | ||
| Death Leaves an Echo | 1991 Bram Stoker Award | Long Fiction | ||
| The Little Country | 1991 HOMer Award | Fantasy Novel | [28] | |
| 1992 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | |||
| 1992 Aurora Awards | Novel | |||
| 1992 World Fantasy Award | Novel | |||
| 1994 Mythopoeic Awards | Fantasy | |||
| 1994 Premio Ignotus | Foreign Novel | |||
| Our Lady of the Harbour | 1992 Locus Award | Novella | ||
| 1992 World Fantasy Award | Novella | |||
| Raven Sings a Medicine Way, Coyote Steals the Pollen | 1992 Aurora Awards | Short Fiction | ||
| The Conjure Man | 1992 World Fantasy Award | Short Fiction | ||
| Pity the Monsters | 1992 World Fantasy Award | Short Fiction | ||
| Bridges | 1993 World Fantasy Award | Short Fiction | ||
| Spiritwalk | 1993 World Fantasy Award | Collection | ||
| Paperjack | 1993 World Fantasy Award | Novella | ||
| The Bone Woman | 1994 Locus Award | Short Story | ||
| Dreams Underfoot | 1994 Locus Award | Collection | ||
| 1994 World Fantasy Award | Collection | |||
| The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep | 1994 World Fantasy Award | Short Fiction | ||
| Memory & Dream | 1995 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| The Ivory and the Horn | 1996 Locus Award | Collection | ||
| 1996 World Fantasy Award | Collection | |||
| Timeskip | 1997 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire | Foreign Short story/Collection of Foreign Short Stories | [29] | |
| Trader | 1998 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| 1998 World Fantasy Award | Novel | |||
| 1998 Mythopoeic Awards | Adult Literature | |||
| 1998 Aurora Awards | Novel | |||
| Someplace to be Flying | 1999 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| 1999 British Fantasy Award | August Derleth Award | [30] | ||
| 1999 Aurora Awards | Novel | |||
| 1999 World Fantasy Award | Novel | |||
| 1999 Mythopoeic Awards | Adult Literature | |||
| China Doll | 1999 British Fantasy Award | Short Fiction | ||
| Moonlight and Vines | 2000 World Fantasy Award | Collection | ||
| 2000 Locus Award | Collection | |||
| 2000 British Fantasy Award | Collection | |||
| Triskell Tales | 2001 Locus Award | Collection | ||
| Forests of the Heart | 2001 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| 2001 Nebula Award | Novel | |||
| 2001 Mythopoeic Awards | Adult Literature | |||
| The Onion Girl | 2002 Locus Award | Fantasy Novel | ||
| 2002 World Fantasy Award | Novel | |||
| 2017 Aurora Awards | Best of the Decade | |||
| Books to Look For | 2002 Aurora Awards | Related Work | ||
| Waifs and Strays | 2003 Locus Award | Collection | ||
| 2003 World Fantasy Award | Collection | |||
| Seven Wild Sisters | 2003 Locus Award | Novella | ||
| 2003 World Fantasy Award | Novella | |||
| Circle of Cats | 2004 World Fantasy Award | Short Fiction | ||
| The Blue Girl | 2005 Locus Award | Young Adult Book | ||
| 2006 White Pine Award | Fiction | |||
| Dingo | 2009 Sunburst Award | Young Adult | ||
| The Mystery of Grace | 2010 Sunburst Award | Adult Book | ||
| The Painted Boy | 2011 Sunburst Award | Young Adult | ||
| Under My Skin | 2013 Aurora Awards | YA Novel | ||
| The Cats of Tanglewood Forest | 2014 Sunburst Award | Young Adult | ||
| Out of This World | 2015 Aurora Awards | YA Novel | ||
| Newford series | 2018 World Fantasy Award | Lifetime Achievement | ||
Some additional young adult novels are listed under their series name below.
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.[35]
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.[36] 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.
