Diana Wynne Jones biography

Diana Wynne Jones was born in London on August 16, 1934). She is a British writer whose better-known works include the Chrestomanci series and the novels Howl's Moving Castle and Dark Lord of Derkholm.

Jones' books range from a broad, almost slapstick delight in the construction of absurd-yet-logical situations, to sharp social observation, to witty parody of literary forms. Foremost amongst the latter are her Tough Guide to Fantasyland, and its fictional companion-pieces Dark Lord of Derkholm (1998) and Year of the Griffin (2000), which provide a merciless critique of formulaic sword-and-sorcery epics.

Jones' works are also compared to those of Robin McKinley and Neil Gaiman. She is friends with Gaiman, and they are both fans of each others' work; she dedicated her novel Hexwood to him after something he said in a conversation that inspired a key part of the plot. Gaiman had already dedicated his 1991 four-part comic book mini-series The Books of Magic to "four witches", of whom Jones was one.

Charmed Life, the first book in the Chrestomanci series, won the 1977 Guardian Award for Children's Books. Jones was runner-up for the Children's Book Award in 1981, and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal. In 1999, she won two major fantasy awards: the children's section of the Mythopoeic Awards in the USA, and the Karl Edward Wagner Award in the UK, which is awarded by the British Fantasy Society to individuals or organisations who have made a significant impact on fantasy.

Her book Howl's Moving Castle was adapted as a Japanese animated movie in 2004, by filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. A version dubbed into English was released in the United Kingdom and USA in 2005, with the voice of Howl performed by Christian Bale. Archer's Goon was adapted for television in 1992.

In July 2006 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Bristol and she also received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2007.

All Diana Wynne Jones Reviews