Catherine Fisher (born 1957) is a poet and novelist for children and Young Adults. Best known for her internationally bestselling novel ''

Incarceron ''Incarceron'' (2007) is a young-adult fantasy and science fiction novel written by Catherine Fisher that was first released on May 3, 2007. Published by Hodder Children's Books, it is the first in a line of novels centered on Finn and Claudia, ...

'' and its sequel, ''

Sapphique ''Sapphique'' ( ) is a young-adult fantasy and science fiction novel written by Catherine Fisher Catherine Fisher (born 1957) is a Welsh poet and children's novelist who writes in English. She has also worked as a school and university teach ...

,'' she has published over 40 novels and 5 volumes of poetry. She has worked as an archaeologist, as a school and university teacher, is an experienced broadcaster and adjudicator and has taught at the Arvon Foundation and Ty Newydd Writers' Centres. She lives in Wales, UK..

Personal life

Fisher was born in Newport, Gwent, Wales. She graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in English Literature and Education.

Work experience

Catherine Fisher has worked as a primary-school teacher and as an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. She also taught writing for children at the University of South Wales. She has been a full-time writer of fiction and poetry since 2002.

Writing

POETRY. Fisher has published four poetry collections with Seren Books: ''Immrama'' (1988), ''The Unexplored Ocean'' (c. 1994), ''Altered States'' (1999) and ''The Bramble King'' (2019). She has also published a pamphlet, ''Folklore'' (2003), with Smith/Doorstop Books, and many poems in magazines and anthologies, including Poetry Wales, Poetry Now, The Poetry Review and the Forward Book of Poetry. Dates from British Library catalogue. The collection ''Immrama'' won the Welsh Arts Council Young Writers' Prize in 1989. She won the Cardiff International Poetry Competition in the same year with her poem 'Marginalia'. FICTION Since the late 1980s, Fisher has been writing children's fantasy, both Young Adult and Middle Grade. These novels have been translated into over 30 languages, and many of her works have won or been shortlisted for literary awards. She has twice won the Welsh Books Council Tir na n'Og prize for fiction in English, with The Candle Man (2000) and The Clockwork Crow (2015). Her young adult fantasies Incarceron and Sapphique were New York Times bestsellers and Times Book of the Year. The Oracle, the first volume of a trilogy mixing Egyptian and Greek myth, was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize. The Clockwork Crow, first of an acclaimed trilogy for middle grade, an enchanting reworking of Welsh fairylore and Victorian Gothic,was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Prize. Fisher's work mixes myth, legend and folktale, with vibrant characters and language that is precise and evocative. She has written several well-received re-tellings of Welsh myth and legend, including The Cat With Iron Claws, and Culhwch and Olwen.

Awards and honors

Publications

Poetry

*''Immrama'' (1988) Seren Books *''The Unexplored Ocean'' (1994)Seren Books *''Altered States'' (1999) Seren Books * ''Folklore'' (2003) Smith/Doorstop Books * ''The Bramble King'' (2019) Seren Books.

Prose

Standalone books

*''The Conjuror's Game'' (1990) The Bodley Head : ''The Conjuror's Game'' (1991) Red Fox *''Fintan's Tower'' (1991) The Bodley Head : ''Fintan's Tower'' (1992) Red Fox *''Saint Tarvel's Bell'' (1992) Chivers Press *''The Candle Man'' (1994.) The Bodley Head : The Candle Man (1994) Red Fox . *''The Hare And Other Stories'' (1994) Pont books *''Belin's Hill'' (1997) The Bodley Head : ''Belin's Hill'' (1997) Red Fox *''The Lammas Field'' (1999) Hodder Children's *''Darkwater Hall'' (2000) Hodder Children's *''Corbenic'' (2002) Red Fox *''Darkhenge'' (2005) The Bodley Head *''The Weather Dress'' (2005) Pont Books *''Crown of Acorns'' (May 2010) Hodder Children's Books.

The Snow-Walker trilogy

* ''The Snow-Walker's Son'' (1993) The Bodley Head Red Fox pb * ''The Empty Hand'' (1995) The Bodley Head Red Fox pb * ''The Soul Thieves'' (1996) The Bodley Head Red Fox pb

The Book of the Crow series

(US title: ''Relic Master series'') * ''The Relic Master'' Bodley Head 1998 Red Fox paperback 1998 (US title: ''The Dark City'', 2011) * ''The Interrex'' (1999) Bodley Head Red Fox paperback 2000 (US title: ''The Lost Heiress'', 2011) * ''Flain's Coronet'' (2000) Bodley Head Red Fox paperback (US title: ''The Hidden Coronet'', 2011) * ''The Margrave'' (2001) Red Fox paperback (US title: ''The Margrave'', 2011)

The Oracle trilogy

* ''

The Oracle An oracle was usually a priest or a priestess through whom the gods were supposed to speak or prophesize. In particular: *Pythia – served as an oracle in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. * Oracle bone – a bone used for divination in ancient Chi ...

'' Hodder Childrens 2003 ' (US title: ''The Oracle Betrayed'' Greenwillow Books, 2003) * ''The Archon'' Hodder Childrens 2004 (US title: ''The Sphere of Secrets'' Greenwillow Books, 2004) * ''The Scarab'' Hodder Childrens 2005 (US title: ''Day of the Scarab'', Greenwillow Books 2005)

Incarceron series

* ''

'' (2007) Hodder Childrens 2007 US Dial Penguin. * ''

'' (2008) Hodder Childrens 2008 US Dial Penguin.

Chronoptika series

* ''Obsidian Mirror'' (2012) Hodder Childrens US Dial Penguin * ''The Box of Red Brocade'' (2013) Hodder Childrens (US title: ''Slanted Worlds'', 2013 Dial Penguin). * ''The Door in the Moon'' (2015) Hodder Childrens (2016 US Dial Penguin) * ''The Speed of Darkness'' (2016) Hodder Childrens The Clockwork Crow series *''The Clockwork Crow'' (2018) Firefly Press * ''The Velvet Fox'' (2019) Firefly Press * ''The Midnight Swan'' (2020) Firefly Press * * Re-tellings. * ''The Magic Thief (2010)'' Barrington Stoke.ISBN 9781842998212 * ''The Cat with Iron Claws. (2012)'' Pont Books. ISBN 9781848513174 * ''Culhwch and Olwen'' (2024) Graffeg Press ISBN 9781802586459 Short Stories. ''The Red Gloves and Other Stories'' (2021) Firefly Press. ISBN 9781913102685

References

Pollinger Limited page
on Catherine (accessed 24 August 2006).

External links

* *
Catherine Fisher at Fantastic FictionCatherine Fisher profile
at

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Catherine 1957 births Living people 20th-century Welsh poets 21st-century Welsh poets 20th-century Welsh novelists 21st-century Welsh novelists 20th-century Welsh women writers 21st-century Welsh women writers Welsh children's writers British women children's writers Welsh fantasy writers Academics of the University of Glamorgan Writers from Newport, Wales Date of birth missing (living people) British women science fiction and fantasy writers Welsh women poets Welsh archaeologists British women archaeologists British pamphleteers Welsh women novelists