Jay Kristoff (born 11 November 1973) is an Australian author of
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
and
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
. He writes both for adult readers and young adults. He lives in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
Biography
Kristoff was born in Perth, Australia in 1973. As a child, Kristoff read frequently and played tabletop games, including
Dungeons and Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TSR). ...
.
Kristoff is 6'7" tall.
He graduated from college with an Arts degree.
He worked in creative advertising for television for eleven years before beginning his literary career. He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and a
Jack Russell Terrier
The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting in England. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated and can be any colour.
Small tan and white terriers that technically belong to oth ...
named
Samwise.
Works
The Lotus War
Kristoff is the author of ''The Lotus War'', a
Steampunk
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...
series inspired by Tokugawa-era Japan. The first novel, ''Stormdancer'', was a finalist for a 2012
Aurealis Award
The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award.
History
The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...
, was shortlisted for two 2013
David Gemmell Awards (for best novel and best debut novel), and was a finalist for the 2013
Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best English language first novel of the year in the field of science fiction, fantasy, or horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society at their annual science fiction convention, Baltic ...
. The prequel novella ''The Last Stormdancer'' was the winner of the 2013 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Fiction. Kristoff refers to the series as
crossover fiction
A crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, unofficial efforts by ...
that appeals to older young adults and adults.
The Illuminae Files
Kristoff's second series, ''The Illuminae Files'', was acquired by
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
in a preempt in 2013. Kristoff co-wrote the series with fellow Melbourne author,
Amie Kaufman
Amie Kaufman is a ''New York Times'' bestselling and internationally bestselling Australian author of science fiction and fantasy for young adults. She is known for the ''Starbound Trilogy'' and ''Unearthed'', which she co-authored with Meagan ...
. The first book in the series, titled ''Illuminae'', was published in late October 2015. It debuted at #5 on the
''New York Times'' Best Seller List Young Adult Hardcover list, and eventually reached the #2 spot. In November 2015, it was announced that
Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
and his production company,
Plan B Entertainment
Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November in 2001 by Brad Grey, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston and Kristin Hahn. In 2005, after Pitt and Aniston divorced, Grey became the CEO of ...
, had acquired the film rights to ''Illuminae''. ''Illuminae'' was nominated for the 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Award, won the 2015 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction novel, the 2016 Gold Inky Award for best teen fiction, and the 2016
Australian Book Industry Award
The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) are publishers' and literary awards held by the Australian Publishers Association annually in Sydney "to celebrate the achievements of authors and publishers in bringing Australian books to readers". ...
Book of the Year for Older Children. The sequel to ''Illuminae'', ''Gemina'', debuted at #3 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list and won the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction novel.
The final book in the series ''Obsidio'', was published in May 2018, and debuted at #6 on the ''New York Times'' bestselling series list as the #1 young adult bestseller in Australia, and as a
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
bestseller. Kristoff refers to the series as young adult fiction.
The Nevernight Chronicle
Kristoff's second solo series, an adult epic fantasy entitled ''The Nevernight Chronicle'', commenced publication with ''Nevernight'' in August 2016. ''Nevernight'' earned Kristoff his second
David Gemmell Awards nomination, and won the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy novel.
The sequel ''Godsgrave'' was published in October, 2017, and won the 2017 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy novel.
In 2019, it was announced
Screen Australia
Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...
had funded a film adaptation of the first novel. The series finale ''Darkdawn'' was published in September, 2019, debuting on the Sunday Times and USA Today bestseller lists. In the same month, the trilogy was published in Italy by
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy.
History
The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...
and became an instant bestseller.
Lifelike
In March 2016, Kristoff announced another young adult series, entitled ''Lifel1k3''. ''Lifel1k3'' was published in May, 2018, and won Kristoff his fifth Aurealis Award, again for best Science Fiction Novel.
The sequel, ''Dev1at3'', was published in June, 2019. A third and final book in the series, ''Truel1f3'', is expected June, 2020.
The Aurora Cycle
Kristoff and his ''Illuminae'' co-author
Amie Kaufman
Amie Kaufman is a ''New York Times'' bestselling and internationally bestselling Australian author of science fiction and fantasy for young adults. She is known for the ''Starbound Trilogy'' and ''Unearthed'', which she co-authored with Meagan ...
announced a new science fiction series, entitled ''Aurora Rising'', which was acquired by Random House, the publishers of the ''Illuminae'' series. ''Aurora Rising'' was published in May 2019, and debuted at #2 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list. as the #1 young adult bestseller in Australia, and as a
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
bestseller. In June 2019, it was announced that
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
had acquired the television rights to ''Aurora Rising''. A sequel, titled ''Aurora Burning'', was published in May, 2020.
Empire of the Vampire
In January 2019, Kristoff announced his next adult series, an illustrated fantasy epic entitled ''Empire of the Vampire'', which was acquired by
Macmillan publishers
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
, the publisher of his ''Nevernight'' and ''Stormdancer'' series. ''Empire of the Vampire'' was published in September 2021. It debuted on the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
,
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
,
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
bestseller lists in the US and was a
Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
bestseller in the UK, as well as hitting #1 bestseller spots at
Barnes and Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
in the USA and
Dymocks Books in Australia.
Themes
Kristoff's works deal with themes of familial bonds, friendship, love, loss, and betrayal. His fiction suggests that "victory without sacrifice is meaningless".
Books
''The Lotus War'' Series
# ''Stormdancer'' (
Thomas Dunne Books
Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction.
History
The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...
, 2012)
# ''Kinslayer'' (
Thomas Dunne Books
Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction.
History
The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...
, 2013)
# ''Endsinger'' (
Thomas Dunne Books
Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction.
History
The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...
, 2014)
* ''The Last Stormdancer'' (prequel novella to ''Stormdancer''; Thomas Dunne Books, 2013)
* "Praying for Rain" (free short story, posted online 2013)
''The Illuminae Files'' (co-authored with
Amie Kaufman
Amie Kaufman is a ''New York Times'' bestselling and internationally bestselling Australian author of science fiction and fantasy for young adults. She is known for the ''Starbound Trilogy'' and ''Unearthed'', which she co-authored with Meagan ...
)
# ''
Illuminae'' (
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2015)
# ''Gemina'' (
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2016)
# ''Obsidio'' (
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2018)
* ''Memento'' (Prequel novella;
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2019)
''The Nevernight Chronicle''
# ''Nevernight'' (
Thomas Dunne Books
Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction.
History
The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...
, 2016)
# ''Godsgrave'' (
Thomas Dunne Books
Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction.
History
The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...
, 2017)
# ''DarkDawn'' (
Thomas Dunne Books
Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction.
History
The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...
, 2019)
''Lifel1k3''
# ''Lifel1k3'' (
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2018)
# ''Dev1at3'' (
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2019)
# ''Truel1f3'' (
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2020)
''The Aurora Cycle'' (co-authored with
Amie Kaufman
Amie Kaufman is a ''New York Times'' bestselling and internationally bestselling Australian author of science fiction and fantasy for young adults. She is known for the ''Starbound Trilogy'' and ''Unearthed'', which she co-authored with Meagan ...
)
# ''Aurora Rising'' (
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2019)
# ''Aurora Burning'' (
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2020)
# ''Aurora's End'' (
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2021)
''Empire of The Vampire''
# ''Empire of The Vampire'' (
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
, 2021)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kristoff, Jay
Australian fantasy writers
Steampunk writers
Living people
Writers of young adult science fiction
1973 births
Australian male novelists
Writers from Perth, Western Australia