Juliet E. McKenna (born 1965) is a British
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and d ...
author with over fifteen epic fantasy novels.
Biography
McKenna was born in Lincolnshire in 1965, and studied Greek and Roman history and literature at
St Hilda's College, Oxford. After college McKenna had a career in personnel management before a changing to work in book-selling. She also fitted in becoming a mother around her writing. McKenna is one of the British boom of fantasy writers. As well as her various novel series McKenna writes articles and reviews for magazines.
She has worked as a judge for various awards such as the
Arthur C. Clarke Award
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...
in 2013, the 2011 James White Award and the
World Fantasy Awards
The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous annu ...
in 2018. McKenna is also a contributing editor for the Irish anthology magazine
Albedo One. In 2013 McKenna was the chair of the
British National Science Fiction Convention, EightSquaredCon.
She was also one of the authors, along with others such as
Sarah Ash and
Mark Chadbourn
Mark Chadbourn is an English fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, and horror author with more than a dozen novels (and one non-fiction book) published around the world.
Born in the English Midlands from a long line of coal miners. he g ...
, behind The Write Fantastic, which was an initiative by a group of fantasy authors to promote the fantasy genre, and to display the scope of current fantasy writing.
McKenna joined forces with a group of micro business owners to form EU VAT ACTION resolve the VAT issue caused by the EU VAT regulations which came into force on 1 January 2015. She spent considerable time working with businesses and experts in the UK and EU to create a way that small businesses online could work with the VAT regulations.
She regularly attends fantasy conventions and hosted FantasyCon 2015's awards night, gives talks, and teaches creative writing courses.
Critical reception
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...
reviewer
James Lovegrove described McKenna's 2012 ''She-who-thinks-for-herself,'' as "a cunning, funny... feminist rewrite" of
H. Rider Haggard's ''
She: A History of Adventure''.
Awards
* The
Karl Edward Wagner award for special achievement (
FantasyCon 2015).
*
British Fantasy Award
The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of ...
nominee for best fantasy novel (2019).
Bibliography
Novels
The Tales of Einarinn
# ''The Thief's Gamble'' (1999)
# ''The Swordsman's Oath'' (1999)
# ''The Gambler's Fortune'' (2000)
# ''The Warrior's Bond'' (2001)
# ''The Assassin's Edge'' (2002)
The Aldabreshin Compass
# ''Southern Fire'' (2003)
# ''Northern Storm'' (2004)
# ''Western Shore'' (2005)
# ''Eastern Tide'' (2006)
The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution
# ''Irons in the Fire'' (2009)
# ''Blood in the Water'' (2010)
# ''Banners in the Wind'' (2010)
The Hadrumal Crisis
# ''Dangerous Waters'' (2011)
# ''Darkening Skies'' (2012)
# ''Defiant Peaks'' (2012)
The Green Man
# ''The Green Man’s Heir'' (2018)
# ''The Green Man’s Foe'' (2019)
# ''The Green Man’s Silence'' (2020)
# ''The Green Man’s Challenge'' (2021)
Standalone novels
* ''Shadow Histories of the River Kingdom'' (2016)
Other fiction
Short stories
# ''Losing Track of Time'' (2003) (a
Big Finish Short Trips
The Big Finish ''Short Trips'' are a collection of short story anthologies published by Big Finish Productions based on the BBC Television series '' Doctor Who'', beginning with the collection ''Short Trips: Zodiac'' in December 2002 and en ...
story)
# ''Urban Renewal'' (2006)
# ''Identify Theft'' (2006)
# ''Now You See Him, Now You Don’t'' (2006)
# ''The Wizard’s Coming'' (2007) (in ''The Solaris Book of New Fantasy'')
# ''Walking Shadows'' (2008)
# ''Noble Deceit'' (2008)
# ''Is This My Last Testament?'' (2008)
# ''Patience: A Womanly Virtue'' (2009)
# ''Reflections'' (2010)
# ''Fear Itself'' (2010)
# ''The Grand Tour'' (2010)
# ''An Unforeseen Legacy'' (2010)
# ''The Wisdom of the Ages'' (2011) (i
Voices From The Past
# ''She-who-thinks-for-herself'' (2012) (in ''Resurrection Engines: Sixteen Extraordinary Tales of Scientific Romance'')
# ''Remembrance '' (2010)
# ''An Unforeseen Legacy '' (2011)
# ''Game, Set and Match'' (2013)
# ''The Legend of the Eagle'' (2013)
# ''The Ties That Bind'' (2013)
# ''Do You Want to Believe in Magic?'' (2014)
# ''Coins, Fights and Stories Always'' (2015)
# ''Notes and Queries'' (2015)
# ''Truth, Lies and Consequences'' (2015)
# ''A Warning Shiver'' (2016)
# ''Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick'' (2016)
# ''The Sphere'' (2016)
# ''Through the Veils/Trace Elements'' (2016)
# ''A Constant Companion'' (2017)
# ''The Road to Hadrumal'' (2017)
Short fiction featuring characters from ''The Tales of Einarinn''
# ''The Tormalin Necklace'' (2001)
# ''The Wedding Gift'' (2003) (illustrated)
# ''Turns and Chances'' (2004) (
novella)
# ''Win Some, Lose Some'' (2005)
# ''A Spark in the Darkness'' (2006)
# ''A Few Further Tales of Einnarin'' (2012) (electronic publication collecting "The Wedding Gift", "Win Some, Lose Some", "A Spark in the Darkness", "Absent Friends", "Why the Pied Crow Always Sounds Disappointed"
hich had originally been published as The Tormalin Necklaceand the illustrations from "The Wedding Gift")
References
External links
*
''Destiny: destiny is a choice'', Utrecht University Thesis*
The Write FantasticREVIEW : Juliet E McKenna - Defiant Peaks (The Hadrumal Crisis Book 3)
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Juliet E.
1965 births
English fantasy writers
Living people
Alumni of St Hilda's College, Oxford
English women novelists
British women short story writers
English short story writers
Writers from Lincolnshire
20th-century English novelists
20th-century British short story writers
20th-century English women writers
21st-century English novelists
21st-century British short story writers
21st-century English women writers
Women science fiction and fantasy writers