Katherine Irene Kurtz (born October 18. 1944) is an American

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 ...

writer, author of sixteen

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthur ...

novels in the ''

Deryni The Deryni novels are a series of historical fantasy novels by the American author Katherine Kurtz. The first novel in the series to be published was ''Deryni Rising'' in 1970, and the most recent, ''The King's Deryni'', was published in 2014. A ...

'' series, as well as occult and urban fantasy. Resident in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

for over twenty years, she moved to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

in 2007.

Early life and education

Kurtz was born on October 18, 1944 in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

, where she also grew up. She secured a scholarship to study chemistry and graduated with a B.S. in chemistry from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

, later attending medical school for a year and taking an M.A. in Medieval History at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. While pursuing her Masters, she worked for the Los Angeles Police Academy and began writing her first novels. She also worked in oceanography and television.

Career

Kurtz is best known for the Deryni novels and short stories. Her 1970

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''

Deryni Rising ''Deryni Rising'' is a historical fantasy novel by American-born author Katherine Kurtz. It was first published by Ballantine Books as the nineteenth volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in August 1970, and was reprinted at least te ...

'', was one of the first fantasy novels written in a mode closer to

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

than to mythology or legend, as was common in the then-popular

high fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...

works such as those by

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

. Writing in ''

Strange Horizons ''Strange Horizons'' is an online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and nonfiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in September 2000, and ...

'', Kari Sperring calls Kurtz the "first writer of secondary-world

", noting her close attention to the importance of faith in pre-modern Western societies and her portrayal of magic as a formal, ritual practice as opposed to the "

picaresque The picaresque novel (Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for " rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrup ...

and informal" way magic was depicted in other fantasy of the time. She also wrote several occult

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

novels in her ''Templar'' series, and

urban fantasy Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy which places imaginary and unreal elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for cl ...

novels in her ''Adept'' series. Kurtz has a weekly chat with her fan base about her writing, life, cats, and many other subjects.

Personal life

Kurtz married Scott MacMillan in 1983; they have one son. Within the following couple of years they moved to

. Both later became naturalized Irish citizens. Until 2007, they lived at Holybrooke (Hollybrook) Hall, in the largest of four houses formed from the original historic building, between

Kilmacanogue Kilmacanogue () is a village in north County Wicklow, Ireland. Location and transport The village lies on the junction of the R755 road to Roundwood and the N11 road, southeast of Bray town centre. It lies between the Little Sugar Loaf t ...

and Bray in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, Ireland. Kurtz wrote, and Macmillan, who had worked in the film industry, took a role as a herald in the

Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland The Genealogical Office is an office of the Government of Ireland containing genealogical records. It includes the Office of the Chief Herald of Ireland ( ga, Príomh Aralt na hÉireann), the authority in Ireland for heraldry. The Chief Herald ...

. They put their Irish home on the market in 2006 for 3.5 million euro, and in 2007 moved back to the United States to a historic house in Virginia.

Partial bibliography

Deryni universe

The first novel in the series to be published was ''Deryni Rising'' in 1970, and the most recent, ''The King's Deryni'', was published in 2014. As of 2016, the series consists of five trilogies, one stand-alone novel, various short stories, and two reference books.

''The Adept''

(with

Deborah Turner Harris Deborah Turner Harris (born 1951 in Pennsylvania), is an American fantasy author, best known for her collaborations with Katherine Kurtz. Life Harris lives in Scotland and is married to Scottish author Robert J. Harris. Works Mages of Garill ...

) *''Book I: The Adept'' (1991) *''Book II: The Lodge of the Lynx'' (1992) *''Book III: The Templar Treasure'' (1993) *''Book IV: Dagger Magic'' (1995) *''Book V: Death of an Adept'' (1996)

Templar books

(with

) * ''Book I: The Temple and the Stone'' (1998) * ''Book II: The Temple and the Crown'' (April 2001)

Other

*''

Lammas Night ''Lammas Night'' is a fantasy novel by the American-born author Katherine Kurtz, first published in paperback by Ballantine Books in December 1983. The first hardcover edition was issued by Severn House in 1986. Plot ''Lammas Night'' tells the st ...

'' (1983) *''The Legacy of Lehr'' (1986) *''Two Crowns for America'' (1996) *''Saint Patrick's Gargoyle'' (2001) (paperback January 2002)

Collaborations

A partial list of work Kurtz has edited or contributed follows: *''Knights of the Blood'' (1993) (written by

Scott MacMillan Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...

, lightly edited by Katherine Kurtz) *''Knights of the Blood: At Sword's Point'' (August 1994) (written by Scott MacMillan, lightly edited by Katherine Kurtz) *''Tales of the Knights Templar'' (1995) (edited by Katherine Kurtz, with a contributed story entitled ''Obligations'') *''On Crusade: More Tales of the Knights Templar'' (1998) (edited by Katherine Kurtz, with a contributed story) *''Crusade of Fire: Mystical Tales of the Knights Templar'' (2002) (edited by Katherine Kurtz, with a contributed story) In addition, she has contributed to a number of anthologies.

References

External links

* *
Novel synopses, cover art, and reviews at FantasyLiterature.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurtz, Katherine 1944 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers 20th-century Irish novelists 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish novelists 21st-century Irish women writers American fantasy writers American women novelists Irish fantasy writers Irish women novelists Women science fiction and fantasy writers