Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

series ''

The Saga of Darren Shan ''The Saga of Darren Shan'' (known as ''Cirque Du Freak: The Saga of Darren Shan'' in the United States) is a young adult 12-part book series written by Darren O'Shaughnessy about the struggle of Darren Shan, a boy who has become involved in ...

'', ''

The Demonata ''The Demonata'' is a young adult horror/fantasy series by author Darren Shan. It deals with the world of demons. The series is told by three different protagonists: Grubbs Grady, Kernel Fleck, and Bec MacConn. The series is notable for its e ...

'', and ''

Zom-B ''Zom-B'' (alternatively known as the ''Zom-B Chronicles'') is a young adult zombie apocalyptic- thriller novel series by written by Irish author Darren O'Shaughnessy under the pen name Darren Shan. The series is told by first-person perspecti ...

'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former was adapted into a manga series from 2006 to 2009 as well as a live-action film in 2009, with a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

series, ''

The Saga of Larten Crepsley Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series ''The Saga of Darren Shan'', ''The Demonata'', and '' Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former ...

'', being released from 2010 to 2012. O'Shaughnessy has published other children's books as Darren Shan, including '' Koyasan'', and ''

The Thin Executioner ''The Thin Executioner'' is young adult fiction, young adult and Fantasy literature, dark fantasy novel written by Irish playwright Darren O'Shaughnessy under the pen name of Darren Shan, published in April 2010. Inspired by and partially adaptin ...

'', and his newest series is called '' Archibald Lox''. In the past, O'Shaughnessy has also published novels for adults under the Darren Shan pseudonym, but since 2014 he has released his work for older readers under the name of Darren Dash.

Early life and education

O'Shaughnessy was born in St Thomas’ Hospital in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, opposite the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

. At the age of three, he started school at English Martyrs' near the

Elephant and Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station ...

where he lived. When he was six, he moved with his parents and younger brother, to

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

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 ...

, where he has lived ever since. He received his primary education in Askeaton, and attended secondary school at Copsewood College,

Pallaskenry Pallaskenry () is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. Pallaskenry derives its name from Kenry Castle (the palisaded castle at Kenry), nowadays known as Shanpallas Castle. opographical Dictionary of Ireland, p455, Lewis It was one of the prin ...

, graduating in 1989. He returned to London in 1990 to pursue a degree in Sociology and English from

Roehampton Institute of Higher Education The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...

Career

O'Shaughnessy bought his first

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

when he was fourteen and wrote many short stories, comic scripts, and books that he never finished, many of which are unpublished. O'Shaughnessy claims that most of these stories will never be published. His first success came to him at age fifteen, when he was a runner-up in a TV script-writing competition for

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

in Ireland, with a

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

story entitled ''A Day in the Morgue''. After university, O'Shaughnessy worked in a TV cable company in Limerick for two years, before becoming a full-time writer at the age of 23. His breakthrough came with ''Ayuamarca'', published in February 1999 by

Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...

under his full name. The sequel, ''Hell's Horizon'', was published in February 2000. ''Ayuamarca'' was re-released in March 2008 under the title ''Procession of the Dead'' and the pen-name ''D.B. Shan''. ''Hell's Horizon'' followed in March 2009, and the third in the trilogy, ''City of the Snakes'' in March 2010 (but this time under the name of

Darren Shan Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series ''The Saga of Darren Shan'', ''The Demonata'', and ''Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former w ...

). In January 2000, Shan released ''

Cirque du Freak ''Cirque du Freak'' (also known as ''Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare'') is the first of twelve novels in '' The Saga of Darren Shan'' by Darren Shan (real name Darren O'Shaugnessy), published in January 2000. A feature film adaptation o ...

'', the first book of ''

'' series in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The series was a huge global success and by 2021 his books were on sale in 40 countries, in 32 languages, and had sold thirty million copies worldwide. O'Shaughnessy signed up with the

Christopher Little Literary Agency The Christopher Little Literary Agency is a firm of literary agents based in London. Its clients have included Darren Shan, A. J. Quinnell, Pip Vaughan Hughes, Philip Kazan, Pippa Mattinson, Cathy Hopkins, Robert Mawson, Robert Radcliffe, General ...

in 1996 and they continued to represent him until Christopher Little's death in 2021. He is now represented by the Curtis Brown Agency.

Personal life

O'Shaughnessy continues to live in

, Ireland with his wife Helen Basini, a freelance university lecturer and global aid specialist. On 23 September 2014, the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, Dante, named after the famous Italian author. Shan and his wife Helen welcomed their second child, a daughter named Gaia, on 26 March 2019.

Books

Bec BEC may refer to: As an acronym House * Bapatla Engineering College * Basaveshwar Engineering College * Bengal Engineering College Curriculum * Business Environment and Concepts, a section of Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination * Bus ...

'' # '' Blood Beast'' # ''

Demon Apocalypse ''Demon Apocalypse'' is the sixth book in Darren Shan's ''The Demonata ''The Demonata'' is a young adult horror/fantasy series by author Darren Shan. It deals with the world of demons. The series is told by three different protagonists: ...

'' # '' Death's Shadow'' # ''

Wolf Island Wolf Island (Spanish: ''Isla Wolf'') or Wenman Island is a small island in the Galápagos Islands and was named after the German geologist Theodor Wolf, who also has the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island named after him. It has an area of and a m ...

'' # ''

Dark Calling ''The Demonata'' is a young adult horror/fantasy series by author Darren Shan. It deals with the world of demons. The series is told by three different protagonists: Grubbs Grady, Kernel Fleck, and Bec MacConn. The series is notable for its ...

'' # '' Hell's Heroes''

''The City Trilogy''

''The City Trilogy'' was written for adult readers and was originally released under O'Shaughnessy's own name. The third book was never published and the original versions are now

out of print __NOTOC__ An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book ...

. They were published by

. However, in March 2008, ''Ayuamarca'' was re-published as ''Procession of the Dead'' (with substantial changes) by the Voyager imprint of

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 ...

(O'Shaughnessy's children's publisher). ''Hell's Horizon'' was released in March 2009 and ''City of the Snakes'' was released in March 2010. All three books are now also available in the US, as well as in several other countries. # ''Ayuamarca'' – Renamed ''Procession of the Dead'' – First published in the United Kingdom in February 1999 and later in Russia. Re-released in the UK in March 2008. # ''Hell's Horizon'' – Sequel to Ayuamarca. First published in the United Kingdom in February 2000. Re-released in March 2009. # ''City of the Snakes'' – Last book of ''The City Trilogy''. It came out in the United Kingdom in March 2010.

''The Saga of Larten Crepsley''

This is a four-book series covering 200 years in the life of Larten Crepsley, a vampire first introduced to readers in ''

''. #'' Birth of a Killer''. Released in the UK and US in October 2010. #''

Ocean of Blood Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series '' The Saga of Darren Shan'', '' The Demonata'', and ''Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former ...

''. Released in UK and US in April 2011. #''

Palace of the Damned Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series ''The Saga of Darren Shan'', ''The Demonata'', and ''Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former w ...

''. Released in UK and US in September 2011. #''

Brothers to the Death Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series ''The Saga of Darren Shan'', ''The Demonata'', and '' Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former ...

''. Released in UK and US in April/May 2012.

''Zom-B''

On 12 October 2011, it was announced that O'Shaughnessy's next series for teenagers under the name of

would focus on zombies, and that the title of the series was ''

''. There were twelve books in total. The first book was released in the UK and USA in late September 2012, and the last book was released in April 2016. #''Zom-B'', released in the UK on 27 September 2012. #''Zom-B Underground'', released in the UK on 3 January 2013. #''Zom-B City'', released in the UK on 14 March 2013. #''Zom-B Angels'', released in the UK on 20 June 2013. #''Zom-B Baby'', released in the UK on 26 September 2013. #''Zom-B Gladiator'', released in the UK on 2 January 2014. #''Zom-B Mission'', released in the UK on 27 March 2014. #''Zom-B Clans'', released in the UK on 3 July 2014. #''Zom-B Family'', released in the UK on 25 September 2014. #''Zom-B Bride'', released in the UK on 24 February 2015. #''Zom-B Fugitive'', released in the UK in August 2015 #''Zom-B Goddess'', released in the UK in April 2016 A short novel titled ''Zom-B Circus'', set between ''Zom-B Gladiator'' and ''Zom-B Mission'', was released on 27 April 2014. This is officially book 6.5 in the series chronology.

''Archibald Lox''

On 1 April 2020, O'Shaughnessy announced that he had silently released three books digitally due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, making up the first volume of the ''Archibald Lox'' series. There will be three volumes in total in the series.

Volume One

* ''Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds'', released 1 April 2020. * ''Archibald Lox and the Empress of Suanpan'', released 1 April 2020. * ''Archibald Lox and the Vote of Alignment'', released 1 April 2020. * ''Archibald Lox Volume One: The Missing Princess'' — collects the first three books in a single Volume, the way the story arc was originally written, released 31 October 2020.

Volume Two

* ''Archibald Lox and the Forgotten Crypt'', released 1 July 2021. * ''Archibald Lox and the Slides of Bon Repell'', released 3 August 2021. * ''Archibald Lox and the Rubicon Dictate'', released 1 September 2021. * ''Archibald Lox Volume Two: The Kidnapped Prince'' — collects books four through six in a single Volume, the way the story arc was originally written, released 1 November 2021. Volume Three * ''Archibald Lox and the Sinkhole to Hell'' released 31 May, 2022. * ''Archibald Lox and Pick of the Loxes'', released 28 June, 2022. * ''Archibald Lox and Legion of the Lost'', released 26 July, 2022. * ''Archibald Lox Volume Three: The Exiled King'' — collects books seven through nine in a single Volume, the way the story arc was originally written, released 25 October, 2022.

Stand-alone books

''Koyasan''

A short novel released for

World Book Day World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and copyrig ...

in the UK in 2006. The paperback edition is out of print, but it is available in ebook format through Kindle on Amazon stores worldwide. It has also been translated and released in several other countries.

''The Thin Executioner''

A one-off novel, ''The Thin Executioner'' was released in April 2010. Inspired in part by ''

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United St ...

'' and based in a brutal, fantastical world, it details the perilous quest of Jebel, the thin son of a respected executioner, to petition a fire god for invincibility, so that he can succeed his father. O'Shaughnessy has stated that this is his favourite out of all of the books he has written.

''Lady of the Shades''

''Lady of the Shades'' was released in the UK and Ireland on 30 August 2012.

''Hagurosan''

A short story originally released in a book collection called Kids Night In in the UK in 2003. O'Shaughnessy tweaked and slightly expanded it ten years later, and it was released as a book by the publishing group

Barrington Stoke Barrington Stoke is a children's book publisher based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company was founded in 1998 and publishes fiction and non-fiction adapted to different reading ages for reluctant, under-confident and dyslexic children and teens. ...

with illustrations by Zack McLaughlin.

Darren Dash

In 2014, O'Shaughnessy started publishing his books for adults under the name of "Darren Dash", so that they would not be confused with his children's books under the "Darren Shan' name. announcing that he would be publishing the rest of his adult books under this pen name in the future. * ''The Evil and the Pure'' – released 2014. * ''Sunburn'' – released 2015. * ''An Other Place'' – released 2016. * ''Midsummer's Bottom'' – released 2018. * ''Molls Like it Hot'' – released 2019.

Online short spin-off stories

* "An Essay on Vampires" "by" Steve Leopard – book 1

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

story. * "Annie's Diary" – book 1 tie-in story. * "Tiny Terrors" – book 2 tie-in story. * "Transylvania Trek" – a short story "written" by Sam Grest. * "Shanta Claus" (only available at Christmas) * "Lonely Lefty" – book 3 tie-in story. * "Bride of Sam Grest" – another short story "written" by Sam Grest. * "An Affair of the Night" – book 5 tie-in story (should be read just before or after book 5).

Short stories

# "Hagurosan" – Originally written for ''Kids' Night In''. # "Young Alan Moore" – Originally written for ''Alan Moore: Portrait of an Extraordinary Gentleman'', a book written to celebrate the 50th birthday of

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...

. # "The Good Ship Tree" – Originally written for the ''

Times Educational Supplement ''Tes'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a weekly UK publication aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 19 ...

'', and accepted. # "Life's a Beach" – Originally written for the ''Times Educational Supplement'', but rejected. # "Guyifesto—Who We Are" – Originally written for ''Guys Write For Guys Read''. (Play on words of " ''man''ifesto") # ''

'' tie-in short stories – '' See above''

Unpublished books

In July 2009, O'Shaughnessy revealed that he had written first drafts of 53 books in total. Most of those have now been published, although there are several which have yet to see the light of day, which he plans to release in the future, most probably under his

Darren Dash Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series ''The Saga of Darren Shan'', ''The Demonata'', and ''Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former w ...

umbrella. There are also a few that will very likely never be published. O'Shaughnessy has not revealed details of any of his unpublished books, with two exceptions — ''Mute Pursuit'' and ''The Cannibal King'': # ''Mute Pursuit'' – A futuristic cross between ''

The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whos ...

'' and

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's '' The Dark Tower''; this was Shan's first completed book at age seventeen. # ''The Cannibal King'' – This was originally going to be the 12th book of ''The Saga of Darren Shan'' – book 11 was originally meant to be much longer, including elements from the first half of what became ''Sons of Destiny''. ''The Cannibal King'' was never published because it was originally part of the planned 24-book Saga. Shan had planned to write 18—24 books for The Saga, with half of them taking place in the future wasteworld shown in Book 10, ''The Lake of Souls''. For reasons explained on his web site, Shan decided to end the series with ''Sons of Destiny'', which was written and released instead of ''The Cannibal King''. He never reveals anything that he wrote in this book, because there is a possibility that he might one day write a follow-up series to The Saga, which would take parts of this book as its starting point.

Television and film

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

bought the film rights to the first three books of ''

'' and combined them to make a single film, '' Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant'', released in the US on 23 October 2009.

Lauren Shuler Donner Lauren Diane Shuler Donner (born June 23, 1949) is an American film producer, who specializes in mainstream youth and family-oriented entertainment. She owned The Donners' Company with her late husband, director Richard Donner. Her films have g ...

produced the film and Paul Weitz directed. The original screenplay was written by

Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for the films ''L.A. Confidential'' and ''Mystic River''. He also wrote and directed the films ...

but rewritten entirely by Paul Weitz. In May 2019, ''

'' was optioned for a ten-part television series adaptation by London-based production company The Electric Shadow Company. In March 2020, it was announced that The Electric Shadow Company had partnered with Slam Films in developing the series. In March 2021,

Susan E. Connolly Susan E. Connolly is an Irish fiction and non-fiction writer who has worked in comics, screenwriting, short fiction and novels. In March 2021, Connolly was announced to be attached as the lead writer of ''Zom-B'', a television series adaptation ...

was announced to be attached as the lead writer on the project, with The Electric Shadow Company releasing a teaser image depicting a blood-spattered B Smith opposite her best friend Vinyl to their website.

References

External links

*
Interview with Darren O'Shaughnessy on foyles.co.uk

Darren O'Shaughnessy lists his favourite books at bookarmy.com

Darren O'Shaughnessy reads extracts from his books for an hour as part of the One & Other art installation in Trafalgar Square

Interview with Darren O'Shaughnessy on Veronika Asks

Darren O'Shaughnessy Interview with Scottish Book Trust

Darren O'Shaughnessy in 'Writers – Fiction' file at Limerick City Library, Ireland
*
Darren O'Shaughnessy
s IMDb profile
Darren O'Shaughnessy
s Goodreads Author page * (with

and D.B. Shan) * *
Darren O'Shaughnessy
an
D.B. Shan
at WorldCat {{DEFAULTSORT:OShaughnessy, Darren 1972 births Living people Alumni of the University of Roehampton Irish fantasy writers Irish horror writers Irish male novelists Pseudonymous writers Writers from London