Peter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American novelist and screenwriter, especially of

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 ...

fiction. His best-known work is ''

The Last Unicorn ''The Last Unicorn'' is a fantasy novel by American author Peter S. Beagle and published in 1968, by Viking Press in the U.S. and The Bodley Head in the U.K. It follows the tale of a unicorn, who believes she is the last of her kind in the wor ...

'' (1968), a fantasy novel he wrote in his twenties, which ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'' subscribers voted the number five "All-Time Best Fantasy Novel" in 1987. During the last twenty-five years he has won several literary awards, including a

World Fantasy Award 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 ann ...

for Life Achievement in 2011. He was named Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master by SFWA in 2018.

Early life

Beagle was born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on April 20, 1939, the son of Rebecca Soyer and Simon Beagle.(untitled)
''(unofficially) Peter S Beagle: Biography''. Peterbeagle.com. Three of his uncles were noted painters:

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

, and

Isaac Soyer Isaac Soyer (April 26, 1902 – July 8, 1981) was a Russian-born American social realist painter and educator. His art work often portrayed working-class people of New York City in his paintings. Biography He was born as Isaac Schoar on April 26, ...

. Beagle has said that '' The Wind in the Willows'', a classic of children's literature by

Kenneth Grahame Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is most famous for '' The Wind in the Willows'' (1908), a classic of children's literature, as well as '' The Reluctant Dragon''. Both books ...

, originally attracted him to the genre of fantasy.

Career

Beagle was raised in

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, and graduated from the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Sp ...

in 1955. He garnered early recognition from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, winning a scholarship to

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

for a poem he submitted as a high school senior. He went on to graduate from the university with a degree in creative writing. Following a year overseas, Beagle held the graduate

Stegner Fellowship The Stegner Fellowship program is a two-year creative writing fellowship at Stanford University. The award is named after American Wallace Stegner (1909–1993), a historian, novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and Stanford faculty mem ...

in creative writing at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

, where he overlapped with

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

Gurney Norman Gurney Norman (born 1937) is an American writer, documentarian, and professor. Biography Gurney Norman was born in Grundy, Virginia, in 1937. He grew up in the southern Appalachian Mountains and was raised alternately by his maternal grandpar ...

, and

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

. Beagle wrote his first novel, ''

A Fine and Private Place ''A Fine and Private Place'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Peter S. Beagle, the first of his major fantasies. It was first published in hardcover by Viking Press on May 23, 1960, followed by a trade paperback from Delta the same year. ...

'', when he was only 19 years old, following it with a memoir, ''I See by My Outfit'', in 1965. Today he is best known as the author of ''

'' and ''

'', as well as his later fantasies following ''

The Folk of the Air ''The Folk of the Air'' is a novel by Peter S. Beagle published in 1986. Plot summary ''The Folk of the Air'' is a novel in which 1980s Californian medievalists go into the past. Reception Dave Langford reviewed ''The Folk of the Air'' for ''Wh ...

''.

In the 1970s, Beagle turned to screenwriting. After writing an introduction for an American print edition of ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...

'', he co-wrote the screenplay for the 1978

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (born October 29, 1938) is an American animator and filmmaker. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatric ...

-animated version of ''

''. Two decades later he wrote the teleplay for "

Sarek Sarek is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He is a Vulcan astrophysicist, the Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, and father of Spock. The character was originally played by Mark Lenard in the epis ...

", episode 71 of the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. Beagle's work as a screenwriter interrupted his early career direction as a novelist, magazine nonfiction author, and short-story writer. But in the mid-'90s he returned to prose fiction of all lengths, and has produced new works at a steady pace since. With David Carlson as composer he adapted his story "Come, Lady Death" into the libretto for an opera, ''The Midnight Angel'', which premiered at the Opera Theater of St. Louis in 1993. In 2005, Beagle published a coda to ''The Last Unicorn'', a novelette entitled '' Two Hearts'', and began work on a full-novel sequel. ''Two Hearts'' won the most prestigious annual awards, the

Hugo Award for Best Novelette The Hugo Award for Best Novelette is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novelette award is available for works of fiction of ...

in 2006 and the parallel

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of prof ...

in 2007. It was also nominated as a short fiction finalist for the

. Beagle also received a special

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...

in 2006 for Outstanding Achievement in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and in 2007 the inaugural WSFA Small Press Award for "El Regalo", published in ''The Line Between'' (

Tachyon Publications Tachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies ...

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly re ...

released a six-issue

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

adaptation of ''The Last Unicorn'' beginning in April 2010. The collected hardcover edition was released in January 2011, premiering at #2 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 ...

'' Hardcover Graphic Novel bestseller list. Beagle's 2009 collection of short fiction, ''We Never Talk About My Brother'', was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. In 2013, he collaborated with

Phildel Phildel is an English singer, pianist, and songwriter from London. Her name is a composite of her Chinese father and Irish mother's names (Philip and Della). Biography Phildel's parents divorced and her mother married a religious fundamental ...

(a UK musician) on a new track "Dark Water Down", mixing poetry and music. They then appeared together at a gig at

Cafe Du Nord Cafe Du Nord is a 320-person capacity music venue in the basement level of the historic Swedish American Hall in San Francisco’s Upper Market neighborhood. History Both Cafe Du Nord and The Swedish American Hall have hosted internationally kno ...

in San Francisco.

Dispute with Granada media

Peter S. Beagle's book ''The Last Unicorn'' was made into an animated film of the same name in 1982, based on a screenplay written by Beagle himself. In 1979, Beagle had a contract with

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...

, which entitled Beagle to 5% of the net profits in the animated property, and 5% of the gross revenues from any film-related merchandising. Since 1999 this film has been controlled by a British company, Granada Media International (a subsidiary of

ITV plc ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. ITV plc is listed on th ...

). From 2003 through 2011, Beagle was involved in a financial dispute with Granada over nonpayment of contractually due profit and merchandising shares. On July 29, 2011, Beagle announced at his

Otakon Otakon ( ) is an annual three-day anime convention held during July/August. It stands for Otaku Convention. From 1999 to 2016, it took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district; in 2017, it moved ...

appearance that he and ITV had reached an agreement that was beneficial to all parties, and should please fans of ''The Last Unicorn''. On October 14, 2011, at his

New York Comic Con The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. History The New York Comic Con is a ...

appearance, he announced the first results of the deal.

Dispute with Connor Cochran

Beagle sued his former manager Connor Cochran in 2015 for $52 million. Beagle was represented by Kathleen Hunt. In July 2019, in a seventeen page decision, Alameda County Superior Court judge Michael M. Markman found Cochran liable for financial elder abuse, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty, awarding Beagle $325,000, as well as an additional $7500 for defamation, and an undetermined amount in attorney's fees. Cochran declared bankruptcy sixteen hours before the trial was due to begin. Beagle was unable to collect the money Cochran owed, and the rights to Beagle's work were left in legal limbo. In February 2021, after a six-year battle in bankruptcy and California state courts helmed by Kathleen Hunt, and aided by James Null who coordinated the services of Loeb & Loeb's Capital Markets and Corporate practice, Beagle was able to regain rights to his intellectual property.

Bibliography

Novels and chapbooks

* ''

'', 1960 (novel) * ''

'', 1968 (novel) * '' Lila the Werewolf'', 1974 (

chapbook A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch. In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...

edition of previously published novelette) * ''

The Fantasy Worlds of Peter S. Beagle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', 1978 (omnibus collection including ''

'', ''

Come Lady Death Come may refer to: *Comè, a city and commune in Benin *Come (Tenos), an ancient town on Tenos island, Greece Music *Come (American band), an American indie rock band formed in 1990 *Come (UK band), a British noise project founded in 1979 **Come ...

'', and '' Lila the Werewolf'') * ''

'', 1986 (novel, currently being rewritten and expanded for new release) * '' The Innkeeper's Song'', 1993 (novel) * '' The Unicorn Sonata'', 1996 (young adult novel, currently being rewritten and expanded into a 4-book series) * '' Tamsin'', 1999 (novel) * ''

A Dance for Emilia A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes ...

'', 2000 (hardcover giftbook edition of novella) (Illustrated by

Anne Yvonne Gilbert Anne Yvonne Gilbert (born 1950/1951) is a British artist and book illustrator. Her cover design of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 1983 single "Relax" has been described as "one of the most famous record sleeves of all time". While much of her caree ...

) * '' Your Friendly Neighborhood Magician: Songs and Early Poems'', 2006 (limited edition chapbook collection of song lyrics and poetry) (Tachyon Publications) * '' The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version'', 2007 (original novella-length draft, from Subterranean Press) * '' Strange Roads'', 2008 (3-story chapbook collaboration with

Lisa Snellings-Clark Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), J ...

for Dreamhaven Books) * ''

Return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

'', 2010 (limited edition novella chapbook, Subterranean Press) * '' Two Hearts'', 2011 (unpublished limited edition chapbook of

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

and

-winning novelette sequel to ''

'') * '' Summerlong'', 2016,

* '' In Calabria'', February 2017 (novella) * '' The Last Unicorn: The Lost Journey'', November 2018 (finished version of the original The Lost Unicorn) * ''

The First Last Unicorn and Other Beginnings ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', forthcoming (unpublished story collection with additional essay material) ;As editor * '' Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn'', 1995 (co-editor, original story anthology, split into two volumes when reprinted in paperback: '' Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn'' in 1998, and '' Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn 2'' in 1999) * ''

The Secret History of Fantasy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', 2010 (anthology from Tachyon Publications) * '' The Urban Fantasy Anthology'', 2011 (with Joe R. Lansdale) * ''

The New Voices of Fantasy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', 2017 (with Jacob Weisman)

Short fiction

;Collections * ''

Giant Bones In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fro ...

'', 1997 (original stories set in the world of '' The Innkeeper's Song''); reissued in 1999 as ''The Magician of Karakosk and Other Stories'' * ''

The Line Between ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', 2006 * '' We Never Talk About My Brother'', 2009,

* '' Mirror Kingdoms: The Best of Peter S. Beagle'', 2010 (Subterranean Press, edited by

Jonathan Strahan Jonathan Strahan (born 1964, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is an editor and publisher of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His family moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1968, and he graduated from the University of Western Australia with a ...

) * ''

Sleight of Hand Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card ...

'', 2011, Tachyon Publications * ''

The Overneath ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', 2017, Tachyon Publications

Non-fiction

* '' I See By My Outfit: Cross-Country by Scooter, an Adventure'', 1965 (nonfiction) * ''

The California Feeling ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', 1969 (with photographer

Michael Bry Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, nonfiction) * ''

American Denim American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

'', 1975 (nonfiction art book) * '' The Lady and Her Tiger'', 1976 (with Pat Derby, nonfiction) * '' The Garden of Earthly Delights'', 1982 (nonfiction art book) * '' In the Presence of the Elephants'', 1995 (nonfiction photo book) * ''

The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', 1997 (collection of fiction and nonfiction essays)

Audiobooks

These five

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

s are unabridged readings by Beagle, except the first, which is abridged. ''

'' is a collection of short fiction; the others are novels. * ''

'', abridged (1990 cassette) * ''

'' (2002 CD and cassette) * ''

'' (2002 CD & cassette) * '' Tamsin'' (2002 CD and cassette) * ''

'' (2005 download), with original music by Jeff Slingluff

Screenplays

* '' The Dove'', 1974 * '' The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened'', 1977 * ''

'', 1978 * ''

'', 1982 * "

" episode of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', 1990 * ''A Whale of a Tale'', pilot episode for a TV serial adaptation of ''The Little Mermaid'', 1992 * ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

'', 1998 * '' A Tale of Egypt'', 1998

Discography

* ''Peter Beagle Live!'', 1991

Awards

Source: ''The Locus Index to SF Awards''"Peter S. Beagle"
. ''The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index of Literary Nominees''.

Locus Publications ''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy fields ...

. Retrieved 2012-04-18. These are annual "best of the year" literary awards, with three exceptions (‡). * 1987

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...

, ''

'' * 1994

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the p ...

, Fantasy Novel, '' The Innkeeper's Song'' * 2000

Adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of maj ...

, '' Tamsin'' * 2004 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire, Nouvelle étrangère, '' Le rhinocéros qui citait Nietzsche'' :::That is, best foreign-language short fiction published July 2002 to June 2003, for the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

edition ( Gallimard, 2002, ) of ''

'' (1997)"Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire 2004"
. ''GPI: Palmarès''. nooSFere.org. Retrieved 2012-04-25. * 2006 ‡

(comics), Special citationInkpot Award
/ref> * 2006

, Novelette, " Two Hearts" * 2007

, Novelette, " Two Hearts" * 2007 WSFA Small Press Award (short fiction), " El Regalo" * 2010

, Novelette, " By Moonlight" * 2011 ‡ World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement * 2018 ‡

Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is a lifetime honor presented annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to no more than one living writer of fantasy or science fiction. It was inaugurated in 1975 when Rob ...

In 1987, ''

'' ranked ''The Last Unicorn'' number five among the 33 all-time best fantasy novels, based on a poll of subscribers.
• See als
"1987 Locus Poll Award"
ISFDB. Retrieved 2012-04-25. The 1998 rendition of the poll considered many book series as single entries and ranked ''The Last Unicorn'' number 18. The Locus Online website links multiple pages providing the results of several polls and a little other information.

References

External links

* *

– all Beagle's works, plus articles, audio, insider info, and poetry
Interview
by '' Swindle''
''Sleight of Hand'' by Beagle
at Tachyon Publications * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beagle, Peter S. 1939 births Living people 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American fantasy writers American male essayists American male novelists American male short story writers American people of Russian-Jewish descent The Bronx High School of Science alumni Chapbook writers Filkers Hugo Award-winning writers Inkpot Award winners Jewish American novelists The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Nebula Award winners Novelists from New York (state) People from the Bronx SFWA Grand Masters University of Pittsburgh alumni World Fantasy Award-winning writers Writers from California