Terence William (Terry) Dowling (born 21 March 1947), is an Australian writer and journalist. He writes primarily

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

though he considers himself an "imagier" – one who imagines, a term which liberates his writing from the constraints of specific genres. He has been called "among the best-loved local writers and most-awarded in and out of Australia, a writer who stubbornly hews his own path (one mapped ahead, it is true, by

Cordwainer Smith Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (July 11, 1913 – August 6, 1966), better known by his pen-name Cordwainer Smith, was an American author known for his science fiction works. Linebarger was a US Army officer, a noted East Asia scholar, and a ...

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass medi ...

and

Jack Vance John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance, he also wrote several mystery novels under pen names. ...

)." He has been Guest of Honour at several Australian science fiction conventions (including Syncon 87 and Swancon 15) and regularly tutors workshops on fantasy writing at venues including the

New South Wales Writers' Centre Writing NSW, formerly known as New South Wales Writers' Centre and WritersNSW, is New South Wales, Australia's leading provider of services to writers, including courses, seminars and workshops, writing groups, festivals and events, grants and pri ...

, University of Sydney's

Centre for Continuing Education The Centre for Continuing Education (CCE) is Australia's longest-standing provider of adult education, offering more than 700 short courses ranging from professional development to languages and the arts. CCE is a division of the University of Sy ...

, the

Powerhouse Museum The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Park, Sydney, Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle ...

, the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...

's Centre for Creative Writing, the Perth Writer's Festival and the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

Perth International Arts Festiva

(for example, "Marvellous Journeys: Science Fiction & Fantasy Writing" and "Worlds and Futures That Work: What you need and what to avoid"). He was a panellist and presenter at

Aussiecon 4 The 68th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Aussiecon Four, was held on 2–6 September 2010 in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The co-chairs were Perry Middlemiss and R ...

Biography

Early life and work

Dowling was educated at

Boronia Park Public School Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

, Sydney, 1952–59; Hunters Hill High School, Sydney, 1960–64; and Sydney Teachers' College, 1965–66, following which he was conscripted for national service as an infantryman and admin clerk during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. During these years Dowling wrote poetry and songs and some fiction. Dowling began buying science fiction magazines in the early 1960s and was influenced early by writers such as

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...

and the Horwitz horror anthologies edited by Charles Higham. (Dowling contributes an essay discussing the influence of Higham's horror anthologies on his own writing to Stephen Jones ''Horror: Another 100 Best Books.'') He was also highly influenced by the Surrealist painters, particularly

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

Paul Delvaux Paul Delvaux (; 23 September 1897 – 20 July 1994) was a Belgian painter noted for his dream-like scenes of women, classical architecture, trains and train stations, and skeletons, often in combination. He is often considered a surrealist, alt ...

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism ...

and

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...

. After teaching for a year at

Horsley Park Horsley Park is a suburb of Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and e ...

Primary School in Sydney, Dowling matriculated to

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

, where he won a scholarship to complete his BA (Hons) in English Literature and Archaeology, then won a research award via which he completed his M.A. (first class Honours) in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

. His Masters thesis discussed

and

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

. During his nine-year stint at university he continued songwriting and performing with rock band The Many Moods of Albert (1966–67), worked as an actor and songwriter with Sydney's Pact Theatre (1972–78), made appearances on Australia's national broadcaster ABC television on some children's programs in the late 1970s and then appeared in an eight-year stint as a musician and songwriter in regular guest appearances on the long-running

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

children's television program '' Mr. Squiggle and Friends'' (1979–1982). The ABC also financed production of seven of his songs for ''Amberjack'', a musical about a stranded time-traveller, with musicians including

Doug Ashdown Douglas "Doug" Wesley Ashdown (born 29 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter who had a minor hit with "Winter in America (song), Winter in America", also known as "Leave Love Enough Alone", which reached No. 13 on the Dutch Singles ...

. The songs are "Glencoe", "The Lure of Legendary Ladies", "Ithaca", "Bermudas", "The Blue Marlin Whore", 'Gantry Jack", and "Minotaur". They were broadcast in 1977 on the ABC/2FC radio program "Talking Point"). Dowling has performed these and other songs live at science fiction conventions over the years. Sections of the lyrics from ''Amberjack'' are included as linking pieces between the stories in Dowling's 2009 collection ''Amberjack: Tales of Fear and Wonder'' (Subterranean Press). These include lyrics to songs which were not included in the ABC broadcast. Dowling's earliest published stories were "Illusion of Motion" and "Oriental on the Murder Express", both published in ''Enigma'', the magazine of SUSFA, the Sydney University SF Society, and "Shade of Encounter" in the second issue of ''Science Fiction'': A Review of Speculative Literature, on which Dowling became assistant editor and short-notice book-reviewer and eventually co-editor (with

Van Ikin Van Ikin (born 25 November 1951) is an academic and science fiction writer and editor. A professor in English at the University of Western Australia, he retired from teaching in 2015 and is now a senior honorary research fellow. He has acted as ...

). Dowling did critical work and continued to play with bands – Temenos (rock band, 1970–72); Gestalt (acoustic band, 1972–75) after taking a teaching position at a Sydney business college. At least one of his rock bands used to play for the patients at a mental hospital at Bedlam Point, near his home – a source for 'Cape Bedlam', location of the Madhouse in the ''Tom Rynosseros'' cycle.

The 1980s

He wrote a science fiction play called "The Tunnel", and eventually sold his first professional story to ''Omega Science Digest'' ("The Man Who Walks Away Behind the Eyes", in the May/June 1982 issue). In the 1980s Dowling met

after doing critical work on his oeuvre (Vance later named a planet after him in the novel ''Throy'');

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

; and

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

, with whom he travelled in the Australian outback. Dowling went on to co-edit (with Richard Delap and Gil Lamont) Ellison's large single-author collection ''The Essential Ellison'' (1987; revised/expanded edition 2000). Some of Dowling's reviews and critical pieces which first appeared in ''Science Fiction'' magazine in the 1980s have seen reprint, including "Catharsis Among the Byzantines: Delany's Driftglass" (1982) and the long essay "The Lever of life:

as Ethical Pragmatist" (1982). Dowling began to publish short stories prolifically in the 1980s and was soon recognised as one of Australia's most talented science fiction writers, winning the

Ditmar Award The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise a ...

multiple times.

The 1990s: The 'Rynosseros Cycle'

During the 1990s Dowling wrote his four-volume series featuring the hero Tom Tyson (aka Tom Rynosseros), set in a far-future Australia. The first volume, ''Rynosseros,'' collected short stories written up to 1990. Further stories of Tyson were written in the early 1990s, with two further volumes of Tyson's adventures appearing in 1992 and 1993. The 'Rynosseros Cycle' would not conclude until publication of the fourth volume in 2007, but stands amongst Dowling's most important work – a major conceptual series achievement in Australian science fiction. The 'Rynosseros Cycle' is set in a far future Australia where great sandships ("charvolants") roam the outback, and the Ab'O tribes control hi-tech and set protocols which restrict the movements of the "Nationals" (white people). In this future Australia, high technology and mysticism co-exist, and piracy and an intricate social order breed a new kind of hero. Tom Tyson, an Everyman figure who has echoes of the Fool of the

Tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, ...

Tom O'Bedlam "Tom o' Bedlam" is the title of an anonymous poem in the "mad song" genre, written in the voice of a homeless " Bedlamite". The poem was probably composed at the beginning of the 17th century. In ''How to Read and Why'' Harold Bloom called it "the ...

, the

Green Man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of a face which is ...

and other mythic figures, has emerged amnesiac from an Ab'O punishment place known as the Madhouse, with three images that may provide the key to his identity – a Ship, a Star and a woman's Face. Tyson becomes one of the "Coloured Captains" – seven Nationals permitted by the Ab'O to cross the landscape – and wins his ship ''Rynosseros'' in a lottery, thereafter becoming known as "Blue Tyson". To quote Van Ikin, "In this future Australia, the coastal cities, home of white Australians, are urbanely cosmopolitan centres of culture, while in the interior, around an inland sea, the Ab'O states represent the emancipation of the Aboriginal race whose heritage is both its past and its future destiny. Ab'O Princes use satellites to spy on tribal conflicts, and graceful wind-propelled sand-ships roll across the deserts, giving

he series He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

its symbol of freedom and inquiry." Dowling has attributed part of the inspiration for the Tom Tyson character to Blue Tyson, a character from one of his high school story fragments, and to the song lyric "Loving Mad Tom" (also known as

Tom o'Bedlam "Tom o' Bedlam" is the title of an anonymous poem in the "mad song" genre, written in the voice of a homeless " Bedlamite". The poem was probably composed at the beginning of the 17th century. In ''How to Read and Why'' Harold Bloom called it "the ...

), which was drawn to his attention by sf fan and co-founder of Norstrilia Press, Carey Handfield in 1982. David McKie has written: "Thematically, the work of Terry Dowling...extends the

cyberspace Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday rea ...

of neuromancers

Pat Cadigan Patricia Oren Kearney Cadigan (born September 10, 1953) is a British-American science fiction author, whose work is most often identified with the cyberpunk movement. Her novels and short stories often explore the relationship between the human ...

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

and

Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...

to an imaginative future Australia where the human/technology interface fuses

Koori Koori (also spelt koorie, goori or goorie) is a demonym for Aboriginal Australians from a region that approximately corresponds to southern New South Wales and Victoria. The word derives from the Indigenous language Awabakal. For some people an ...

psychic technology with communication satellites in a sparse landscape populated by organicised

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

s. In many ways what Dowling achieve in his (''Rynosseros'' sequence) novels answers

Donna Haraway Donna J. Haraway is an American Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness Department and Feminist Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a prominent scholar in the field of science and technology studies. Sh ...

's call for the collapse of binary categories between nature and humans, and for more 'transgressive boundaries' where 'people are not afraid of their kinship with animals and machines, not afraid of permanent partial identities and contradictory standpoints." Brian Attebery offers another critical standpoint: "Dowling's ''Rynosseros'' (1990) and subsequent collections marked a greater maturation of science fictional explorations of Aboriginal culture.Focusing on the adventures of a non-Aboriginal, or 'National' hero operating within this cultural sphere, Dowling's Tom Tyson stories offer sophisticated narrative techniques, memorable images, and troubling themes. These themes usually revolve around conflicts between tradition and innovation or nature and artifice. Dowling does not equate Aboriginality with tradition or nature - he is just as likely to pit advanced Aboriginal technology against national attempts at resurgence or to frame the conflict between tradition and novelty as a struggle between tribal factions. ''Rynosseros'' adapts the SF tradition of Cordwainer Smith and Jack Vance - characterised by distant futures; radically altered humanity; technological effects that resemble magic; and exuberant, even baroque language - to the Australian scene.Against the backdrop of Australia';s wide, arid interior, Dowling places great sand-ships, talking belltrees, shapeshifters, cyborgs, and visionaries, while overhead, tribal satellites guard against encroachments from the remnants of white population along the coast. Though he received many honours for his evocative and inventive fiction, Dowling did not please all readers with his imagined future...Criticisms of Dowling fail to note how differently he constructs the relationship between the traditional and the modern. In the Tyson stories, mysticism is not separated from scientific knowledge. Either world view, or both in conjunction, can be found among characters of any race. Dowling, though, did not help matters when he chose the term 'Ab'O' to name his futuristic tribes. The shortened form of Aborigine, though not the most offensive racial epithet available, has been used derisively, more often than not. An extra apostrophe and capital letter did not provide, for many readers, sufficient estrangement of an all-too-familiar term....As Dowling's series has developed, he has worked very hard to create an alternative vision of racial and tribal identities, to provide a genuinely new concept to go with the estranged term, but it is not an easy task for an outsider to imagine a new form of selfhood for a group that has been so strongly Othered." *'' Rynosseros'' (Aphelion, 1990) *'' Blue Tyson'' (Aphelion, 1992) *'' Twilight Beach'' (Aphelion, 1993) *'' Rynemonn'' (Coeur de Lion, 2007). ''Rynemonn'' contains a number of stories published previously in magazines, together with the final triptych of Tom stories which first appeared in the ''Forever Shores'' collection edited by Peter McNamara and Margret Winch (Wakefield Press 2003). ''Rynemonn'' also contains four previously unpublished Tom stories, the linking narrative 'Doing the Line', and 'Swordplay', 'Tesserina and The Target Man' and 'The Bull of September'. Reviews for ''Rynemonn'' included: 'Noted Australian wordsmith Dowling brings a close to the adventures of Tom Rynosseros in this collection of 11 stories, three original, with extensive bridging material. "This is the conclusion to the best and most ambitious Australian SF series ever written, and one of the best, ever – period." ' Locus and Australian SF Reader. Terry Dowling received the Peter McNamara award at the 2007

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 ...

s for excellence in speculative fiction in part due to the publication of ''Rynemonn''. Notes: Three linked Tom Tyson stories - "Marmodesse", "The Library" and "First Matter" - were originally written to form a Tyson novel, ''Malgre'', but Dowling abandoned this idea. Two of the stories have been published elsewhere - an abridged edition of "Marmodesse" appeared in ''Omega Science Digest'' Jan/Feb 1987). "The Library" was published in Keith Stevenson, ed, ''X-6'', coeur de lion publishing (2009) and in Dowling's collection ''Amberjack'' (2010). "First Matter" remains unpublished. "Marmodesse" and "The Library'' will be reprinted in ''The Complete Rynosseros''. An edition of ''The Complete Rynosseros'' is forthcoming from PS Publishing, UK. The three volumes (initially to be published as limited signed hardcovers and later as paperbacks) will include all previously published Rynosseros stories, together with nearly 30,000 words of supplementary writing on the series and its origins written by Dowling. “The Only Bird in Her Name”, a story from ''Rynosseros'', was dramatised in 1999 by Hollywood Theatre of the Ear. Adapted for radio by Yuri Rasovsky. Hosted by

. Narrated by Peter Dennis & Kaitlin Hopkins. Available as a paid download from www.audible.com An uncollected Tom Tyson story, "Down Flowers" was published in ''Orb'' (Sept 1999). This tale will appear in ''The Complete Rynosseros''. During the same decade, Dowling published the collection ''An Intimate Knowledge of the Night,'' in which stories are linked by a framework narrative. The protagonists are himself (i.e. Terry Dowling the writer) and a character called Ray, an outpatient from a mental hospital who calls Dowling late at night to talk of synchronicities and to exchange stories. Some critics saw this linking material as 'contrived' but it was praised by others. Dowling also published the collection of linked science fiction stories ''Wormwood''.

21st century

Dowling spent the first several years of the 2000s authoring the scenarios for several PC adventure games published by the Polish firm Detalion. He also expanded ''The Essential Ellison'': "To celebrate the golden anniversary of Harlan Ellison's half a century of storytelling, Morpheus International, publishers of ''The Essential Ellison: a 35-Year Retrospective'', commissioned the book's primary editor, award-winning Australian writer and critic Terry Dowling, to expand Ellison's three-and-a-half decade collection into a 50-year retrospective. Mr. Dowling went through fifteen years of new stories and essays to pick what he thought were the most representative to be included in this 1000+ page collection.

Dowling was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing from the

in 2006 for his mystery/dark fantasy/horror novel, ''Clowns at Midnight'', and accompanying dissertation ''The Interactive Landscape: New Modes of Narrative in Science Fiction'', in which he examined the computer adventure game as an important new area of storytelling. Dowling's 2010 horror novel ''Clowns at Midnight'' has been compared to the work of

John Fowles John Robert Fowles (; 31 March 1926 – 5 November 2005) was an English novelist of international renown, critically positioned between modernism and postmodernism. His work was influenced by Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, among others. Aft ...

. Dowling holds the distinction of having more stories than any other single writer selected for the anthology series ''Year's Best Horror and Fantasy'' (edited by

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

and

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958 in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoke ...

during its twenty-year run from 1988 to 2008. Dowling retired in 2013 from his position as lecturer at the June Dally Watkins Finishing School. He continues to run writing courses at the University of Sydney – the introductory "Magic Highways" workshops and the more advanced "Dream Castles" workshops.

Published works

For a detailed bibliography online se

Novels

*'' Clowns at Midnight'' (

PS Publishing PS Publishing is an independent book publisher based in Hornsea, UK. Background PS Publishing was founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther.Exotic Gothic ''Exotic Gothic'' is an anthology series of original short fiction and novel excerpts in the gothic, horror and fantasy genres. A recipient of the World Fantasy Award and Shirley Jackson Awards, it is conceptualized and edited by Danel Olson, a pr ...

''. Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada: Ash-tree Press, 2008).

Collections

*'' Wormwood'' (Aphelion, 1992). Note: There was a 100-copy limited hardcover printing, with all other copies in simultaneous paperback. *'' An Intimate Knowledge of the Night'' (Aphelion, 1995) *''The Man Who Lost Red'' (MirrorDanse, 1995; 2003) Chapbook containing the title story plus "Scaring the Train". *'' Antique Futures: The Best of Terry Dowling'' (MP Books, 1999). A limited edition of 200 copies. The title derives from a phrase in Dowling's story "The Robot is Running Away from the Trees". *'' Blackwater Days'' (Eidolon, 2000) *'' Basic Black: Tales of Appropriate Fear'' (Cemetery Dance, 2006) Issued in limited signed/leatherbound & trade hc editions. Reprint (Australia): Ticonderoga Publications, 2009. * ''Make Believe: A Terry Dowling Reader'' ( Ticonderoga Publications, 2009). Introduction by Simon Brown. *'' Amberjack: Tales of Fear and Wonder'' (Subterranean Press,2010). Includes the long Tom Tyson story "The Library", which falls chronologically between the events of ''Blue Tyson'' and ''Twilight Beach''. "Truth Window: A Tale of the Bedlam Rose", Dowling's first Wormwood story for 17 years, and included here, was first published in 'Eclipse 2' ed.

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 ...

(Night Shade Books, 2008). * ''Cemetery Dance Select: Terry Dowling'' (e-book, 2015). Contents: "The Daemon Street Ghost-Trap"; "The Saltimbanques"; "Stitch"; "One Thing About the Night". * ''The Night Shop: Tales for the Lonely Hours'', (Cemetery Dance Publications, 2017), featuring eighteen of his dark fantasy and horror stories in a companion volume to his International Horror Guild Award-winning ''Basic Black'' from 2006. It features three original tales of appropriate fear. Limited ed, 750 copies, out of print on publication. * ''The Complete Rynosseros: The Adventures of Tom Rynosseros''. UK: PS Publishing (March 2020). 3 volumes. Limited slipcased edition of 300 copies signed by author and by artist Nick Stathopoulos; and trade paperbacks editions and e-book editions. Vols 1 and 2 contain the complete stories of the Tom Rynosseros Saga, including the previously unpublished "Marmordesse.". Volume 3, entitled ''Songs from the Inland Sea: Writing the Writing the Tom Rynosseros Stories'' is a complete illustrated history and guide to Dowling's sources of inspiration and experiences in writing the series. Chapbooks *''" The Mars You Have in Me"'' (Eidolon, 2000). Single-story chapbook, limited to 200 signed copies for subscribers.

Works edited

*''The Essential Ellison'' with Richard Delap and Gil Lamont (Nemo Press 1987; Morpheus International 1989; expanded reissue, 2000) Note: The 1987 first trade edition is a '35-year retrospective' of Ellison's short fiction; the 2000 edition is a much expanded '50-year retrospective' and was a runner-up for the 2002

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

for Best Collection. *''Mortal Fire: Best Australian SF'' (Coronet, 1993) (with Dr

) *''The Jack Vance Treasury'' (Subterranean Press 2007) (with

) *''The Jack Vance Reader'' (Subterranean Press, 2008) (with

) *''Wild Thyme, Green Magic: Selected Stories of Jack Vance'' (Subterranean Press, 2009) (with

) * ''Hard Luck Diggings: The Early Jack Vance: Volume One'' (Subterranean Press, 2010)(with

) * ''Dream Castles: The Early Jack Vance Volume Two'' (Subterranean Press, 2011) (with Jonathan Strahan) * ''Desperate Days'' (3 crime novels by Jack Vance) * ''Dangerous Ways'' (3 crime novels by Jack Vance)

Computer games authored

* Schizm: Mysterious Journey (2001)(aka US Mysterious Journey: Schizm) * Schizm II: Chameleon (2003) (aka US Mysterious Journey II) * Sentinel: Descendants in Time (2004) (aka Realms of Illusion). (The scenario for this game is based on Dowling's published story "The Ichneumon and the Dormeuse").

Anthology and magazine appearances

As well as appearances in ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'', ''The Year's Best SF'', ''The Mammoth Book of Best New SF'', ''The Year's Best Fantasy'', ''The Best New Horror'', all five volumes of ''

Exotic Gothic ''Exotic Gothic'' is an anthology series of original short fiction and novel excerpts in the gothic, horror and fantasy genres. A recipient of the World Fantasy Award and Shirley Jackson Awards, it is conceptualized and edited by Danel Olson, a pr ...

'', and ''The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' (a record eight times; he is the only author to have had two stories in the 2002 volume, one chosen by each editor), his work has appeared in such major anthologies as ''Centaurus: The Best of Australian Science Fiction'', ''The Best Australian Science Fiction Writing'',''The Dark'', ''Dreaming Down Under'', ''Gathering the Bones'' and ''The Oxford Book of Australian Ghost Stories'' and in such diverse publications as the prestigious ''SciFiction'', ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', ''Interzone'', ''Oceans of the Mind'', ''Ténèbres'', ''Ikarie'', Japan's ''SF'' and Russia's ''Game. Ex''e. His fiction has been translated into many languages and has been used in a course in forensic psychology in the US. The ''Tenebres'' appearance is: *"Le jeu de l'epouvantrail" ("Scaring the Train", from ''An Intimate Knowledge of the Night'', 1995) in ''Tenebres'' No 3, juollet 1998, translated by Daniel Conrad and Benoit Domis. This issue also included "Terry Dowling" nterview"Entrevue avec Stephen Dedman", translated by Benoit Domis.

Selected critical papers

* "Alternative Reality and Deviant Logic in

's Second 'Disaster' Trilogy," ''Science Fiction'' 1, No 1 (June 1977): 6–18. * "The Art of Xenography:

's 'General Culture' Novels," ''Science Fiction'' 1, No 2 (No 3)(June 1978). * "

's 'General Culture' Novels: A Synoptic Survey," in Tim Underwood and Chuck Miller (eds), ''Jack Vance'' (New York: Taplinger, 1980). * "A Xenographical Postscript," ''Science Fiction'' 2 (August 1980). * "Keith Gersen: The Other Demon Prince". ''Science Fiction'' 11 (June 1982) (Winner: 1983 William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism). * "The Lever of Life: Winning and Losing in the Fiction of

". ''Science Fiction'' 10 (1982). Reprint in Damien Broderick and Van Ikin (eds) ''Warriors of the Tao: The Best of Science Fiction: A Review of Speculative Literature''. Wildside Press/Borgo Press, 2011). * "Catharsis Among the Byzantines: Delany's '' Driftglass''". ''Science Fiction'' 17 (Vol 6, No 2), 1984. Reprint in Damien Broderick and Van Ikin (eds) ''Warriors of the Tao: The Best of Science Fiction: A Review of Speculative Literature''. Wildside Press/Borgo Press, 2011). * "Dancing with Scheherazade: Some Reflections in the Djinni's Glass". In Brian Attebery (ed). ''Parabolas of Science Fiction'' Wesleyan University Press,(2013). On science fiction technique, with particular emphasis on the 'Rynosseros Cycle'. * ''Science Fiction: A Review of Speculative Literature'', Volume 20, Numbers 1-2, Whole Numbers 51-52 Special Double Issue: The Early Work of Terry Dowling (2019).

Recent and uncollected short fiction

* "Scaring the Train" (1994) in ''The Man Who Lost Red'' * "Beckoning Nightframe" (1996) in ''

Eidolon (Australian magazine) Eidolon Publications was a small press publisher based in North Perth, Western Australia. The company previously published the speculative fiction magazine ''Eidolon'' which ran from 1990 to 2000 and published books under the name of Eidolon Boo ...

'' Spring 1996 (ed.

Jeremy G. Byrne Jeremy may refer to: * Jeremy (given name), a given name * Jérémy, a French given name * ''Jeremy'' (film), a 1973 film * "Jeremy" (song), a song by Pearl Jam * Jeremy (snail), a left-coiled garden snail that died in 2017 * ''Jeremy'', a 1919 ...

Richard Scriven Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

) * " Jenny Come to Play" (1997) in ''Eidolon'' #25/26, Spring 1997 (ed. Jonathan Strahan, Jeremy G. Byrne, Richard Scriven) * "He Tried to Catch the Light" (1998) in ''

Dreaming Down-Under ''Dreaming Down-Under'' is a 1998 speculative fiction anthology edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb. Background ''Dreaming Down-Under'' was first published in Australia in November 1998 by Voyager Books in trade paperback format. In 1999 and ...

'' (ed.

Jack Dann Jack Dann (born February 15, 1945) is an American writer best known for his science fiction, an editor and a writing teacher, who has lived in Australia since 1994. He has published over seventy books, in the majority of cases as editor or co-edit ...

Janeen Webb Janeen Webb (''née'' Pemberton) is an Australian writer, critic and editor, working mainly in the field of science fiction and fantasy. Biography The daughter of a Second World War Australian Army commando and salesman, Webb was brought up in ...

) * "Basic Black" (2000) in '' Blackwater Days'' * " Toother" (2007) in '' Eclipse One'' (ed. Jonathan Strahan) * "Jarkman at the Othergates" (2007) in ''

'' (ed. Danel Olson) * ''Clowns at Midnight'' excerpt (2008) in ''

'' 2 (ed. Danel Olson) * "Two Steps Along the Road" (2009) in ''

'' 3 (ed. Danel Olson) * "The Shaddowwes Box" in ''Ghosts by Gaslight'' edited by

and

Nick Gevers Nick Gevers (born 1965) is a South African science fiction editor and critic, whose work has appeared in ''The Washington Post Book World'', '' Interzone'', Scifi.com, SF Site, ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' and ''Nova Express''. H ...

. (Harper Voyager, 2011) * "How the Red Clown Hunts You" ''Subterranean Online'' (Winter 2012)

* "Nightside Eye" ''Cemetery Dance'' 66 (2012) (magazine) ncludes major interview with Dowling by Danel Olson – "Making Strange: A Conversation with Terry Dowling" * "Mariners' Round" in ''

4'' (ed. Danel Olson, PS Publishing, 2012) * "The Madlock Chair" (set in the same universe as "Flashmen"). * "The Sleepover" in ''

5'' (ed. Danel Olson, PS Publishing, 2013) * "The Four Darks" in ''Fearful Symmetries'' (ed. Ellen Datlow, 2013).

Critical reception and awards

Critical regard for Dowling's work is extensive. ''

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' ...

'' magazine (Nov 1999) said: “Who's the writer who can produce horror as powerful and witty as the best of Peter Straub, SF as wondrously Byzantine and baroque as anything by

Gene Wolfe Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and nove ...

, near-mainstream subtly tinged with the fantastic like some tales by Powers or Lansdale? Why Terry Dowling, of course." It also regards his first book ''Rynosseros'' as placing him "among the masters of the field" (August 1990). In ''The Year's Best Science Fiction 21'' (reprinting Dowling's story "Flashmen"), twelve-time

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 a ...

-winning US editor

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American people, American science fiction author and editing, editor. He was the founding editor of ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of ...

called him: “One of the best-known and most celebrated of Australian writers in any genre”, while in the ''Year's Best Fantasy 4'' (reprinting “One Thing About the Night”), editors

David G. Hartwell David Geddes Hartwell (July 10, 1941 – January 20, 2016) was an American critic, publisher, and editor of thousands of science fiction and fantasy novels. He was best known for work with Signet, Pocket, and Tor Books publishers. He was also no ...

and

Kathryn Cramer Kathryn Elizabeth Cramer (born April 16, 1962) is an American science fiction writer, editor, and literary critic. Early years Kathryn Cramer is the daughter of physicist John G. Cramer. She grew up in Seattle and graduated from Columbia Univ ...

described him as a "master craftsman" and "one of the best prose stylists in science fiction and fantasy.” Dowling has also been called "Australia's finest writer of horror" by ''Locus'' magazine, and "Australia's premier writer of dark fantasy" by '' All Hallows'' (February 2004). The late leading Australian SF personality

Peter McNamara Peter McNamara (5 July 1955 – 20 July 2019) was an Australian tennis player and coach. McNamara won five singles titles and nineteen doubles titles in his career. A right-hander, McNamara reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on 14 March ...

(on his ''SF Review'' radio show on Adelaide's 5EBI-FM, 23 June 2000) called him "Australia's premier fantasist."For the US edition of ''Rynosseros'' (1993), multi-award-winning US Grand Master

said of Terry: “Here is

, and Tiptree/Sheldon come again, reborn in one wonderful talent. If you lament the chicanery and boredom of so much of today's shopworn sf, then like those of us who've been reading his award-winning stories for a few years now, you'll purr and growl with delight at your great discovery of the remarkable, brilliant Terry Dowling. He comes from Downunder, and he knows how to stand you on your head with story.” Dowling's fiction has won many national and international awards

* Eleven

s (including in 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 (twice), 1990, 1991, 1992), As follows: * "The Man Who Walks Away Behind the Eyes". Ditmar Award for Best Australian Short SF, 1983. * "The Terrarium". Ditmar Award for best Australian Short SF, 1985. * "The Bullet That Grows in the Gun". Ditmar Award for Best Australian Short SF, 1986. * "The Man Who Lost Red". Ditmar Award for Best Australian Short SF, 1987. * "For As Long as You Burn". Ditmar Award for Best Australian Long SF, 1988. * "The Last Elephant". Ditmar Award for Best Australian Short SF, 1988. * "The Quiet Redemption of Andy the House". Ditmar Award for Best Australian Short SF, 1990. * ''Rynosseros''. Ditmar Award for Best Australian Long SF, 1991. Prix Wolkenstein, 1991 (Germany). * ''Wormwood''. Ditmar Award for Best Australian Long SF, 1992.

Readercon Readercon is an annual science fiction convention, held every July in the Boston, Massachusetts area, in Burlington, Massachusetts. It was founded by Bob Colby and Eric Van in 1987 with the goal of focusing almost exclusively on science fiction/ ...

Award for Best Collection, 1991 (USA). * Blackwater Days. Ditmar Award for Best Collection, 2001. (World Fantasy Award nomination for Best Collection, 2001). 2000 Locus recommended reading List (''Locus'', Feb 2001, p. 44) *"The Saltimbanques". Ditmar Award for Best Short Story, 2001. (World Fantasy Award nomination for Best Short Story, 2001). 2000 Locus Recommended Reading List (''Locus'', Feb 2001, p. 46) * Four

s (two of them Convenors' Awards for Excellence), as follows: ** An Intimate Knowledge of the Night. Aurealis Award for Best Horror Novel, 1996. ** "Jenny Come to Play". Aurealis Award, Best Horror Short Story, 1997. ** ''Antique Futures: The Best of Terry Dowling''. Aurealis Convenor's Award for Excellence, 1999. 1999 Locus Recommended Reading List (''Locus'', Feb 200, p. 40) * "Breaking Through to the Heroes".

Award for Best Short Story, 1993 (USA). * The International Horror Guild Award (the horror collection ''Basic Black'' (2006) was nominated for a

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since 1 ...

(from the

Horror Writers Association The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark fantasy writers. Overview HWA was formed in 1985 with t ...

) and won the

International Horror Guild Award The International Horror Guild Award (also known as the IHG Award) was an accolade recognizing excellence in the field of Horror fiction, horror/dark fantasy, presented by the International Horror Guild (IHG) from 1995 to 2008. The IHG Awards wer ...

for Best Collection (tied with Glen Hirschberg's ''American Morons'')) The story "Cheat Light" was also nominated for an International Horror Guild Award for best horror Short Story of 2006. * ''Schizm: Mysterious Journey'' (computer game) won the Grand Prix, Graphics, Utopiales 2001 (France). * The 2007

Australian Shadows Award The Australian Shadows Awards are annual literary awards established by the Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) in 2005 to honour the best published works of horror fiction written or edited by an Australian/New Zealand/Oceania residen ...

(2008) for "Toother" from Jonathan Strahan's ''Eclipse One'' anthology. Dowling co-edited (with Richard Delap and Gil Lamont) the 500,000-word single-author collection ''The Essential Ellison: a 35-Year Retrospective'' (works by Harlan Ellison). The volume was nominated for the 1987

in the (then) newly created "Other Forms" category; it also won the 1987 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection

Dowling also won the 1983 William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism for his essay: “Kirth Gersen: The Other Demon Prince”, ''Science Fiction: A Review of Speculative Literature'', Vol 4, No 2, June 1982. He has received three

nominations.

Work in progress

Future projects include a novel in the ''Wormwood'' mythos.

Film adaptations

Two of Dowling's short stories, 'The Maze Man" and "One Thing About the Night", are set to be filmed by American director Sergio Pinheiro, director of ''The Procedure''. Pinheiro has also prepared a screenplay titled "The Chamber" based on Dowling's tale "The Bullet That Grows in the Gun" .

References

;Notes ;References * Mike Ashley (writer), Ashley, Mike & William G. Contento. ''The Supernatural Index: A Listing of Fantasy, Supernatural, Occult, Weird and Horror Anthologies''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995, p. 215 * Attebery, Brian. "Aboriginality in Science Fiction". ''Science Fiction Studies'', 96 (= Volume 32, Part 2) (July 2005). * Blackford, Russell,

and

Sean McMullen Sean Christopher McMullen (born 21 December 1948 in Sale, Victoria) is an Australian science fiction and fantasy author. Biography McMullen is one of Australia's leading science-fiction and fantasy authors and has written over 70 stories and 1 ...

, (eds.) ''Strange Constellations: A History of Australian Science Fiction'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999, pp. 164–68. * Blackmore, Leigh. "'Marvels and Horrors: Terry Dowling's ''Clowns at Midnight''". In Danel Olson (ed). ''21st Century Gothic'' (Scarecrow Press, 2010). * Blackmore, Leigh. ''Deep in the Reality Crisis: Individuation, 'Mytho-Realism' and Surrealistic Traces in Terry Dowling's ''Tom Rynosseros'' Cycle''. onours thesis, BCA, University of Wollongong, 2009 Forthcoming in Van Ikin's ''Science Fiction'' in two parts, 2010. * Blackmore, Leigh. "Terry erence WilliamDowling" in S.T. Joshi and Stefan Dziemianowicz (eds). ''Supernatural Literature of the World: An Encyclopedia''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2005, pp. 350–51. * Blackmore, Leigh and Dr

, ''The Eternal Yes: The Affirmations of Terry Dowling'' (forthcoming). * Blackmore, Leigh ''Terry Dowling: Virtuoso of the Fantastic'' (R'lyeh Texts, 2005). An abridged version was published earlier in the ''Conflux 2 Program Book'' (2005). * Blackmore, Leigh, ''Ellison/Dowling/Dann: A Bibliographic Checklist'' (R'lyeh Texts, 1996). * * Clute, John. ''Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia''. London: Dorling Kindersley Adult, 1995. * Collins, Paul. ''The MUP Encyclopedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy''. Melbourne, Vic: Melbourne University Press, 1998, pp. 54–55. * Ikin, Van. "Terry Dowling" in Jay P. Pederson (ed) ''St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers''. Detroit, MI: St James Press, (4th ed), 1996, pp. 266–67. * Ikin, Van. "Utopian Elements in Terry Dowling's Tom Rynosseros Fiction". Paper delivered at 'Antipodean Utopias' conference, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 7 December 2001. Published: ''Australian Cultural History'' 23 (Annual 2004), 137–41. * Nicholls, Peter. "Terry Dowling" in

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part o ...

and Peter Nicholls, eds ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

'' London: Orbit/Little Brown (2nd ed) 1993, page 351. * Pringle, David ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''. Carlton Books, 1997, p. 195. * Stableford, Brian. ''The Dictionary of Science Fiction Places''. NY: Fireside, 1999. Includes an entry on Dowling's 'Twilight Beach' milieu. * White, Boyd. "Terry Dowling: Poet of Shadows". ''Firsts'', (Sept 2019) * Biographical and bibliographical data is provided at the author's Official Website http://www.terrydowling.com. Print interviews with Dowling have appeared in publications including ''Aurealis'', ''Eidolon'', ''Interzone'', ''Locus'', ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'', ''Men's Journal Quarterly'' & ''Sirius''. Many of these interviews are also reproduced at Dowling's official website.

External links

*
Old website
* * "The Robot is Running Away from the Trees" (online story

Science fiction editors This is a list of science fiction editors, editors working for book and magazine publishing companies who have edited science fiction. Many have also edited works of fantasy and other related genres, all of which have been sometimes grouped unde ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Terry 1947 births Living people Australian horror writers Australian science fiction writers Writers from Sydney University of Sydney alumni Australian male novelists