Diana Lucile Paxson (born February 20, 1943) is an American author, primarily in the fields of Paganism and Heathenism. Her published works include

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 ...

and historical fiction novels, as well as numerous

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

. More recently she has also published books about Pagan and Heathen religions and practices. She is a founder of the

Society for Creative Anachronism The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) is an international living history group with the aim of studying and recreating mainly Medieval European cultures and their histories before the 17th century. A quip often used within the SCA describes ...

, where she is known as Diana the Listmaker.

Career

In addition to her multiple novels and collaborations, she has written over 70 short stories. Her best-known works are the Westria novels, and the later books in the Avalon series, which she first co-wrote with

Marion Zimmer Bradley Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels, and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel ''The Mists of Avalon'' an ...

, then - after Bradley's death - took over sole authorship. Paxson's other books include ''Taking Up the Runes'', ''Essential Asatru'', and ''Trance-Portation''. She writes a regular column for the women's spirituality magazine called ''SageWoman''. Paxson has been active in the leadership of a number of organizations. She hosted the first activities of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and was subsequently among that group's founding directors and corporate officers when it incorporated. She was the western regional director of the ''

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whil ...

'', and is a frequent panelist at

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expre ...

s, especially Baycon, where she was the 2007 Fantasy Guest of Honor.''BayCon 2007''
archived web site A leader in the Neopagan and Heathen revivals, Paxson is the founder of The Fellowship of the Spiral Path and has served as First Officer of the

Covenant of the Goddess The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) is a cross-traditional Wiccan group of solitary Wiccan practitioners and over one hundred affiliated covens (or congregations). It was founded in 1975 in order to increase co-operation among witches and to secure ...

. She has been Steerswoman of the Heathen group,

The Troth The Troth, formerly the Ring of Troth, is an American-based international heathen organization.On its main ...

, a member of its board of directors, and currently edits its journal, ''Idunna''. She is a pioneer in the revival of Oracular Seidh, which she has taught and performed at many Neopagan and heathen festivals and retreats.

Personal life

She composes and plays music for the harp. She currently lives at her home, Greyhaven, in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

Publications

Westria

#''Lady of Light'' (1982) #''Lady of Darkness'' (1983) #''Silverhair the Wanderer'' (1986) #''The Earthstone'' (1987) #''The Sea Star'' (1988) #''The Wind Crystal'' (1990) #''The Jewel of Fire'' (1992) #''The Golden Hills of Westria'' (2006) ''Lady of Light'' and ''Lady of Darkness'' have been republished in the U.S. as a single volume under the name ''Mistress of the Jewels'' (1991), and in the UK as ''Lady of Light, Lady of Darkness'' (1990)

Wodan's Children

#''The Wolf and the Raven'' (1993) #''The Dragons of the Rhine'' (1995) #''The Lord of Horses'' (1996)

The Hallowed Isle

#''The Book of the Sword'' (1999) #''The Book of the Spear'' (1999) #''The Book of the Cauldron'' (1999) #''The Book of the Stone'' (2000) These were also published in two volumes, as ''The Hallowed Isle: Books I & II'' (2000) and ''Books III & IV'' (2001)

Chronicles of Fionn mac Cumhal

In collaboration with Adrienne Martine-Barnes: #''Master of Earth and Water'' (1993) #''The Shield Between the Worlds'' (1994) #''Sword of Fire and Shadow'' (1995)

Avalon series

In collaboration with

: * '' The Forest House'' (1994) (uncredited) * '' Lady of Avalon'' (1997) (uncredited) * '' Priestess of Avalon'' (2000) As sole author: * '' Ancestors of Avalon'' (2004) * '' Ravens of Avalon'' (2007) * ''

Sword of Avalon A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed tip ...

'' (2009)

Other novels

*'' Brisingamen'' with Victor Milán (1984) *''White Mare, Red Stallion'' (1986) *''The Paradise Tree'' (1987) *''The White Raven'' (1988) *''The Serpent's Tooth'' (1991)

Sword and Sorceress series

Paxson has authored the following stories from the

Sword and Sorceress series The ''Sword and Sorceress'' series is a series of fantasy anthologies originally edited by American writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, and originally published by DAW Books. As she explained in the foreword to the first volume, she created the anthol ...

, an annual anthology of fantasy stories: * ''Sword of Yraine'' * ''Shadow Wood'' * ''Equona's Mare'' * ''The Sword Slave''

Other short fiction

* "The Song of N'Sardi-El" in ''

Millennial Women ''Millennial Women'' is a 1978 science fiction anthology, edited by Virginia Kidd, in which all the stories are written by women and have a female character as the primary protagonist. The themes which these stories have in common are those of so ...

'' (1978) * "An Appropriate Hell" in ''War in Hell'' (1988) - part of the '' Heroes in Hell'' series * "Deor" in ''The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth'' (2015) - part of the ''

Emberverse The Emberverse series—or Change World—is a series of post-apocalyptic alternate history novels written by S. M. Stirling. The novels depict the events following a mysterious—yet sudden—worldwide event called "The Change" that occurs at ...

'' series created by S.M. Stirling

Other books

* ''Celestial Wisdom for Every Year of Your Life: Discover the Hidden Meaning of Your Age'' (with Z. Budapest) Weiser Books (2003) , * ''Taking Up the Runes: A Complete Guide to Using Runes in Spells, Rituals, Divination, and Magic'' Weiser Books (April 20, 2005) , * ''Essential Asatru: Walking the Path of Norse Paganism'' Citadel (December 1, 2006) , * ''Trance-Portation: Learning to Navigate the Inner World'' Red Wheel/Weiser Books (November 1, 2008) ,

Citations

General and cited references

* Vale, V. and John Sulak (2001)
"Interview with Diana L. Paxson"
in ''Modern Pagans''. San Francisco: Re/Search Publications. .