Paul Collins (fantasy writer)
Encyclopedia
Paul Collins is an Australian writer
and editor
who specializes in science fiction
and fantasy
.
Collins has written many books for younger readers. He is best known for his fantasy series, The Jelindel Chronicles (Dragonlinks, Dragonfang and Dragonsight — a fourth, Wardragon, has been written), and The Quentaris Chronicles (Swords of Quentaris, Slaves of Quentaris, Dragonlords of Quentaris, Princess of Shadows and The Forgotten Prince). His latest science fiction books are The Earthborn, The Skyborn and The Hiveborn, all published in the USA.
In addition to his novels, Collins has written over thirty chapter books, around thirty non-fiction hardcovers for the education market (published both in Australia
and the USA), and two collections of his own stories. He co-edited four boxed sets of anthologies with Meredith Costain (Spinouts and Thrillogies), edited eleven trade anthologies, and was the principal editor of The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy.
, raised in New Zealand
and moved to Australia in 1972. His first published work was the Western novel Hot Lead-Cold Sweat (1975). That same year, in order to support himself so that he could write, Collins launched Void magazine, the first professional science fiction magazine Australia had seen since the demise of the joint Australian and British production Vision Of Tomorrow. Collins edited and published five issues of Void between August 1975 and March 1977, and while it only covered costs, the magazine was instrumental in encouraging lapsed writers Wynne Whiteford and Jack Wodhams
to take up writing again, as well as encouraging a new generation of Australian science fiction writers and readers.
In 1978, Collins moved from magazine to book publishing, initially with the Worlds original anthology series, but later with a series of original Australian science fiction and fantasy novels. In 1981 Collins was joined by Rowena Cory (A.K.A. Cory Daniells) who painted many of the covers for their books, and Cory and Collins went on to publish fourteen Australian science fiction and fantasy novels by authors such as Wynne Whiteford, A. Bertram Chandler, Jack Wodhams, Keith Taylor, Russell Blackford and David Lake. With the posthumous publication of Chandler's novel The Wild Ones, however, Collins decided that publishing was interfering with his own writing and he closed the business.
Collins pioneered the publishing of adult heroic fantasy in Australia and did much to raise the profile of Australian genre writing. Many of the books and stories he published have been republished overseas.
He sold his first professional fantasy story in 1977 to the United States magazine Weirdbook, and by 1980 he had sold another eleven stories to magazines and books in Australia and overseas.
Collins has a black belt in both Taekwondo
and jujitsu, experience he puts to good use in his recent, fast-paced cyber-oriented tales, which have culminated in the cyberpunk novel Cyberskin. The latter has been published by clocktowerfiction.com (USA), Hybrid Publishers (Australia) and Heyne Verlag (Germany). His stories have sold to a wide variety of mainstream and genre magazines. The best of his work has been collected in The Government in Exile, published by Melbourne's Sumeria Press in 1994. A later collection, Stalking Midnight, has been published by cosmos.com in both POD and e-book.
Collins returned to editing in 1994 to compile Metaworlds, an anthology of Australia's best recent science fiction, for Penguin Books
. This was followed by Strange Fruit, an anthology of dark fantasy tales with a literary bent. About this time Collins began to develop an interest in young adult literature, in terms of both his writing and editing. Angus & Robertson
published his children's fantasy novel The Wizard's Torment, which was likened by Sophie Masson
(Reading Time, May 1996) to the classic fantasies The Worm Ourobouros and The Well at the World's End. I t has since been selected by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training
for their Bookshelf List, and extracts were published in School Magazine
. Meanwhile, Collins compiled the young adult anthology Dream Weavers
for Penguin, the first original Australian heroic fantasy anthology ever. This was followed by a similar book called Fantastic Worlds and the Shivers series of children's horror novels from HarperCollins
. Hodder
published Paul's next anthology, Tales from the Wasteland in 2000. Collins has also written under the name Marilyn Fate, and he and Sean McMullen
have both used the pseudonym Roger Wilcox.
Collins' recent output has been mostly for children. Certainly the success of his YA anthology, Dream Weavers, and possibly its sequel, Fantastic Worlds, has encouraged him to write and edit for younger readers. His latest books, The Earthborn, a young adult science fiction novel, has sold to TOR
in the States, and his 100,000 word fantasy novel, Dragonlinks, has been published by Penguin Australia
.
He left the adult arena on a high: his story with Rick Kennett
, 'The Willcroft Inheritance', appeared in Charles L. Grant's Gothic Ghosts, TOR, 1997 and has been picked up by Ellen Datlow
and Terri Windling
for their Recommended Reading List Year's Best. Other recent stories appeared in Australian Short Stories and the award-winning Dreaming Down-Under
.
To date, Paul has published over 20 chapter books, around 30 non-fiction hardcovers for the education market, 11 anthologies, two collections of his own stories, edited the MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, over 140 short stories and a handful of trade books.
Paul and partner Meredith Costain have written 18 books on countries, all of which have sold to American publisher Chelsea. Paul's eight books on martial arts also sold into America.
Paul compiled and edited a seven-volume boxed set, called Book People — Meet Australia's Favourite Children's Authors and Illustrators. Macmillan
released these early 2002. He and Meredith Costain also compiled and edited the science fiction series Spinouts. There were three sets: Spinouts Silver, Bronze and Sapphire. They also put together a series called Thrillogy, for Pearson Education
. Authors featured are, among others, Richard Harland
, Christine Harris
, Glyn Parry
, Jackie French
, Jenny Pausacker, John Heffernan
, Allan Baillie
, Justin D'Ath and Robert Hood
. Illustrators include Shaun Tan
, Terry Denton
, Craig Smith and Sally Rippin.
Paul's latest writing includes a fantasy trilogy written in collaboration with Danny Willis. The World of Grrym comprises: "Allira's Gift", "Lords of Quibbitt" and "Morgassa's Folly". In November 2009 Celapene Press published his much-acclaimed "The Slightly Skewed Life of Toby Chrysler".
Paul also teaches writing in schools and has an increasing demand on his time for school visits. He participates in the Nestle Write Around Australia competition. A student from Paul's writing workshop Master class, Jack Fox, was the year 2000 Grade Six National Nestle winner (there were over 28,000 short story entries for Grades 5 & 6). Many others have had their stories published after participating in Paul's workshops, notably in the Australian children's magazine, Ozkids in Print.
1999 — Winner William Atheling Award for work on The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy; Shortlisted for the Aurealis
Convenor's Award.
2000 — The Dog King, Notable Book Children’s Book Council; Shortlisted for the Clayton’s Award.
2001 — (With Co-editor Meredith Costain) Winner the Aurealis
Convenors’ Award for Spinouts Bronze published by Pearson Education. (Joint winner was Shaun Tan for The Lost Thing.)
2002 — Winner of the inaugural Peter McNamara Award for lifetime achievement in SF.
2004 ─ Home Run, Notable Book Children’s Book Council.
2011 - Winner of the Chandler Award
for "Outstanding Achievement in Australian Science Fiction."
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and editor
Copy editing
Copy editing is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of text. Unlike general editing, copy editing might not involve changing the substance of the text. Copy refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, or publication...
who specializes in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
.
Collins has written many books for younger readers. He is best known for his fantasy series, The Jelindel Chronicles (Dragonlinks, Dragonfang and Dragonsight — a fourth, Wardragon, has been written), and The Quentaris Chronicles (Swords of Quentaris, Slaves of Quentaris, Dragonlords of Quentaris, Princess of Shadows and The Forgotten Prince). His latest science fiction books are The Earthborn, The Skyborn and The Hiveborn, all published in the USA.
In addition to his novels, Collins has written over thirty chapter books, around thirty non-fiction hardcovers for the education market (published both in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the USA), and two collections of his own stories. He co-edited four boxed sets of anthologies with Meredith Costain (Spinouts and Thrillogies), edited eleven trade anthologies, and was the principal editor of The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy.
Biography
Paul Collins was born in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, raised in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and moved to Australia in 1972. His first published work was the Western novel Hot Lead-Cold Sweat (1975). That same year, in order to support himself so that he could write, Collins launched Void magazine, the first professional science fiction magazine Australia had seen since the demise of the joint Australian and British production Vision Of Tomorrow. Collins edited and published five issues of Void between August 1975 and March 1977, and while it only covered costs, the magazine was instrumental in encouraging lapsed writers Wynne Whiteford and Jack Wodhams
Jack Wodhams
Jack Wodhams is a science fiction writer who has lived in Australia since 1955. He was first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact in 1967 with the story There Is a Crooked Man. He is largely known for the kind of "problem oriented" stories that Analog itself is known for...
to take up writing again, as well as encouraging a new generation of Australian science fiction writers and readers.
In 1978, Collins moved from magazine to book publishing, initially with the Worlds original anthology series, but later with a series of original Australian science fiction and fantasy novels. In 1981 Collins was joined by Rowena Cory (A.K.A. Cory Daniells) who painted many of the covers for their books, and Cory and Collins went on to publish fourteen Australian science fiction and fantasy novels by authors such as Wynne Whiteford, A. Bertram Chandler, Jack Wodhams, Keith Taylor, Russell Blackford and David Lake. With the posthumous publication of Chandler's novel The Wild Ones, however, Collins decided that publishing was interfering with his own writing and he closed the business.
Collins pioneered the publishing of adult heroic fantasy in Australia and did much to raise the profile of Australian genre writing. Many of the books and stories he published have been republished overseas.
He sold his first professional fantasy story in 1977 to the United States magazine Weirdbook, and by 1980 he had sold another eleven stories to magazines and books in Australia and overseas.
Collins has a black belt in both Taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
and jujitsu, experience he puts to good use in his recent, fast-paced cyber-oriented tales, which have culminated in the cyberpunk novel Cyberskin. The latter has been published by clocktowerfiction.com (USA), Hybrid Publishers (Australia) and Heyne Verlag (Germany). His stories have sold to a wide variety of mainstream and genre magazines. The best of his work has been collected in The Government in Exile, published by Melbourne's Sumeria Press in 1994. A later collection, Stalking Midnight, has been published by cosmos.com in both POD and e-book.
Collins returned to editing in 1994 to compile Metaworlds, an anthology of Australia's best recent science fiction, for Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
. This was followed by Strange Fruit, an anthology of dark fantasy tales with a literary bent. About this time Collins began to develop an interest in young adult literature, in terms of both his writing and editing. Angus & Robertson
Angus & Robertson
Angus & Robertson is a bookstore chain in Australia. Its first bookstore was opened in 110½ Market Street, Sydney by Scotsman David Angus in 1884; it sold second-hand books. In 1886, he went into partnership with fellow Scot, George Robertson with whom he had worked earlier.- Bookselling history...
published his children's fantasy novel The Wizard's Torment, which was likened by Sophie Masson
Sophie Masson
Sophie Masson is a French-Australian fantasy and children's author.-Biography:Sophie Masson was born in Indonesia of French parents who are of mixed ancestry...
(Reading Time, May 1996) to the classic fantasies The Worm Ourobouros and The Well at the World's End. I t has since been selected by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training
New South Wales Department of Education and Training
The New South Wales Department of Education and Communities, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsibile for primary schools, secondary schools and Technical and Further Education colleges...
for their Bookshelf List, and extracts were published in School Magazine
School Magazine
The School Magazine is a literary magazine for children which has been published continuously by the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities in its many incarnations since 1916...
. Meanwhile, Collins compiled the young adult anthology Dream Weavers
Dream Weavers (anthology)
Dream Weavers is a 1996 fantasy anthology edited by Paul Collins.-Background:Dream Weavers was first published in September 1996 by Penguin Books in trade paperback format. It was a short-list nominee for the 1997 Ditmar Award for best long fiction but lost to Lucy Sussex' The Scarlet Rider. Dream...
for Penguin, the first original Australian heroic fantasy anthology ever. This was followed by a similar book called Fantastic Worlds and the Shivers series of children's horror novels from HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
. Hodder
Hodder Headline
Headline Publishing Group is a British publishing company. It was founded in 1986 by Tim Hely Hutchinson, and acquired Hodder & Stoughton in 1992 to form Hodder Headline. It was acquired by Hachette Livre, from the WHSmith Group PLC, in 2005....
published Paul's next anthology, Tales from the Wasteland in 2000. Collins has also written under the name Marilyn Fate, and he and Sean McMullen
Sean McMullen
Sean Christopher McMullen is an Australian science fiction and fantasy author.-Biography:McMullen has a degree in physics and history from Melbourne University , a postgraduate degree in library and information science, and a PhD in Medieval Literature...
have both used the pseudonym Roger Wilcox.
Collins' recent output has been mostly for children. Certainly the success of his YA anthology, Dream Weavers, and possibly its sequel, Fantastic Worlds, has encouraged him to write and edit for younger readers. His latest books, The Earthborn, a young adult science fiction novel, has sold to TOR
Tor Books
Tor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
in the States, and his 100,000 word fantasy novel, Dragonlinks, has been published by Penguin Australia
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
.
He left the adult arena on a high: his story with Rick Kennett
Rick Kennett
Rick Kennett is an Australian writer of science fiction, horror and ghost stories. He is the most prolific and widely-published author in Australia after Paul Collins, Terry Dowling and Greg Egan, with stories in a wide variety of magazines and anthologies in Australia, the US and the UK.His first...
, 'The Willcroft Inheritance', appeared in Charles L. Grant's Gothic Ghosts, TOR, 1997 and has been picked up by Ellen Datlow
Ellen Datlow
Ellen Datlow is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist.-Biography:Datlow was the fiction editor of Omni magazine and Omni Online from 1981 through 1998, and edited the ten associated Omni anthologies...
and Terri Windling
Terri Windling
Terri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. Windling has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award...
for their Recommended Reading List Year's Best. Other recent stories appeared in Australian Short Stories and the award-winning Dreaming Down-Under
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....
.
To date, Paul has published over 20 chapter books, around 30 non-fiction hardcovers for the education market, 11 anthologies, two collections of his own stories, edited the MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, over 140 short stories and a handful of trade books.
Paul and partner Meredith Costain have written 18 books on countries, all of which have sold to American publisher Chelsea. Paul's eight books on martial arts also sold into America.
Paul compiled and edited a seven-volume boxed set, called Book People — Meet Australia's Favourite Children's Authors and Illustrators. Macmillan
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
released these early 2002. He and Meredith Costain also compiled and edited the science fiction series Spinouts. There were three sets: Spinouts Silver, Bronze and Sapphire. They also put together a series called Thrillogy, for Pearson Education
Pearson Education
Pearson Education is an international educational publishing and technology company providing textbooks and other educational material, such as multimedia learning tools...
. Authors featured are, among others, Richard Harland
Richard Harland
Richard Harland Richard Harland Richard Harland (born 15 January 1947 in Yorkshire is an English fantasy and science fiction writer, living in New South Wales, Australia. He was born in 1947 in Huddersfield, United Kingdom and migrated to Australia in 1970...
, Christine Harris
Christine Harris
Christine Harris is an Australian actress, born and raised in South Australia.After portraying a young version of popular Australian singer Julie Anthony in a television special, she moved to Sydney at the end of 1979 to star as paraplegic Tina Marshall in the short-lived Network Ten soap opera...
, Glyn Parry
Glyn Parry
Glyndwr John Robert Parry FRHistS was born in Tredegar, Monmouthshire on October 31, 1953. He attended the University of Cambridge, gaining with a PhD in History in 1981. In 1987 he published A Protestant Vision: William Harrison and the Reformation of Elizabethan England with Cambridge University...
, Jackie French
Jackie French
Jacqueline Anne "Jackie" French is an award-winning Australian author. She writes mainly children's fiction and books on gardening....
, Jenny Pausacker, John Heffernan
John Heffernan
John Heffernan is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Nenagh Éire Óg in Tipperary, and was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team in the late 80's. Heffernan won an All-Ireland winners' medal in 1989 and three Munster winners' medals in 1987, 1988, and...
, Allan Baillie
Allan Baillie
Allan Baillie is an Australian writer. He was born in Scotland, but moved with his family to Australia when he was seven. He began work as a journalist working on papers such as the Melbourne Sun, Telegraph and the Australian Women's Weekly having studied journalism at Melbourne University...
, Justin D'Ath and Robert Hood
Robert Hood
Robert Hood is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister Of Information' with Mad Mike Banks & Jeff Mills. He is often considered to be one of the founders of minimal techno....
. Illustrators include Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan
Shaun Tan is the illustrator and author of award-winning children's books such as The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and The Arrival...
, Terry Denton
Terry Denton
Terry Denton is an Australian illustrator and author. The second youngest of five boys, he was born and grew up in Melbourne, Victoria....
, Craig Smith and Sally Rippin.
Paul's latest writing includes a fantasy trilogy written in collaboration with Danny Willis. The World of Grrym comprises: "Allira's Gift", "Lords of Quibbitt" and "Morgassa's Folly". In November 2009 Celapene Press published his much-acclaimed "The Slightly Skewed Life of Toby Chrysler".
Paul also teaches writing in schools and has an increasing demand on his time for school visits. He participates in the Nestle Write Around Australia competition. A student from Paul's writing workshop Master class, Jack Fox, was the year 2000 Grade Six National Nestle winner (there were over 28,000 short story entries for Grades 5 & 6). Many others have had their stories published after participating in Paul's workshops, notably in the Australian children's magazine, Ozkids in Print.
Awards
1980s — 2000s a handful of nominations for Best Editor and Best Short Fiction in the Australian SF Achievement Awards1999 — Winner William Atheling Award for work on The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy; Shortlisted for the Aurealis
Aurealis
Aurealis is a Australian speculative fiction magazine published by Chimaera Publications. The magazine was launched in September 1990 to provide a market for speculative fiction writers, with a particular emphasis on raising the profile of Australian authors.In 1995 the magazine instituted the...
Convenor's Award.
2000 — The Dog King, Notable Book Children’s Book Council; Shortlisted for the Clayton’s Award.
2001 — (With Co-editor Meredith Costain) Winner the Aurealis
Aurealis
Aurealis is a Australian speculative fiction magazine published by Chimaera Publications. The magazine was launched in September 1990 to provide a market for speculative fiction writers, with a particular emphasis on raising the profile of Australian authors.In 1995 the magazine instituted the...
Convenors’ Award for Spinouts Bronze published by Pearson Education. (Joint winner was Shaun Tan for The Lost Thing.)
2002 — Winner of the inaugural Peter McNamara Award for lifetime achievement in SF.
2004 ─ Home Run, Notable Book Children’s Book Council.
2011 - Winner of the Chandler Award
Chandler Award
The Chandler Award is presented by the Australian Science Fiction Foundation for "Outstanding Achievement in Australian Science Fiction".It is named in recognition of the contribution that science fiction writer A...
for "Outstanding Achievement in Australian Science Fiction."
Quote
- "Australia is not the science fiction capital of the world; in fact we are probably not even on the map. This unfortunate fact would change if we could produce more writers like Paul Collins." Michael Hanrahan, Australian Book Review.