T. A. Barron
Encyclopedia
Thomas Archibald Barron is an American writer of fantasy literature
, books for children and young adults, and nature books.
. His family moved to Colorado
and he spent much of his youth on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains
. Barron's writing reflects his great passion for nature and the spiritual values of the natural world, as well as his belief in the power of every person. He studied history at Princeton University
, where he currently serves as a Trustee, attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship
, and has business and law degrees from Harvard University
. He served as president of a venture capital business in New York City before changing careers in 1990, when he returned to Colorado to become a full-time writer and conservationist. Since then, he has written more than twenty novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and nature books. In 2011, he received the de Grummond USM Medallion for "lifetime contribution to the field of children's and young adult literature."
He is an active supporter of conservation
causes, serving as a board member for The Wilderness Society
, the Alaska Conservation Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy
of Colorado. He founded a national prize to celebrate outstanding young people who help other people or the environment -- the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes (named after his mother). He also helped to create the Princeton Environmental Institute at Princeton University in 1990. Recently, the Wilderness Society honored him with the Robert Marshall Award, its highest award given to citizens active in conservation. Barron lives in Boulder, Colorado
.
and ecology
in mythical settings. Inspired by nature's power of renewal as well as humanity's power of free choice, he says, “I truly believe every person can make a difference — that's why I'm drawn to heroic quest stories.” . His books have received the Nautilus Award Grand Prize for literature that helps to renew the spirit and envision a better world, as well as many other awards from the American Library Association and the International Reading Association. The Lost Years of Merlin
epic (five titles) and the novel The Ancient One have been international best sellers; The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy has been a New York Times best seller. Warner Bros.
film studio is currently developing a motion picture of The Lost Years of Merlin
.
The Lost Years of Merlin
For more information visit http://www.tabarron.com/merlin-the-movie
Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1950s however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other...
, books for children and young adults, and nature books.
Biography
Born March 26, 1952, he spent early childhood in a town full of New England history and apple orchards, Harvard, MassachusettsHarvard, Massachusetts
Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several non-traditional communities, such as Harvard Shaker Village and the utopian Transcendentalist center Fruitlands...
. His family moved to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and he spent much of his youth on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. Barron's writing reflects his great passion for nature and the spiritual values of the natural world, as well as his belief in the power of every person. He studied history at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, where he currently serves as a Trustee, attended Oxford University on a Rhodes scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
, and has business and law degrees from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He served as president of a venture capital business in New York City before changing careers in 1990, when he returned to Colorado to become a full-time writer and conservationist. Since then, he has written more than twenty novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and nature books. In 2011, he received the de Grummond USM Medallion for "lifetime contribution to the field of children's and young adult literature."
He is an active supporter of conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
causes, serving as a board member for The Wilderness Society
The Wilderness Society (United States)
The Wilderness Society is an American organization that is dedicated to protecting America's wilderness. It was formed in 1935 and currently has over 300,000 members and supporters.-Founding:The society was incorporated on January 21, 1935...
, the Alaska Conservation Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
of Colorado. He founded a national prize to celebrate outstanding young people who help other people or the environment -- the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes (named after his mother). He also helped to create the Princeton Environmental Institute at Princeton University in 1990. Recently, the Wilderness Society honored him with the Robert Marshall Award, its highest award given to citizens active in conservation. Barron lives in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
.
Works
In many of his novels, Barron writes about natureNature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
and ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
in mythical settings. Inspired by nature's power of renewal as well as humanity's power of free choice, he says, “I truly believe every person can make a difference — that's why I'm drawn to heroic quest stories.” . His books have received the Nautilus Award Grand Prize for literature that helps to renew the spirit and envision a better world, as well as many other awards from the American Library Association and the International Reading Association. The Lost Years of Merlin
The Lost Years of Merlin
The Lost Years of Merlin is a work of literature by T.A. Barron, published by Penguin Group USA. It tells the tale of the legendary wizard Merlin's youth. Though the character Merlin is world famous as an ancient wizard, this story of his lost youth is original to the author...
epic (five titles) and the novel The Ancient One have been international best sellers; The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy has been a New York Times best seller. Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
film studio is currently developing a motion picture of The Lost Years of Merlin
The Lost Years of Merlin
The Lost Years of Merlin is a work of literature by T.A. Barron, published by Penguin Group USA. It tells the tale of the legendary wizard Merlin's youth. Though the character Merlin is world famous as an ancient wizard, this story of his lost youth is original to the author...
.
Adventures of Kate trilogy
- Heartlight (1990)
- The Ancient One (1992)
- Merlin EffectMerlin EffectThe Merlin Effect is the third book in The Adventure of Kate trilogy by T. A. Barron. It was preceded by Heartlight and The Ancient One. The hardcover version of this book was published by Ace Books in 2004.-Plot introduction:...
(1994)
The Lost Years of MerlinThe Lost Years of MerlinThe Lost Years of Merlin is a work of literature by T.A. Barron, published by Penguin Group USA. It tells the tale of the legendary wizard Merlin's youth. Though the character Merlin is world famous as an ancient wizard, this story of his lost youth is original to the author...
epic
- The Lost Years of MerlinThe Lost Years of MerlinThe Lost Years of Merlin is a work of literature by T.A. Barron, published by Penguin Group USA. It tells the tale of the legendary wizard Merlin's youth. Though the character Merlin is world famous as an ancient wizard, this story of his lost youth is original to the author...
(1996) - The Seven Songs of MerlinThe Seven Songs of MerlinThe Seven Songs of Merlin is a work of literature by T. A. Barron, published by Penguin. The Seven Songs of Merlin is the second story in a five story epic known as The Lost Years of Merlin. These books chronicle the childhood of Merlin....
(1997) - The Fires of MerlinThe Fires of MerlinThe Fires of Merlin is a 1998 fantasy novel by T. A. Barron published by Penguin. It is the third of The Lost Years of Merlin, a five-book series providing a childhood story for the legendary Merlin, wizard of Arthurian legend....
(1998) - The Mirror of MerlinThe Mirror of MerlinThe Mirror of Merlin is a 1999 fantasy novel by T. A. Barron published by Penguin. It is the fourth of The Lost Years of Merlin, a five-book series providing a childhood story for the legendary Merlin, wizard of Arthurian legend....
(1999) - The Wings of MerlinThe Wings of MerlinThe Wings of Merlin is a children's fantasy novel by T.A. Barron. It is the fifth book in the Lost Years of Merlin epic about the legendary wizard Merlin's youth...
(2000)
The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy
- Child of the Dark ProphecyChild of the Dark ProphecyChild of the Dark Prophecy is the first novel in The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy by T. A. Barron. It is set in a world made up of a great tree and its seven roots inhabited by creatures.-Plot summary:...
(2004) - Shadows on the StarsShadows on the StarsShadows on the Stars is the second book in The Great Tree of Avalon series by T. A. Barron. Child of the Dark Prophecy was the first book, and The Eternal Flame the last...
(2005) - The Eternal FlameThe Eternal FlameThe Eternal Flame is the third book in The Great Tree of Avalon trilogy by T. A. Barron. It was preceded by Child of the Dark Prophecy and Shadows on the Stars. The hardcover version of this book was published by Penguin Young Readers Group in 2006.-Plot introduction:Avalon is at the edge of...
(2007)
Merlin's Dragon trilogy
- Book One - Merlin's Dragon (2008)
- Book Two - Doomraga's Revenge (2009)
- Book Three - Ultimate Magic (2010)
Other fiction books
- Tree Girl (2001)
- Ben Barron; How the boy became king of shadows
Picture books
- Where is Grandpa? (1999)
- High as a Hawk (2004)
- The Day the Stones Walked (2007)
- Ghost Hands (2011)
Nature books
- To Walk In Wilderness (1993)
- Rocky Mountain National Park: A 100 Year Perspective (1995)
Merlin - the movie
Warner Brothers is now in production of "The Lost Years of Merlin" movie. Ed Whitworth has been hired on to write the script.For more information visit http://www.tabarron.com/merlin-the-movie