Diana Gabaldon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Diana Jean Gabaldon Watkins | |
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 Diana Gabaldon at a book signing in August, 2007. |
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| Born | January 11, 1952 Arizona (U.S.) |
| Pen name | Diana Gabaldon |
| Occupation | novelist |
| Nationality | America |
| Writing period | 1991 - present |
| Genres | Fiction, Time Travel, Speculative Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery |
Diana Jean Gabaldon Watkins (b. January 11, 1952 in Arizona) is an American author of Mexican-American and English ancestry. Diana Gabaldon is her maiden name, and the one she uses professionally. Gabaldon is the author of the best-selling Outlander Series. Her books are difficult to classify by genre, since they contain elements of romantic fiction, historical fiction, and science fiction (in the form of time travel). Her books have so far been sold in 23 countries, and translated into 19 languages besides English.
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[edit] Biography
Diana Jean Gabaldon born on January 11, 1952 in Arizona, (U.S.A.). Her father was from New Mexico and her mother's family from Yorkshire (England); her great-grandfather immigrated to Arizona from England in the 1860's.
Gabaldon grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona. She has received three degrees from two different institutions: B.S. in Zoology from Northern Arizona University, 1970-1973; M.S. in Marine Biology from the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1973-1975. Her research topic was, "Agonistic Interactions of Hermit Crabs." and Ph.D in Ecology from Northern Arizona University, 1975-1978. Dissertation: "Nest Site Selection in Pinyon Jays, Gymnorhynchus cyanocephalus)." She has also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Northern Arizona University, in 2007. In addition, Gabaldon Hall, a dormitory on the campus of Northern Arizona University, is named after her father, Tony Gabaldon. Gabaldon currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband, Doug Watkins; they have three adult children.
Gabaldon's first fiction efforts were posted on the CompuServe writers forum. She was an active member of an online community, and posted parts of her unfinished novel, Outlander, to strengthen her points in an argument with another poster. One of the people who read her post was a science fiction writer. He was impressed, and introduced her to his agent.[1] This favorable feedback persuaded her to finish and publish the first book in the Outlander series, which later expanded to six books (one or two more are planned). The stories center around a time-travelling 20th-century nurse (Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser) and her 18th-century Scottish husband (James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser), and are located in Scotland, France, the West Indies and America. The Lord John Series is a spinoff from the Outlander books, as it centers on a secondary character from the original series.
Note: Diana did not take her husband's name after they married, "My husband was mildly put out that I refused to take his name when we got married. I told him, though, that I'd been spelling "Gabaldon" for people for twenty-five years, and I was attached to it."
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Outlander Series
- Outlander (Cross Stitch in UK) (1991)
- Dragonfly in Amber (1992)
- Voyager (1994)
- Drums of Autumn (1997)
- The Fiery Cross (2001)
- A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005)
- An Echo in the Bone (Release date TBD)[2]
[edit] Lord John Series
- Lord John and the Hellfire Club (novella) (1998, initially an audio only release)
- Lord John and the Private Matter (novel) (September 2003)
- Lord John and the Succubus (novella) in Legends II (book), edited by Robert Silverberg (September 2003)
- Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (novel) (August 2007)
- Lord John and the Haunted Soldier (novella) (November 2007)
- Lord John and the Hand of Devils (collection) (November 2007, a collection of three novellas)
- Lord John and the Scottish Prisoner (novel) (Forthcoming)
[edit] Other Fiction
- The Outlandish Companion (Through The Stones in the UK.) (1999), A guide to the Outlander series containing synopses, a character guide, and other notes and information.
- Naked Came the Phoenix (2001), a collaboration with twelve other authors
[edit] Awards
- July, 1992 Diana Gabaldon received the RITA Award given by the Romance Writers of America in the category Best Romance of 1992 for the novel Outlander.[3]
- September 24, 2006 Diana Gabaldon received the International Corine Book Award 2006 in the category Weltbild Readers Award, which was determined by a public vote on the web page of the publisher.
- October 10, 2006 Diana Gabaldon received the Quill Book Award in 2006 in the category Science Fiction / Fantasy / Horror, which was determined by a public vote on the Internet. In order to receive the nomination the author was required to meet one of several possible criteria, such as an appearance on the best seller list of Borders Group Inc., or a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
[edit] References
- ^ Hemmungs Wirten, Eva (1998), Global Infatuation: Explorations in Transnational Publishing and Texts. The Case of Harlequin Enterprises and Sweden, Uppsala University, p. 56, ISBN 97-85178-28-4, <http://www.abm.uu.se/evahw/Global_Infatuation.pdf>. Retrieved on 24 August 2007
- ^ Diana Gabaldon.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.
- ^ RITA Awards: Past Winners. Romance Writers of America, Inc.. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
