Garth Nix

Garth Richard Nix^[1] (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adults' fantasy novels, notably the Old Kingdom, Seventh Tower and Keys to the Kingdom series. He has frequently been asked if his name is a pseudonym, to which he has responded, "I guess people ask me because it sounds like the perfect name for a writer of fantasy. However, it is my real name."^[2]

Biography

Born in Melbourne, Nix was raised in Canberra. After a period working for the Australian government, he traveled in Europe before returning to Australia in 1983 and undertaking a BA in professional writing at Canberra University. He worked in a Canberra bookshop after graduation, before moving to Sydney in 1987, where he worked his way up in the publishing field. He was a sales rep and publicist before becoming a Senior editor at HarperCollins. In 1993 he commenced further travel in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe before becoming a marketing consultant, founding his own company, Gotley Nix Evans Pty Ltd. From 1999-2002 he worked as a literary agent with Curtis Brown (Australia) Pty Ltd before becoming a full-time author.^[3]

In addition to his work as a fantasy novelist, Nix has written a number of scenarios and articles for the role playing field, including those for Dungeons & Dragons and Traveller. These have appeared in related publications such as White Dwarf, Multiverse and Breakout!. He has also written case studies, articles and news items in the information technology field, his work appearing in publications such as Computerworld and PCWorld.^[3]

Nix lives in Sydney with his wife Anna McFarlane, a publisher, and their sons Thomas, Henry and Edward.^[4]

Works

The Old Kingdom

Also known as the Abhorsen series or trilogy

• Sabriel (1995)
• Lirael (2001)
• Abhorsen (2003)
• Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen (2014)

Companion works

• The Creature in the Case (2005) (Novella produced for World Book Day) – Released as part of the collection below with the title changing to Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case.
• Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories (2005) (The only Abhorsen story included is "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case")
• The Old Kingdom Chronicles (2009) (titled The Abhorsen Chronicles in the United States) – First three Abhorsen books and The Creature in the Case
• An Extract of the Journal of Idrach the Lesser Necromancer (2009) – Short Story released on oldkingdom.com.au^[5]
• To Hold the Bridge (Novella, initially released in an anthology titled Legends of Australian Fantasy, edited by Jack Dann and Jonathan Strahan)^[6] – Released as part of the collection below.
• To Hold the Bridge (2015) (The only Abhorsen story included is "To Hold the Bridge")^[7]

The Seventh Tower

1. The Fall (2000)
2. Castle (2000)
3. Aenir (2001)
4. Above the Veil (2001)
5. Into Battle (2001)
6. The Violet Keystone (2001)

The Keys to the Kingdom

1. Mister Monday (2003)
2. Grim Tuesday (2004)
3. Drowned Wednesday (2005)
4. Sir Thursday (2006)
5. Lady Friday (2007)
6. Superior Saturday (2008)
7. Lord Sunday (2010)

Very Clever Baby

These books were essentially self-published (though later republished by Text Media in Melbourne) and although aimed at "Very Clever Babies Aged 3–6 Months", some help is needed from parents with the long words such as "ichthyologist" used by the character Freddy the Fish.

• Very Clever Baby's First Reader (1988)
• Very Clever Baby's Ben Hur (1988)
• Very Clever Baby's Guide to the Greenhouse Effect (1992)
• Very Clever Baby's First Christmas (1998)

Troubletwisters

A collaboration with Sean Williams.^[8]

1. Troubletwisters (2011)
2. The Monster (2012)
3. The Mystery (June 2013)
4. The Missing (2014)

Collections

• Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories (2005)
• To Hold the Bridge (2015)

Other

• 1990 The Ragwitch
• 1997 Shade's Children
• 2000 Serena and the Sea Serpent (in Aussie Bites series)
• 2005 "Read It in the Headlines!" in Daikaiju! Giant Monster Tales (ed. Robert Hood, Robin Pen)
• 2007 "Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz Go to War Again" in Jim Baen's Universe April 2007 (ed. Mike Resnick, Eric Flint)
• 2007 One Beastly Beast: Two Aliens, Three Inventors, Four Fantastic Tales — a book of short stories for younger readers, including Serena and the Sea
• 2008 "Beyond the Sea Gate of the Scholar Pirates of Sarskoe" in Fast Ships, Black Sails (ed Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer)
• 2010 "The Highest Justice" in Zombies vs. Unicorns (ed Justine Larbalestier, Holly Black)
• 2010 "A Suitable Present for a Sorcerous Puppet" in Swords and Dark Magic (ed Lou Anders, Jonathan Strahan)
• 2011 Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Three Adventures — A collection of "Sir Hereward...", "Beyond the Sea Gate..." and "A Suitable Present..." in one Kindle E-book
• 2012 A Confusion of Princes — a young adult space opera novel
• 2013 "Losing Her Divinity" in Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales (edited by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt)
• 2014 Spirit Animals Book 3: Blood Ties (with Sean Williams)
• 2014 "A Cargo of Ivories" in Rogues (edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois)
• 2015 "By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers" in Old Venus (edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois))^[9]
• 2015 Newt's Emerald

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Garth Nix.

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Garth Nix

• Official website
• Bibliography at SciFan
• Interview by BookBanter
• Garth Nix at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• The Old Kingdom Chronicles (official)
• The Keys to the Kingdom (official)
• Garth Nix at Libraries Australia Authorities with catalogue search (subscription required)
• Garth Nix at Library of Congress Authorities, with 31 catalog records