Diana Wynne Jones

Diana Wynne Jones (born London August 16, 1934) is a writer of fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction.

Related Topics:
London - August 16 - 1934 - Fantasy - Children

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She was raised in the village of Thaxted in Essex, and now lives in Clifton in the city of Bristol, England. She studied at Oxford, where she attended lectures by both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. She is married to John Burrow, who is Professor Emeritus in the English department of the University of Bristol.

Related Topics:
Thaxted - Essex - Clifton - Bristol - Oxford - C.S. Lewis - J.R.R. Tolkien - John Burrow - University of Bristol

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Her most famous work is the Chrestomanci series, which tells of the adventures of a nine-lived enchanter in a series of connected worlds who is responsible for preventing the misuse of magic.

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She is friends with Neil Gaiman and they are both fans of each others' work. She dedicated her novel Hexwood to him after something he said in a conversation inspired a key part of the plot.

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The Harry Potter books are frequently compared to the works of Diana Wynne Jones. Many of her earlier children's books were out of print in recent years, and they are now being re-issued for the young audience whose interest in fantasy and reading was spurred by Harry Potter.

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Her book Howl's Moving Castle was turned into a Japanese animated movie in 2004, by filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. A version dubbed into English was released in the USA in 2005, with the voice of Howl performed by Christian Bale.

Related Topics:
Howl's Moving Castle - 2004 - Hayao Miyazaki - 2005 - Christian Bale

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There is now a dedicated Diana Wynne Jones wiki (inspired by, but otherwise unconnected with, Wikipedia): see External links below.

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Her nonfiction work on writing fantastic fiction, The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, has a cult following as a reference among writers and critics, despite being difficult to find due to an erratic printing history. It was recently reissued in the UK, and will be reissued in the USA in 2006 by Firebird Books.

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