Welsh Canadian writer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jo Walton (born December 1, 1964) is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She has won many awards.
Jo Walton | |
|---|---|
Author Jo Walton at a book signing event | |
| Born | December 1, 1964 Aberdare, Wales, UK[1] |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Welsh and Canadian |
| Genre | Fantasy/Science fiction |
| Spouse | Emmet A. O'Brien |
| Children | 1 |
Walton was born in Aberdare, in the Cynon Valley of Wales. She went to Park School in Aberdare, then Aberdare Girls' Grammar School. She lived for a year in Cardiff and went to Howell's School Llandaff. She finished her education at Oswestry School in Shropshire, and at the University of Lancaster. She lived in London for two years. Then she lived in Lancaster until 1997. She moved to Swansea, where she lived until moving to Canada in 2002.[2]
Walton has been writing since she was 13. Her first novel was published in 2000. Before that, she had been published in a number of role-playing game publications, such as Pyramid. She often wrote with her husband at the time, Ken Walton.[4] Walton was also active in online science fiction fandom, especially in the Usenet groups rec.arts.sf.written and rec.arts.sf.fandom. Her poem "The Lurkers Support Me in E-Mail" is widely quoted on it and in other online arguments, often without her name attached.[5]
Her first three novels, The King's Peace (2000), The King's Name (2001), and The Prize in the Game (2002) were all fantasy. They happen in a world based on Arthurian Britain and the Táin Bó Cúailnge's Ireland. Her next novel, Tooth and Claw (2003) was about dragons, but in the style of Anthony Trollope.
Farthing was her first science fiction novel. It was a mystery and an alternate history in which the United Kingdom made peace with Adolf Hitler before the United States entered World War II. It was nominated for a Nebula Award, a Quill Award,[6] the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel,[7] and the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. A sequel, Ha'penny, was published in October 2007 by Tor Books,[8] with the final book in the trilogy, Half a Crown, published in September 2008. Ha'penny won the 2008 Prometheus Award (jointly with Harry Turtledove's novel The Gladiator)[9] and has been nominated for the Lambda Literary Award.[10]
In April 2007, Howard V. Hendrix stated that professional writers should never release their writings online for free. He claimed doing this made the writer a scab.[11] Walton responded to this by declaring 23 April as International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day. Writers who disagreed with Hendrix could release their stories online all at once. In 2008 Walton celebrated this day by posting several chapters of an unfinished sequel to Tooth and Claw called Those Who Favor Fire.
In 2008, Walton began writing a column for Tor.com, mostly reviews of older books.[12]
Walton moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, after her first novel was published. She is married to Dr. Emmet A. O'Brien.[13] She has one child. Her son, Alexander, was born in 1990.
 | This list is not complete; you can help by adding missing items. |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer | Won | |
| 2004 | World Fantasy Award | Tooth and Claw | Won |
| 2008 | Prometheus Award | Ha'penny | Won |
| 2010 | Mythopoeic Award | Lifelode | Won |
| 2011 | Nebula Award for Best Novel,[19] | Among Others | Won |
| 2012 | Hugo Award for Best Novel,[20] | Among Others | Won |
Among Others is one of only seven novels to have been nominated for the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, and World Fantasy Award.
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