Mark Chadbourn's News & Views

Science Fiction & Fantasy Publisher Solaris Announces Mark Chadbourn Novel Deal

Mark Chadbourn — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:14:00 +0000

A press release issued today by Solaris Books:

Solaris is proud to announce a new acquisition from popular British fantasy novelist Mark Chadbourn.

THE LORD OF SILENCE is a thrilling new epic fantasy. When the great hero of the city of Idriss is murdered, Vidar, the Lord of Silence, must take his place as chief defender against the mysterious terrors lurking in the dense forest beyond the city's walls.

But Vidar is a man tormented - by a lost memory and a vampiric jewel that demands the life energy of others. Now, with a killer loose within Idriss, and the threat from without mounting, Vidar must solve a three thousand year old religious mystery to unlock the terrifying secrets of his own past.

A two-time winner of the British Fantasy Award, Mark Chadbourn is the author of eleven novels and one non-fiction book. A former journalist, he is now a screenwriter for BBC television drama. His other jobs have included running an independent record company, managing rock bands, working on a production line, and as an engineer's "mate". He lives in a forest in the English Midlands.

Mark Chadbourn said, "After several years writing my own particular and peculiar brand of urban fantasy, I wanted to try something completely different. The Lord of Silence is me cutting loose and experimenting way out of my comfort zone - a completely new world, new characters, a twisted take on magic, and a mystery that spans several thousand years. It's a sword and sorcery, noir, puzzle-cracking, romance, serial killer, adventure-mystery. With mad, dancing magicians."

Publisher Marc Gascoigne added: "It's always been puzzling to me why a writer of Mark's immense talent, and with such a huge British fanbase, has rarely been offered the opportunity to release his books in the US. It's time to remedy that, with the best book of his career so far."

THE LORD OF SILENCE will be released in 2009 in the US and UK.

Mark would also like to add: "Please note – this book will be in addition to my regularly scheduled novels published by Victor Gollancz."

Jack of Ravens out now in mass-market paperback

Mark Chadbourn — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:23:00 +0000

The paperback version of Jack of Ravens: Kingdom of the Serpent Book One is on the shelves from today.

Shortlisted for the British Fantasy Best Novel Award, the hardback sold out in record time, so it's good to have it back on the shelves. Advance orders are running very high, so if you want a first printing it’s probably a good idea to buy early. You can get it here: Amazon.co.uk.

British Fantasy Award Win

Mark Chadbourn — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:25:00 +0000

My story 'Whisper Lane' won this year's British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story, presented at Fantasycon at Nottingham, UK. It was originally published in the BFS – A Celebration anthology in 2006.

Tate Britain Appearance

Mark Chadbourn — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:26:00 +0000

On July 5, I gave a very successful lecture at the world-famous Tate Britain art gallery in London, entitled 'Myth, Memory and the Art of Richard Dadd'. The event was a sell-out, and also pretty ground-breaking on several fronts. I was one of the first – if not the first – genre writer to be invited to the Tate to give a lecture for one of their rightly-acclaimed study days. And personally, it was one of the most high-profile appearances I've made.

I only have praise for the staff and academics at the Tate who treated both myself, and the genre, with a great deal of respect. Before the lecture, the audience toured the gallery to see Dadd's work and many took the opportunity to ask me about my opinions on the artist and his work. After that I gave the lecture, touching on not only my interest in Dadd and my novella about his most famous painting, 'The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke', but also about other authors influenced by Dadd – Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Angela Carter, Robert Rankin and more. We followed this with an at times intense debate with an art historian about the meaning of Dadd's work, and a couple of readings from The Fairy Feller novella.

The novella has gone from strength-to-strength since it won the British Fantasy Award four years ago. The limited edition by PS Publishing has nearly sold out, and the added attention from this Tate event has created interest from across the world. Now I need to find a mainstream publisher interested in reprinting it as part of a collection so it can reach a wider audience.