Charles de Lint was born in 1951 in Bussum, in North Holland in the Netherlands. His family emigrated to Canada when he was four months old. He grew up in Canada, as well as overseas, but has lived in Ottawa since he was age eleven.
In 1974 he met MaryAnn Harris,[7][8] and they married in 1980. They now live in Ottawa. Harris is first editor of de Lint's fiction and also his business manager.[9]
MaryAnn Harris has been hospitalized since September 6, 2021 for a rare and debilitating tick-borne virus.[10]
Career
During his late twenties to early thirties, de Lint worked in a record store and played with a Celtic musical band during weekends.[11]
Writing
Charles de Lint started writing in 1983 and has been a full-time writer ever since, publishing about forty books between 1984 and 1997, and 71 books (excluding foreign editions and reprints), in total, thus gaining a reputation as a master of fantasy.
He published three horror novels using the pseudonym Samuel M. Key[11] which have subsequently been reprinted by Orb Books as by Charles de Lint. He has also published a children's book, A Circle of Cats, illustrated by artist Charles Vess.[12]
Style and settings
His main genre, that of contemporary fantasy, which combines the real world with the "otherworld", allows the co-existence of the natural and the supernatural. This has been termed a metaphor for the lack of indigenous folklore in most of Canada living side-by-side with the living oral traditions of the Native Americans.[13] De Lint, however, draws upon not only North American Aboriginal culture, but also the folklore of other cultures. For example, his novel, Moonheart, uses elements of both Native American and Welsh folklore.[13]
Many of his early books are set in Ottawa, while others (1990–2009) have been set mainly in his fictional North American city of Newford,[11] inspired by de Lint's favourite aspects of various North American cities. A regular set of characters are used in many different books. More recently, de Lint published an adult novel, The Mystery of Grace (Tor 2009), set in his fictional Southwestern US town, Santa de Vado Viejo, as was his most recent young adult novel, The Painted Boy (Viking 2010).
Recognition
De Lint has received many awards, including the 2000 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection for Moonlight and Vines, the Ontario Library Association's White Pine Award, as well as the Great Lakes Great Books Award for his young adult novel The Blue Girl (Viking, 2004). In 1988 he won the Canadian SF/Fantasy Award, the Casper (now known as the Aurora) for his novel Jack, the Giant-killer (Ace 1987). His novel Widdershins (Tor, 2006) won first place, Amazon.com Editors' Picks: Top 10 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2006.[14] His 1984 urban fantasy novel, Moonheart, was a best-selling trade paperback for Tor's Orb line. It has been described as a thriller, detective mystery, and otherworld mythic fantasy.[13]
Other literary work
In addition to being the author of numerous novels and short stories, de Lint is also a poet, folklorist, and critic. His poetry can be found online in the Endicott StudioJournal of Mythic Arts. He has taught creative writing workshops in Canada and the United States, and was writer‑in‑residence for two public libraries in Ottawa. He has also written original songs; his main instruments are flute, fiddle, whistles, vocals and guitar. In 2011, de Lint released his first CD, Old Blue Truck[14] De Lint has also been a judge for the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award and the Bram Stoker Award.
Music and art
De Lint plays folk, Irish and Celtic music with his wife MaryAnn; at one time playing at a local pub, and most recently doing concerts at FaerieWorlds and FaerieCon West in Seattle. He plays multiple instruments and sings and writes his own songs. In 2011 de Lint released his first album, Old Blue Truck,[15] which was released alongside his wife MaryAnn Harris's album, Crow Girls[16] in which he also contributes.
Newford is a fictional North American city where Charles de Lint has set many of his novels and short stories. Human beings share the city with European and Native American mythological legends, finding common ground as they live out their daily lives or find themselves swept up in adventures.[21]
The Dreaming Place (young adult, illustrated by Brian Froud) (1990)
From a Whisper to a Scream (first published under the pseudonym Samuel M. Key) (1992)
Dreams Underfoot (1993)
I'll Be Watching You (first published under the pseudonym Samuel M. Key) (1994)
^ abcSteven, Lawrence. "Welwyn Wilton Katz and Charles de Lint: New Fantasy as a Canadian Post-colonial Genre." Worlds of Wonder: Readings in Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. Ed. Jean-François Leroux and Camille R. La Bossière. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2004. 57–72. Print.
^ abWebmaster, Rodger Turner. "Charles de Lint". www.sfsite.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
