Jump to content

Graham Joyce

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Graham William Joyce
Joyce signing books at Imagicon 2: Swecon 2009
Joyce signing books at Imagicon 2:Swecon2009
Born(1954-10-22)22 October 1954
Keresley, England,UK
Died9 September 2014(2014-09-09)(aged 59)
OccupationWriter and teacher
GenreSpeculative Fiction
Website
grahamjoyce.co.uk

Graham William Joyce(22 October 1954 – 9 September 2014) was a British writer ofspeculative fictionand the recipient of numerous awards, including theO. Henry Award,theWorld Fantasy Award,and six times theBritish Fantasy Awardfor both his novels and short stories.[1][2]

Biography

[edit]

The son of a working-class parents, Joyce grew up in Keresley, a small mining village just outsideCoventry,before moving to live inLeicester.[3]In interview, he speaks of the influence of the woods and countryside of his childhood, woods which, he later discovered, were among the last remaining parts of theForest of Arden.[4]

Joyce names his grandmother as an early influence; a woman who spoke of seeing ghosts and whose strong personality inspires several of the women characters in his books. He says in interview: 'It’s true that I have been surrounded by strong women. As I grew up I spent a lot of my time with my grandmother and also with my five aunts, all of whom were very strong-willed and opinionated!'[5]

Joyce received aBEddegree from Bishop Lonsdale College in 1977 (nowUniversity of Derby) and anM.A.degree in Modern English and American Literature[6]from theUniversity of Leicesterin 1980,[7]Joyce worked as a youth officer for the National Association of Youth Clubs until 1988, when he and his wife Suzanne moved to the Greek islands ofLesbosandCrete,during which time Joyce wrote his first novel,Dreamside.[8][9]

After sellingDreamsideto Pan Books in 1991, Joyce moved back to England to pursue a career as a writer. He was awarded aPhD degree by publicationatNottingham Trent University,where he taught creative writing from 1996 until his death and was made a reader in creative writing.[10]

Joyce was a strong supporter of children's education and literacy, and in 2014 spearheaded a petition signed by more than 100,000 people to remove Michael Gove from office over his changes to the English literature GCSE syllabus, tellingThe Guardian:"Michael Gove climbs on tables and gleefully tears the wings from mockingbirds as his coterie of supporters looks on with immobilised grins, knowing there is no one around with the power or the will to stop him."[11]

In 2011, in a piece forThe Guardian,he spoke against the 'cultural elitism' of those who equate readability with 'dumbing down', following an attack byJeanette Wintersonon theBooker Prizeshortlist.[12]

Joyce was the regular first-choice goalkeeper for the England Writers football team, appearing in international fixtures against Germany, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Israel, Hungary, Turkey and Austrian Writers teams. He described his footballing experiences in his non-fiction bookSimple Goalkeeping Made Spectacular.[13]

He was a supporter ofCoventry City FCand occasionally wrote pieces for fanzines.[14]

Joyce died on 9 September 2014. He had been diagnosed withMantle Cell lymphomain 2013.[15]Joyce's reaction to his cancer was to publish several essays on the "shocking clarity" the news had brought him on the subject of death. He said "your life is suddenly propelled along a remorseless narrative that has the structure of all great mythical journeys".[16]

Graham Joyce lived in Wistow, near Leicester, with his wife and their two children.[17]

Style and themes

[edit]

Publishers and critics alike have found difficulty in classifying Joyce's writing. His novels have been categorized asfantasy,science fiction,horror,and mainstream literature—with some even overlapping genres. Joyce utilizes a wide variety of settings and character perspectives. Settings include Scotland, The English Midlands, Greece, the Middle East, and the jungles of Thailand. He has penned for both adult and juvenile protagonists, with an emphasis on strong female characters. The greater unity in Joyce's works, however, lies in their thematic and philosophical topics. Bill Sheehan, who wrote the introduction forPartial Eclipse,states:

Among the issues Graham dramatizes are the inevitability of grief, loss, growth, and change, the primal importance of family bonds, the beauty of the feminine, the life altering effects of parenthood, the nature of the creative unconscious, the overwhelming power of the erotic, the corrupting effects of power, the importance of self-awareness, and the fundamental need for order, meaning, and coherence in the face of a chaotic, inimical universe.[18]

American author, editor and literary criticJeff VanderMeersaid:

Joyce's fiction has always displayed a certain generosity of spirit that lifts it above the ordinary. This generosity is not at all sentimental, but is alive with sentiment and an appreciation for the mysteries of life.[19]

Joyce publishedMemoirs of a Master Forgerunder a pseudonym, William Heaney. He told the Guardian that because it was 'a book about forged manuscripts, faked personalities and literary hoaxes... it seemed like a fun way of doing it.'[20]

The mystical or supernatural often play a pivotal role in Joyce's works. For this, he taps the mythical or folkloric associations of his settings. Joyce's treatment of these experiences is what distinguishes his novels from genre fiction. The supernatural is not seen as a conflict or an obstacle to be overcome, but rather an integral part of a natural order that a character must accept and integrate. Running parallel to these phenomena is the possibility of a rational or psychological explanation. This literary approach is influenced in part by Joyce's experiences with his own family:

My grandmother was one of these old women who used to have dreams and visions and messages arriving. She would fall asleep in a chair, there would be a knock on the door, she would go to the door, someone strange would come to the door and deliver a message. And then she would wake up again in her chair. Now my mother and my aunties told me these stories over and over again. But they just lived with it side by side. They didn't fight it as in a fantasy or horror film. They didn't have to overcome it. It didn't get worse and worse and worse. They just accepted this mystery and then they cooked the dinner.[21]

This particular quality has prompted some critics to classify Joyce as amagic realistin the vein of such Latin American writers asGabriel García MárquezorJulio Cortázar.Joyce disagrees with this, feeling that his lineage is tied more closely to writers of the English "weird tale" such asArthur MachenorAlgernon Blackwood.He calls his style of writing "Old Peculiar."[22]

Film

[edit]

The short filmBlack Dustwas released in 2012, produced by James Laws of Pretzel Films, scripted by Joyce and Laws. Currently, there are no feature-length films based on Joyce's novels or shorts. However, the film rights toDreamside,The Tooth Fairy,andDark Sisterhave all been optioned, as haveDo the Creepy Thing,The Silent Land[23]andSome Kind of Fairy Tale.

Music

[edit]

Joyce co-wrote song lyrics for French songwriter and composerEmilie Simonon her albumsThe Big Machine(2009) andFranky Knight(2011).[24]

Games

[edit]

On 16 January 2009, the siteComputer and Video Gamesreported that Graham Joyce had been hired by id Software to "help develop the storyline potential"[25]ofDoom 4;after Joyce died in 2014, Adam Gascoine was brought in as a replacement.[26]

Critical reception

[edit]

Adam Robertsstated "Graham Joyce'sThe Year of the Ladybirdshowed that he is one of the best writers of ghost stories we have. "[27]Josh Lacey ofThe Guardianranked him alongsidePhilip Pullman,Angela Carter,andJonathan Carrollas part of a 'small group of fascinating writers... who pursue adult themes and ideas without shedding childhood fears and obsessions.'[28]

Bibliography

[edit]

According to his official site and the Internet Database of Speculative Fiction, Graham Joyce published fourteen novels and twenty-six short stories.[29]

Novels and short story collections

[edit]
Name Published ISBN Notes
Dreamside 1991 ISBN978-0-312-87546-6
Dark Sister 1992 ISBN978-0-312-87254-0 British Fantasy Awardwinner,1993[30]
House of Lost Dreams 1993 ISBN978-0-7472-4248-2
Requiem 1995 ISBN978-0-312-86452-1 British Fantasy Awardwinner,1996;[31]
World Fantasy Award nominee, 1996[31]
The Tooth Fairy 1996 ISBN978-0-312-86833-8 British Fantasy Awardwinner,1997[32]
The Stormwatcher 1997 ISBN978-1-892389-36-7 British Fantasy Award nominee, 1999[33]
The Web: Spiderbite 1997 ISBN978-1-85881-527-5 young adult
Indigo 1999 ISBN978-0-671-03937-0 British Fantasy Awardwinner,2000[34]
Smoking Poppy 2001 ISBN978-0-671-03939-4 British Fantasy Award nominee, 2002[35]
The Facts of Life 2002 ISBN978-0-7434-6342-3 World Fantasy Awardwinner,2003;[36]
British Fantasy Award nominee, 2003[36]
Partial Eclipse and Other Stories 2003 ISBN978-1-931081-62-7 collection
The Limits of Enchantment 2005 ISBN978-0-7434-6344-7 World Fantasy Award nominee, 2006[37]
TWOC 2005 ISBN978-0-571-22513-2 young adult; Angus Award "winner"
Do the Creepy Thing 2006 ISBN978-0-571-23035-8 young adult;
released in the US asThe Exchange(2008)ISBN978-0-670-06207-2
Three Ways to Snog an Alien 2008 ISBN978-0-571-23951-1 young adult
Memoirs of a Master Forger 2008 ISBN978-0-575-08297-7 as William Heaney;
released in the US asHow to Make Friends with Demons(2009)ISBN978-1-59780-142-3British Fantasy Awardwinner
The Devil's Ladder 2009 ISBN978-0-571-24247-4 young adult
The Silent Land 2010 ISBN978-0-385-53380-5 World Fantasy Award nominee, 2011;[38]

British Fantasy Award nominee, 2011[39]

Some Kind of Fairy Tale 2012 ISBN978-0-385-53578-6 British Fantasy Novel award winner, 2013[40]
The Year of the Ladybird 2013 ISBN978-0-575-11531-6 released in the US in 2014 asThe Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit
25 Years in the Word Mines: The Best of Graham Joyce 2014 ISBN978-1-848-63804-4 posthumous collection from PS Publishing

Short stories

[edit]
  • "Monastic Lives" (1992)
  • "The Careperson" (1992)
  • "Last Rising Sun" (1992)
  • "The Ventriloquial Art" (1993)
  • "The Apprentice" (1993)
  • "Under the Pylon" (1993)
  • "Gap-Sickness" (1993)
  • "Eat Reecebread" (1994) with Peter F. Hamilton
  • "The Reckoning" (1994)
  • "Black Ball Game" (1995)
  • "A Tip from Bobby Moore" (1996)
  • "The White Stuff" (1997) with Peter F. Hamilton
  • "Pinkland" (1997)
  • "The Mountain Eats People" (1998)
  • "As Seen on Radio" (1998)
  • "Leningrad Nights" (1999)
  • "Candia" (1999)
  • "Incident in Mombasa" (1999)
  • "Horrograph" (1999)
  • "Partial Eclipse" (2000)
  • "Xenos Beach" (2000)
  • "Coventry Boy" (2001)
  • "Leningrad Nights" (2002)
  • "The Coventry Boy" (2002)
  • "First, Catch Your Demon" (2002)
  • "Black Dust" (2002)
  • "Tiger Moth" (2003)
  • "An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen" (2007) –O. Henry Award Juror Favorites,2009[41]
  • "The Oversoul" (2008) – first published inWho Can Save Us Now?(2008), edited byOwen Kingand John McNally[citation needed]

Articles

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Kellogg, Carolyn (9 September 2014)."Award-winning fantasy novelist Graham Joyce has died at 59".Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^Priest, Christopher (10 September 2014)."Graham Joyce obituary".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved1 August2024.
  3. ^Williams, Steve (12 September 2014)."Tributes to Coventry fantasy author Graham Joyce who has died at the age of 59".Coventry Live.Retrieved2 August2024.
  4. ^theoriginalvangoghsearanthology (9 September 2014)."An Interview with the Late Graham Joyce".TheOriginalVanGoghsEarAnthology.Retrieved6 August2024.
  5. ^theoriginalvangoghsearanthology (9 September 2014)."An Interview with the Late Graham Joyce".TheOriginalVanGoghsEarAnthology.Retrieved8 August2024.
  6. ^Team, Pukaar (11 September 2014)."Graham Joyce, Leicestershire-Based Author Dies Aged 59".Retrieved3 August2024.
  7. ^Review ofThe Limits of Enchantmentby Victor Gollancz
  8. ^"The magus of the Midlands".The Guardian.21 October 2000.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved27 July2024.
  9. ^Team, Pukaar (11 September 2014)."Graham Joyce, Leicestershire-Based Author Dies Aged 59".Retrieved3 August2024.
  10. ^Flood, Alison (10 September 2014)."Graham Joyce, much-loved fantasy author, dies aged 59".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved26 July2024.
  11. ^Flood, Alison (10 September 2014)."Graham Joyce, much-loved fantasy author, dies aged 59".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved28 July2024.
  12. ^Joyce, Graham (21 October 2011)."Don't confuse 'readability' with dumbing down".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved4 August2024.
  13. ^Star, Morning (14 January 2015)."Fantastically profound".Morning Star.Retrieved27 July2024.
  14. ^theoriginalvangoghsearanthology (9 September 2014)."An Interview with the Late Graham Joyce".TheOriginalVanGoghsEarAnthology.Retrieved27 July2024.
  15. ^Graham Joyce (1954–2014),obituary inLocus9 September 2014
  16. ^Priest, Christopher (10 September 2014)."Graham Joyce obituary".The Guardian.Retrieved19 April2021.
  17. ^Flood, Alison (10 September 2014)."Graham Joyce, much-loved fantasy author, dies aged 59".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved4 August2024.
  18. ^Joyce, Graham. Partial Eclipse and Other Stories. Subterranean Press, 2003. p. 9.
  19. ^VanderMeer, Jeff(4 July 2012)."Some Kind of Fairy Taleby Graham Joyce – review ".The Guardian.Retrieved10 April2021.
  20. ^X (9 September 2014)."Award-winning fantasy novelist Graham Joyce has died at 59".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved31 July2024.
  21. ^Video of anInterview at Le Festival Du Film Fantastique
  22. ^Audio Interview by Rick Kleffel
  23. ^The Silent Land.25 August 2018.ISBN978-1-4091-2940-0.
  24. ^Offley, Lysette (29 September 2014)."This Might Be The One! - Graham Joyce - Lysette Offley".Genius Material.Retrieved27 July2024.
  25. ^Computer and Video Gamesarticle
  26. ^Crecente, Brian (23 May 2016)."HowDoomlived up to nearly a decade's worth of expectations (update) ".Polygon.Vox Media.Retrieved23 June2016.
  27. ^Best science fiction books of 2013The Guardian,3 December 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  28. ^Lacey, Josh (15 January 2005)."An older England".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved5 August2024.
  29. ^Summary bibliography at theInternet Database of Speculative FictionArchived22 February 2006 at theWayback Machine
  30. ^"1993 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.Retrieved6 July2009.
  31. ^ab"1996 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.Retrieved6 July2009.
  32. ^"1997 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.Retrieved6 July2009.
  33. ^"1999 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.Retrieved6 July2009.
  34. ^"2000 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.Retrieved6 July2009.
  35. ^"2002 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.Retrieved6 July2009.
  36. ^ab"2003 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.Retrieved6 July2009.
  37. ^"2006 Award Winners & Nominees".Worlds Without End.Retrieved6 July2009.
  38. ^"2011 World Fantasy Award Nominees".Worlds Without End.Retrieved9 August2011.
  39. ^"2011 British Fantasy Award Short list".Worlds Without End.Retrieved9 August2011.
  40. ^"Announcing the 2013 British Fantasy Awards: Tor Books".3 November 2013.Retrieved28 May2014.
  41. ^"The O. Henry Prize Past Winners".Random House.Archived fromthe originalon 5 September 2017.Retrieved30 September2017.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toGraham Joyce.

Interviews

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Graham_Joyce&oldid=1247064601"