Stephen Reeder Donaldson (born May 13, 1947) is an American fantasy and science fiction novelist. He is the author of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series, The Gap Sequence, The Man Who series, the Mordant's Need series, and the upcoming The Great God's War trilogy.
Donaldson was born in the United States in 1947 and spent a large portion of his youth in India where his father (a doctor) worked with lepers. He returned to the United States in 1963 and eventually completed an M.A. in English Literature.
He published his first book Lord Foul's Bane in 1977. This was the first volume in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever trilogy, which has received critical acclaim from critics as well as readers.
Biography[]
Born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio, Stephen R. Donaldson lived in India (where his father was a medical missionary, working with many of the groups of lepers there) until 1963. He graduated from the College of Wooster (Ohio) in 1968, served two years as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, doing hospital work in Akron, then attended Kent State University, where he received his M.A. in English in 1971.
After dropping out of his Ph.D. program and moving to New Jersey in order to write fiction, Donaldson made his publishing debut with the first "Covenant" trilogy in 1977. That enabled him to move to a healthier climate. He now lives in New Mexico.
The novels for which he is best known have received a number of awards. However, the achievements of which he is most proud are the ones that seemed the most unlikely. In 1993 he received a Doctor of Literature degree from the College of Wooster, and in 1994 he gained a black belt in Shotokan karate from Sensei Mike Heister and Anshin Personal Defense.
After completing the five-book, seven-year Gap sequence of science fiction novels, Donaldson spent quite some time "on vacation." However, he has now returned to work. His most recent book prior to The Man Who Fought Alone was a second collection of short fiction, Reave the Just and Other Tales. He has also finished what may be his most ambitious literary work, a masterpiece trilogy "The Last Chronicled of Thomas Covenant". He has also recently released two novellas and is due to release the 1st of a new trilogy entitled "The Old God's War" in late Summer 2017.
Education[]
| Title | Institute | Established at | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M.A. in English literature | Kent State University | Kent, Ohio | 1971 | |
| LittD (honorary) | The College of Wooster | Wooster, Ohio | 1993 | |
| LittD (honorary) | The University of St. Andrews | Scotland | 2009 | Read the "laureation" address here |
Employment[]
| Title | Employer | Established at | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assistant Dispatcher | Akron City Hospital | Akron, Ohio | 1968-1970 | alternative service, conscientious objector |
| Teaching Fellow | Kent State University | 1971 | ||
| Acquisitions Editor | Tapp-Gentz Associates | West Chester, PA | 1973 | |
| Associate Instructor | Ghost Ranch Writers Workshops | Ghost Ranch, N.M. | 1973-1975 |
Published works[]
| Title | Publisher | Date Published | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lord Foul's Bane | Holt | 1977 | |
| The Illearth War | Holt | 1977 | |
| The Power that Preserves | Holt | 1977 | |
| "The Lady in White," The Year's Finest Fantasy 2, ed. Terry Carr | Berkley | 1979 | |
| The Wounded Land | Del Rey/Ballantine | 1980 | |
| The Man Who Killed His Brother (as Reed Stephens) | Ballantine/Tor | 1980/2002 | as Stephen R. Donaldson by Tor |
| Gilden-Fire | Underwood-Miller | 1981 | |
| Cinderella vs The Publishing Business | Wooster Alumni Magazine | 1981 | |
| The One Tree | Del Rey/Ballantine | 1982 | |
| "Mythological Beast," Unicorns!, ed. Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois | Ace | 1982 | |
| White Gold Wielder | Del Rey/Ballantine | 1983 | |
| Daughter of Regals | Donald M. Grant | 1984 | |
| Daughter of Regals and Other Tales | Del Rey/Ballantine | 1984 | |
| The Man Who Risked His Partner (as Reed Stephens) | Ballantine/Tor | 1984/2003 | as Stephen R. Donaldson by Tor |
| "What Makes Us Human," The 1985 Annual World's Best SF, ed. Donald A. Wollheim | DAW | 1985 | |
| "Elegy" ed. Katherine Harper and Warren Hedges #3 | The Wooster Review | Spring 1985 | |
| "Animal Lover," Tin Stars, ed. Isaac Asimov, Martin H. Greenberg, and Charles G. Waugh | Signet/NAL | 1986 | |
| "Epic Fantasy in the Modern World: A Few Observations | Kent State University Libraries | 1986 | |
| Mordant's Need: The Mirror of Her Dreams | Del Rey/Ballantine | 1986 | |
| "The Books That Made a Difference," American Bookseller, ed. Ginger Curwen | Booksellers Publishing, Inc. | June 1987 | |
| Mordant's Need: A Man Rides Through | Del Rey/Ballantine | 1987 | |
| "Unworthy of the Angel," A Very Large Array, ed. Melinda M. Snodgrass | University of New Mexico Press | 1987 | |
| "The Djinn Who Watches Over the Accursed," Arabesques 2, ed. Susan Shwartz | Avon | 1989 | |
| The Man Who Tried to Get Away (as Reed Stephens) | Ballantine/Tor | 1990/2004 | as Stephen R. Donaldson by Tor |
| The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story | Bantam/Spectra | 1991 | |
| The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge | Bantam/Spectra | 1991 | |
| "The Conqueror Worm," I Shudder at Your Touch, ed. Michele Slung | ROC/NAL | 1991 | |
| The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises | Bantam/Spectra | 1992 | |
| "Reave the Just," After the King, ed. Martin H. Greenberg | Tor | 1992 | |
| "The Live Poets Society," ed. Fielding and Whitehead | Thinker Review, Volume No. II | Summer 1992 | |
| "The Woman Who Loved Pigs," Full Spectrum 4, ed. Aronica, Stout, and Mitchell | Bantam/Spectra | 1993 | |
| Strange Dreams (editor) | Bantam/Spectra | 1993 | |
| The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order | Bantam/Spectra | 1994 | |
| "The Kings of Tarshish Shall Bring Gifts," The Book of Kings, ed. Gilliam and Greenberg | ROC | 1995 | |
| The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die | Bantam/Spectra | 1996 | |
| Reave the Just and Other Tales | Bantam/Spectra | 1999 | |
| The Man Who Fought Alone | Tor | 2001 | |
| "The Aging Student of the Martial Arts", ed. John Cheetham, #79 | Shotokan Karate Magazine | 2004 | |
| The Runes of the Earth | Putnam (US), Orion (UK) | October 2004 | |
| Fatal Revenant | Putnam (US)/Orion (UK) | October 9, 2007/October 18, 2007 | |
| Against All Things Ending | Putnam (US)/Orion (UK) | October 19, 2010 | |
| "The Best of Stephen R. Donaldson" | Subterranean Press | 2011 | |
| The Last Dark | Putnam (US)/Orion (UK) | Fall 2013 |
Awards[]
- British Fantasy Society Award for Best Novel ("The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant"), 1979
- John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, 1979
- Balrog Fantasy Award for Best Novel (The Wounded Land), 1981
- Balrog Fantasy Award for Best Novel (The One Tree), 1983
- Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Novel (The One Tree), 1983
- Balrog Fantasy Award for Best Collection (Daughter of Regals and Other Tales), 1985
- Science Fiction Book Club Award for Best Book of the Year (The Mirror of Her Dreams), 1988
- Science Fiction Book Club Award for Best Book of the Year (A Man Rides Through), 1989
- The College of Wooster Distinguished Alumni Award, 1989
- Julia Verlanger Award (France) for The Mirror of Her Dreams, 1990
- WIN/WIN Popular Fiction Readers Choice Award for Favorite Fantasy Author, 1991
- Atlanta Fantasy Fair Award for Outstanding Achievement, 1992
- LittD (honorary), The College of Wooster, 1993
- Shodan, Anshin Personal Defense, 1994
- President's Award, The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, 1997
- Nidan, Anshin Personal Defense, 2000
- World Fantasy Award for Reave the Just and Other Tales, 2000
- Sandan, New Mexico Shotokan, 2003
- LittD (honorary), The University of St. Andrews, Scotland, 2009 (Click here to read the "laureation" address.)
Memberships[]
- American Contract Bridge League
- International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts
- Contributing Editor, The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts
- Anshin Personal Defense
- Anshin Budo Kai
- Life-Dance Kajukembo
- NM Shotokan Karate
External Links[]
| Bibliography | |
|---|---|
| The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever | Lord Foul's Bane • The Illearth War • The Power That Preserves |
| The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant | The Wounded Land • The One Tree • White Gold Wielder |
| The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant | The Runes of the Earth • Fatal Revenant • Against All Things Ending • The Last Dark |
| The Gap Sequence | The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story • The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge • The Gap into Power: A Dark and Hungry God Arises • The Gap into Madness: Chaos and Order • The Gap into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die |
| Mordant's Need | The Mirror of Her Dreams • A Man Rides Through |
| The Man Who | The Man Who Killed His Brother • The Man Who Risked His Partner • The Man Who Tried to Get Away • The Man Who Fought Alone |
| The Great God's War | Seventh Decimate • Knowledge and Evil • Untitled Book 3 |
| Short stories | Gilden-Fire • The Atlas of the Land • Daughter of Regals and Other Tales • Daughter of Regals • "What Makes Us Human" • Epic Fantasy in the Modern World: A Few Observations • Strange Dreams • Reave the Just and Other Tales • The King's Justice: Two Novellas |