Despite the development of technology and science, our spiritual development ...
English science fiction writer Neil Gaiman was born on November 10, 1960 in Portsmouth (UK). His father was a businessman, his mother worked as a pharmacist. After graduating from high school in 1977, Gaiman gave up the opportunity to graduate in favor of journalism. However, it was a full six years before his first professional publication, an interview with Robert Silverberg, appeared in the English Penthouse magazine in 1984. In May of the same year, the author's first story, Featherquest, was published in Imagine.
In 1985 Gaiman decided to take up comics, a business that by that time, to put it mildly, was in a rather poor state. He bought a couple of books on the principles of comics, and met Alan Moore, who gave him some practical advice. Neil's first attempt in this field was issue # 488 of the 2000AD comic anthology, published in 1986. Gaiman improved his skills for several years, simultaneously publishing the graphic novel "Violent Cases" (with artist Dave McKean) and the nonfiction book "Don" t Panic: The Official Hitch-hiker "s Guide To The Galaxy Companion" - an excellent study of creativity. English science fiction writer Douglas Adams. Merrily Hayfetz, Gaiman's literary agent (she also worked with such eminent authors as Bruce Sterling and Laurel Hamilton), recalled that Gaiman was able to get an impressive fee for Don "t Panic - more than anyone could have imagined, and then he told her that now he writes comics, but one day he will write novels.
After three years of practice in other people's projects, Neil Gaiman decides to try his hand at creating an original comic book series. To do this, he takes the order of the half-forgotten horror hero of the 30s, and in 1989 the first issue of the comic book "Sandman" appears. It was published by DC (Detective Comics), founded in 1937 and created such super popular heroes as Superman and Batman. Gaiman did not particularly hope for the success of his brainchild, but this was just the case when he was mistaken. Sandman became incredibly popular, selling in thousands (and later millions) copies. In 1991, the nineteenth edition of "Sandman" even won a World Fantasy Award, the first time in history that a comic book was given a prestigious literary award. It should be noted that during its existence "Sandman" has received a lot of prizes and awards, the names of which will tell something only to connoisseurs of the comics industry, which are not enough in our country. But everyone knows the Warner Brothers company, which literally scooped out the right from competitors to shoot a high-budget blockbuster based on the series. Gaiman himself, however, is skeptical about the possibility of a good film adaptation, saying that he has not yet seen a single good version of the script, and emphasizing that it is impossible to fit more than 2,000 pages about the adventures of his hero not only in a 100-minute film, but even in a trilogy. comparable in scale to "The Lord of the Rings".
In 1990, Neil Gaiman, together with Terry Pratchett, released the novel Good Omens, a humorous story about the coming ... End of the World. The book made 17 weeks on the Sundy Times bestseller list. Around this time, the super-successful comic book creator began to have thoughts of changing occupation.
“There was a period, eight or nine years, when I worked very hard as a comic book writer. And I did it very well. On the other hand, says Neil Gaiman, when I wrote Sandman, there were many more things that I wanted to do, but I didn't have the time. "
For several more years Gaiman diligently carved out time between the next issues of money-making comics (among them were three parts of "Death: The High Cost of Living" - the first of which sold three hundred thousand copies and was bought by Warner Brothers for the film adaptation, as well as releases " Batman "," Spawn ", etc.) to do other, more interesting things to him: he wrote several more graphic novels, worked for television on the series" Neverwhere ", created a script for one of the episodes of the series" Babylon - 5 "and the English version translation of the cult Japanese cartoon "Princess Mononoke", for which he was nominated for a Nebula Award.
Working for television inspired Gaiman to write a new book - the novel "The Doorway" (1996), based on the motives of the television series of the same name. This gothic horror movie about the dark and damp London dungeons received very favorable reviews and was nominated for the British Fantasy Award, Bram Stoker Award and Mythopoeic Award.
“I began to appreciate my nightmares when I wrote to Sandman,” said Neil Gaiman. - And it seems to me that anyone who writes something that contains a little bit of horror, or at least a little bit of weirdness or depravity ... At some point you wake up and think: “Oooh, it was terrible ! It was horrible !! All these little things and the way they are ... When I looked in the mirror, and the worms began to crawl out of my chest and ... Yes, it's just great! I will definitely use it! "
In 1997, Gaiman wrote his first book for children, the graphic novel The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish, and later followed by Stardust, a fairy tale for teenagers that was awarded the 1999 Mythopoeic Award. ... Initially it was published in four parts with illustrations (therefore, the artist Charles Wess is listed as a co-author), and then it came out in one volume, already without pictures.
“And when I finished it,” Gaiman recalls, “I sent the manuscript to my editor at Avon and told her: 'Here's something that I think you will be pleased to read.” And then there was a phone call from her: “ I liked it! I really want to publish it and I can send it to the publisher, but there is one problem: he hates fantasy. " So the next morning the phone rang and it was the publisher who said, “First, I hate fantasy. Secondly, I liked Sturdust. We will publish it and open Spike Books to it. " And I said, “Okay. What is Spike Books? And he said, 'Spike Books is our pop culture book series!' I said, “Okay. But why does the fabulous fantasy of Victorian England belong to pop culture ?! " And he said, "Because you wrote it."
But no matter how hard Gaiman tried to write a children's novel, it was clear that his craving for horror was too great. There are sex scenes in Stardust, and Smoke and Mirrors, a collection of children's stories, was so dark that it was even nominated for a Bram Stoker Award.
In 1992, the writer moved to a new place of residence, leaving England for the United States. This was partly due to the fact that Gaiman's wife is an American, partly - the example of Douglas Adams, who also moved from England to Santa Barbara, partly - Neil's dream of ... a house.
“I told my wife that I would like to live in the house from the movie The Adams Family,” he explained. - You won't find that in England! You can find a real Tudor house, built by real Tudors in Tudor times, but what you will never get your hands on is a proper, honest house from The Adams Family. I wanted Victorian Gothic. Something that really gives you goosebumps. I wanted a tower. So I started looking and found it right away. Here's another great thing about America. They just throw away such things! And they look so cool! This is real American Gothic! Chilling soul! Every year on Halloween, we put a different Halloween treat on the table and put a stack of comics on the doorstep. And every time we throw out both sweets and comics, because children are simply afraid to come to our house. For all these years, not one has approached! "
Soon after the move, Gaiman released another, his most famous novel, American Gods. Being a freshly baked emigrant, the writer surprisingly accurately captured his feelings and described them in the fantasy story of the confrontation between the gods of the Old World who emigrated to America with new, recently appeared forces - the gods of television, the Internet, the telephone ... But most importantly, Gaiman did not write another fantasy. an epic about the battle of divine forces, he managed to describe everything that happens from the point of view of an American man named Shadow (Shadow), who served in prison, lost his family and became the companion of a gentleman named Wednesday (he turns out to be the Scandinavian god Odin). Gaiman put Shadow and Odin's journey across America in the form of a classic road romance and won awards from Bram Stoker and Hugo, as well as a lot of prestigious places on the nomination lists.
In 2002, another iconic work of the writer was published - the story "Coraline", which critics characterized by the definition: "Alice in Wonderland", written by Stephen King. "
And in 2005, Neil Gaiman's new novel, Sons of Anansi, was released, referring to the world of American Gods.
Date of Birth: 09.11.1960
Famous English and American science fiction writer, author of graphic novels and popular comics, screenwriter. Winner of numerous awards.
Neil Gaiman was born in Portsmouth (UK). The writer's father worked in a grocery store chain, which was founded by the writer's grandfather, his mother worked as a pharmacist. Neil Gaiman learned to read at the age of 4 and was fond of fantasy literature since childhood. The writer's parents were adherents of the teachings of Dianetics, and his father occupied a prominent position in the Church of Scientology, with this even some problems were associated with Gaiman's admission to school. Gaiman himself, however, did not become a follower of Scientology. After leaving school, the future writer did not enter the university, deciding to take up journalism and literature. Initially, these classes did not bring success, and only in the early 80s did his interviews begin to appear. In 1984 Gaiman's first story, Featherquest, was published, as well as his biography of the Duran Duran group. 1985 Gaiman entered into his first marriage and had a son. The beginning of Gaiman's work in the comic book industry dates back to this time. Neil's first attempt in this field was issue # 488 of the 2000AD comic, released in 1986. For several years Gaiman collaborated on various projects as a guest screenwriter, and released a number of graphic novels. In the late 1980s, his book Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion was published, about the writer Douglas Adams and his book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Gaiman's real success came in 1989, when his comic The Sandman began to appear, which became very popular and won a number of awards. In 1990, Gaiman's first novel, Good Omens, was published, co-authored with. The novel became a bestseller and Gaiman seriously thought about changing his occupation. Nevertheless, the series The Sandman continues to appear, while Gaiman also managed to work for television. In 1992, the writer moved to the United States and lives there until today (2011). In 1996, his first independent novel, "The Back Door" (Never), was released, based on the script for the series of the same name. The book received very favorable reviews and was nominated for the British Fantasy Award, Bram Stoker Award and Mythopoeic Award. In 1997 Gaiman wrote his first book for children - the graphic novel The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish, and later followed by Stardust, intended for teenagers and awarded in 1999 the Mythopoeic Award.
In 2001, Neil Gaiman's most famous novel, American Gods, appeared in print. The novel has earned recognition from readers and critics and has won several prestigious awards, including the Hugo and Nebula awards. Continuing to collaborate with the television and film industry, Gaiman worked on scripts for his own film adaptations. Since 2001, he has released several more novels, which became quite popular, although they did not repeat the success of American Gods. He is currently married with a second marriage to singer and actress Amanda Palmer (the wedding took place on January 2, 2011), has three children from his first marriage. Neil Gaiman lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Neil Gaiman says that when he sent sketches of his book to Terry Pratchett, he called him and offered to buy an idea or write a book together. According to Gaiman, he naturally agreed to co-authorship, as it was tantamount to Raphael's proposal to an unknown artist to paint a picture together.
Neil Gaiman in his work does not distinguish between "graphic novel" and "ordinary", often co-writing illustrators of his books.
But no matter how hard Gaiman tries to write a children's novel, his craving for horror is too great. There are sex scenes in Stardust, and Smoke and Mirrors, a collection of children's stories, was so dark that it was even nominated for a Bram Stoker Award.
Writer Awards
In addition, Neil Gaiman is the recipient of numerous specialized comic industry awards.
Bibliography
Novels
Good Omens (1990) et al. with Terry Pratchett.
() (1996)
(1998)
Neil David John Gayman (eng. Neil David John Gaiman; Portsmouth, UK) - English science fiction writer, author of graphic novels and comics, scripts for films. His most famous works include: "Stardust", "American Gods", "Coraline", "A Story with a Cemetery", a series of comics "The Sandman". Gaiman has won many awards including the Hugo Prize, the Nebula Prize, the Bram Stoker Prize, and the Newbury Medal.
Neil Gaiman was born on November 10, 1960 in Portsmouth (UK).
In 1984 he completed his first work, a biography of the Duran Duran group. At the same time, he worked as a journalist and was involved in preparing interviews for various British magazines.
In the late 1980s, his book Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion was published, about the writer Douglas Adams and his book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Gaiman has written numerous comics for several publishers. His award-winning series The Sandman follows Morpheus, the anthropomorphic personification of Sleep. The series began in 1989 and was completed in 1996: 75 issues of the regular series, a special issue and two hand-drawn stories are collected in 10 volumes and still remain in print.
In 1996 Gaiman and Ed Kramer compiled The Sandman: Book of Dreams, an anthology of works by Tori Amos, Clive Barker, Ted Williams, Suzanne Clarke, and others. The anthology was nominated for a British Fantasy Award.
He also worked as a guest writer on one of the issues of the comic "Spawn" and a miniseries about one of the characters in this universe, after which he sued the main creator of the comic, who arbitrarily used the characters invented by Gaiman.
In 1990, the novel Good Omens was published, which Gaiman wrote in collaboration with the famous English writer Terry Pratchett.
In 1991-1997 Gaiman wrote the fairy tale novel Stardust, which won the 1999 Mythopoeic Award. In 2007, the screen version of the novel was released - the film directed by Matthew Vaughn "Stardust".
The most famous novel by Neil Gaiman - "American Gods" was published in 2001, immediately earned critical acclaim and was awarded several prestigious awards, including the "Hugo" and "Nebula" awards.
Gaiman has written several films:
mini-series "Neverwhere", the script of which formed the basis of the novel of the same name (in Russia it was published in two versions of translation under the names "Back Door" and "Neverwhere").
feature film "Beowulf" directed by Robert Zemeckis.
episode "Day of the Dead" fantastic series "Babylon 5".
adaptation of his own novel "Mirror Mask".
animated film "Coraline in the Land of Nightmares" based on the novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman (released in February 2009).
two episodes of the cult British television series Doctor Who: (The Doctor's Wife, season 6, and (Nightmare in silver), season 7.
Neil Gaiman has three children from his first marriage. Neil Gaiman is now married to singer and actress Amanda Palmer (lead singer of the Dresden Dolls). The wedding took place on January 2, 2011.
Neil Gayman (eng. Neil Gaiman) The famous English science fiction writer, author of books for children and adults, graphic novels and comics, as well as scripts for films.
Neil Gaimanwas born on November 10, 1960 in Portsmouth (Great Britain).
In 1984 he completed his first work, a biography of the Duran Duran group. At the same time, he worked as a journalist and was involved in preparing interviews for various British magazines.
In the late 1980s, his book Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion was published, about the writer Douglas Adams and his book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
In 1997, Gaiman wrote a fairy tale novel, "", which won the 1999 Mythopoeic Award. In 2007, the screen version of the novel was released - the film directed by Matthew Vaughn "Stardust".
Plot "" first saw the light of day in 1996 as a BBC series; then the writer reworked it into a novel. In the summer of 2005, a comic book series based on it was released.
Gaiman has written numerous comic books for several publishers. His award-winning series The Sandman focuses on Morpheus, the anthropomorphic personification of Sleep. The series began in 1987 and was completed in 1996: 75 issues of the regular series, special issues and a prologue are collected in 11 volumes and still remain in print. In 1996 Gaiman and Ed Kramer wrote The Sandman: Book of Dreams. The piece was nominated for a British Fantasy Award and featured stories and articles from Tori Amos, Clive Barker, Ted Williams and others.
The most famous novel Neil Gaiman - "" was published in 2001, immediately earned critical acclaim and won several prestigious awards, including the Hugo and Nebula awards.
In 2002, another iconic work of the writer was published - the story "", which critics have characterized by the definition: "Alice in Wonderland", written by Stephen King. "
And in 2005, Neil Gaiman's new novel "" was released, referring to the world of "American Gods".
Gaiman is a screenwriter for several films:
- mini-series "Neverwhere", the script of which formed the basis of the novel of the same name (in Russia it was published in two versions of translation under the names "Back Door" and "Neverwhere").
- feature film "Beowulf" directed by Robert Zemeckis.
- episode "Day of the Dead" fantastic series "Babylon 5".
- adaptation of his own novel "Mirror Mask".
- animated film "Coraline in the Land of Nightmares" based on the novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman (released in February 2009).
- one episode for the cult British television series Doctor Who (The Doctor's Wife, season 6), as well as 12 episodes of season 7
Have Neil Gaimanthree children from their first marriage. Neil Gaiman is now married to singer and actress Amanda Palmer (former lead singer of the Dresden Dolls). The wedding took place on January 2, 2011.
In 1984 he completed his first work, a biography of the Duran Duran group. At the same time, he worked as a journalist and was involved in preparing interviews for various British magazines.
In the late 1980s, his book Don’t Panic: The Official Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Companion was published, about the writer Douglas Adams and his book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
In 1988, the novel Good Omens was published, which Gaiman co-wrote with the famous English writer Terry Pratchett.
In 1997 Gaiman wrote the fairy tale novel Stardust, which won the 1999 Mythopoeic Award. In 2007, the screen version of the novel was released - the film directed by Matthew Vaughn "Stardust".
Gaiman has written numerous comics for several publishers. His award-winning series The Sandman focuses on Morpheus, the anthropomorphic personification of Sleep. The series began in 1987 and was completed in 1996: 75 issues of the regular series, special issues and a prologue are collected in 11 volumes and still remain in print. In 1996 Gaiman and Ed Kramer wrote The Sandman: Book of Dreams. The piece was nominated for a British Fantasy Award and featured stories and articles from Tori Amos, Clive Barker, Ted Williams and others. Neil Gaiman now lives in America with his wife and children.
Bibliography
American Gods (2001)
Best of the day
"Star dust"
"Children of Anansi"
Sandman (comic)
"Coraline"
"Back Door"
"The knight and the lady"
"Smoke and Mirrors" (collection of stories)
"Fragile Things" (collection of stories)
"Case forty-seven forty"
Collaboration
Good Omens (1990) with Terry Pratchett
