Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The World Loses Tanith Lee

One of my favourite of favourite writers passed away on Sunday, aged 67. 

Being unable to read until the age of 8, when her father taught her to read, Tanith Lee loved the written word throughout her life. She wrote and published her first vignette aged 21. She worked various jobs as a file clerk assistant and librarian while sending out her works to be considered for publication; and her first publications were children's fantasies 'The Dragon Hoard' and 'Animal Castle', published in 1971 and 1972.

In 1975, DAW published her first adult fantasy 'The Birthgrave'.  This company would go on to publish more than 20 of her SFF and horror works during the 1970's and 1980's.

In 1980, Tanith Lee received The British Fantasy Society's August Derleth Award for her book 'Death's Master'; as well as the World Fantasy Awards for the Best Short Story in 1983 and 1984.  She was also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the World Fantasy Convention in 2013 and the World Horror Association (WHA) in 2015.

Even though this great author has seemed to have fallen silent over the last few decades, it's not true; as a 'Guardian' interview from 2010 has put through a quote:

'If anyone ever wonders why there's nothing coming from me, it's not my fault.  I'm doing the work. No, I haven't deteriorated or gone insane. Suddenly, I just can't get anything into print.' 

This is something a lot of writers from the seventies seem to have problems with; that they have fallen out of favour in the publishing world in recent times. This unfortunately causes them to drop from out of favour and become forgotten in the publishing circles.  However, there's one thing publishing companies forget about fans... we never forget our favourite writers. 

And, Tanith Lee will be one we will never forget.

3 comments:

  1. Okay, I am unfamiliar with Tanith Lee's work. I'll have to check out her work.

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    1. I do recommend 'The Silver Metal Lover' first... such a wonderful book. It's short, but it's pungent in every way. And keep a box of Kleenex nearby... yes, it's sad at the end - okay, I bawled my eyes out every time I read it.

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    2. Thank you for the recommendation!! I'll add this title to my reading wishlist. I'll remember to keep a box of tissues nearby!!

      You make fabulous book recommendations!! I absolutely loved Nosebleed by Ged Maybury. :-)

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