The Diana Wynne Jones Fansite
by fans for fans of one of Britain's best fantasy and science fiction authors
Diana
Picture Gallery
as a child
Official Auto-
biography

books
Book List
fanzine
Charmed Lives
Fanzine

related worlds
A-Z of the Related Worlds and other fan stuff
books swopping
Book Swap

NEWS and NEW ON SITE
18th March, 2011)



CELEBRATING DIANA
Come and celebrate Diana's life and works on 22nd April, 2012 at St. George's, Brandon Hill, Bristol, 2pm for 2.30pm.

With photographs, extracts from an interview, a reading from Diana's unfinished book and short messages from family, friends, publishers, fellow writers and Diana's agent, this is an occasion for everyone who loved Diana and her books to get together and celebrate her wonderful legacy. Full details on Calcifer or Firedrake. Everyone is welcome.

FACEBOOK PAGE
Diana is now on Facebook, with a new official fan site run by Diana's agent Laura Cecil. Please visit.


HOWL HITS THE STAGE
We've had the animated film, now Howl's Moving Castle was produced as a stage play by Southwark Playhouse in London between 28th November 2011 and 7th January 2012.

SAD NEWS
I am sorry to have to report the desperately sad news that Diana Wynne Jones died on 26th March, 2011. She enjoyed a mini-remission late last year (see messages below), but this year the cancer developed, and she sickened again. I am sure all Diana's fans will want to extend their sympathies to her family.

We can remember Diana through two forthcoming books. A short novel for younger readers, Earwig and the Witch, will be published in summer 2011 by HarperCollins (UK), Greenwillow (US) and Tokuma Shoten (Japan). This tells the story of young Earwig, who loved living in an orphanage and hates Bella Yaga, who chose her from the children's home and makes her do horrible jobs such as scrubbing the floor and powdering rats' bones. With the help of Thomas the Cat, Earwig solves her predicament with DWJ's trademark humour and understanding.

Secondly, next year David Fickling Publishers will be producing a collection of Diana's articles, lectures, talks, etc. This will include an introduction by Charlie Butler and an interview by him with her, probably Diana's last ever interview.

Diana's papers are being preserved by Seven Stories, the museum and archive of children's books.

THANK YOU FROM DIANA
(7th August 2010) Diana says thank you to everyone who has sent her good wishes (see next notice). She has stopped the chemo- and radiotherapy because it made her feel so ill, so she is not well enough to respond to individual questions. But she says it is very nice of everyone to send such messages, and she has been really touched by the response..

IMPORTANT NOTICE
(March 2010) I am sorry to have to report that Diana is not at all well at the moment. She has been suffering from cancer and because of her illness, she is not able to read emails right now and she is not able to reply to letters and queries.
If you would like to send a good wish, you can email via me (Meredith) and I will print out the messages (no questions, please)
every week or so and post them to Diana - meredithxyz at googlemail.com - Sorry you have to manually change the email address but this is the only way to cut down on spam. (March 2010)

REPRINTS Changeover and The Skiver's Guide are available now in reprinted editions. Changeover cover


2010 NEW BOOK Diana's latest book, Enchanted Glass, is available now from HarperCollins in the UK and Greenwillow in the US. A stand-alone book, not part of any series, there are the expected magicians, but it also includes giant vegetables, revenge by cauliflower cheese (?!) and fortune-telling using racing tips. Review coming soon

COMING SOON: Report on the first ever conference on Diana Wynne Jones, that took place in Bristol, England on 3–5 July 2009. More than 70 DWJ enthusiasts got together to explore and discuss DWJ's works.

HOUSE OF MANY WAYS Review of 2008's fun book in which the magician Howl – and Sophie, Morgan and Calcifer – make guest appearances

THE GAME is now out in a new UK edition by HarperCollins, along with great new covers for the Chrestomanci books

WORLD FANTASY AWARD SPEECH Diana has won the 2007 World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Read her acceptance speech here.

CARNEGIE AWARD Diana has been put forward for the prestigious Carnegie Award for childrens' books

COMING SOON – A review of Charles Butler's critical work Four British Fantasists (Diana Wynne Jones, Susan Cooper, Alan Garner, Penelope Lively)

BLACK MARIA BALLET Picture of and comment on this excellent production

NEW LOOK FOR CHRESTOMANCI HarperCollins are giving the Chrestomanci books a make-over, starting with a new edition of Charmed Life and the paperback issue of The Pinhoe Egg. They also include "Beyond the Book" sections, with facts about Diana, a Q and A session with her, and other fun stuff.

RECENT STUFF

BOOK REVIEW – Farah Mendlesohn's excellent critical analysis DWJ: Children's Literature and the Fantastic Tradition

NEW PHOTO FOR BULLETIN FROM DIANA

REVIEW OF THE PINHOE EGG

Diana on Howl's Moving Castle – pictures and comments

Speaking at the first public UK showing of the film Howl's Moving Castle, at the Cambridge Film Festival, July 2005, Diana talked about her views on the film, as well as answering questions on Chrestomanci's dressing gowns and when The True State of Affairs is set … An interview with Diana is included on the DVD

Photo of poster: Christine Chang

 

 

 

Discussion Forum

DWJ fan Josh has set up a new internet forum on DWJ

Fun Stuff
Two quizzes based on DWJ's books. Which DWJ Character Are You? written by Diana herself, and Who's Running Your Town? by DWJ fan Ven

Diana Wynne Jones is one of Britain's top fantasy and science fiction writers. She has produced over 30 books for children and adults, winning awards around the world.
Her books include the popular Chrestomanci series for children and the spoof The Tough Guide to Fantasyland.



This site is created by Meredith MacArdle (meredithxyz at googlemail.com) and Helen Scott. There is plenty of material by Diana Wynne Jones herself, as well as articles by fans about her books. Some of Diana's articles, as well as the autobiography and the picture gallery, are quite long files. Be patient if they take a few seconds to download - it's worth the wait. The bibliography is believed to be complete (but any omissions will be gratefully received). And, please let us know of any news or other web sites we should mention. The scrolling quotes are from either The Skiver's Guide or The Tough Guide to Fantasyland.


News | Autobiography | Picture Gallery | Book List | Charmed Lives fanzine | A-Z of Related Worlds | Articles/Talks | Interview | Book Swap | Other DWJ sites

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ARTICLES
BY DIANA

A Day Visiting Schools

Back to the classroom - with a difference

Answers to Questions
Where ideas come from, why Diana writes fantasy, and more

Hints on Writing
Tips from the top

On an Old Irish Hymn

TALKS GIVEN BY DIANA


Heroes

A glimpse into the "primordial sludge" at the bottom of Diana's mind

Inventing the Middle Ages
A tough look at influences

An Interview with Diana

Diana's news bulletins

MESSAGES FOR DIANA

Message board is suspended due to spammers. But read the messages sent to Diana, or the older Questions for Diana..

MORE STUFF

Goon TV
a review by Fiona Haggart of the only tv adaptation (so far) of one of Diana's books

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