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Fantasy writer Guy Gavriel Kay gives reading September 25
| News
Guy Gavriel Kay, one of the world’s most popular, gifted and critically acclaimed authors of fantasy fiction, will read at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery on Thursday, September 25, at 7:30 p.m. A reception and book signing will follow. His reading is co-sponsored by the UPEI Department of English and the Art Gallery. Admission is free.
When Kay was still a student at the University of Manitoba, he was asked by Christopher Tolkien, son of J.R.R. Tolkien, to help edit his father’s unpublished work. Kay co-edited The Silmarillion. After law school at the University of Toronto, Kay became principal writer and associate producer of the highly successful CBC Radio series, The Scales of Justice, while pursuing his long-time interest in fiction writing and the fantasy genre.
Kay’s debut novel was The Summer Tree, the first volume of The Fionavar Tapestry, a trilogy drawing on the Arthurian legends and other mythologies, and which has become one of the most celebrated and enduring works of fantasy in the English language.
His novels rely both on exceptional imagination and superb historical and mythological research, and often include recognizable settings: Tigana’s resembles a medieval Italian city-state, this one oppressed by sorcerers. The Lions of Al-Rassan takes place in a country reminiscent of Spain near the end of Moorish-Islamic rule, and its main characters are devotees of religions comparable to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Last Light of the Sun draws on Viking history, while The Sarantine Mosaic reflects the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople.
Kay’s latest novel is Ysabel, set in modern Provence, with a teenage boy who encounters characters from the distant past. Kay has also published a poetry book, Beyond This Dark House.
For further information, contact the Department of English at 566-0389.
When Kay was still a student at the University of Manitoba, he was asked by Christopher Tolkien, son of J.R.R. Tolkien, to help edit his father’s unpublished work. Kay co-edited The Silmarillion. After law school at the University of Toronto, Kay became principal writer and associate producer of the highly successful CBC Radio series, The Scales of Justice, while pursuing his long-time interest in fiction writing and the fantasy genre.
Kay’s debut novel was The Summer Tree, the first volume of The Fionavar Tapestry, a trilogy drawing on the Arthurian legends and other mythologies, and which has become one of the most celebrated and enduring works of fantasy in the English language.
His novels rely both on exceptional imagination and superb historical and mythological research, and often include recognizable settings: Tigana’s resembles a medieval Italian city-state, this one oppressed by sorcerers. The Lions of Al-Rassan takes place in a country reminiscent of Spain near the end of Moorish-Islamic rule, and its main characters are devotees of religions comparable to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The Last Light of the Sun draws on Viking history, while The Sarantine Mosaic reflects the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople.
Kay’s latest novel is Ysabel, set in modern Provence, with a teenage boy who encounters characters from the distant past. Kay has also published a poetry book, Beyond This Dark House.
For further information, contact the Department of English at 566-0389.
Contact
Anna MacDonald
Media Relations and Communications, Integrated Communications
