Robert Holdstock

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Robert Holdstock is an English fantasy author and was born in Kent in 1948 — he became a full-time writer in 1975 after studying Medical Zoology as a student. He now lives in London, escaping as often as he can to the 'wild woods' which he loves. He is undoubtedly best known for his Mythago Wood series of books but has written many others along with a number of short stories, some of which were published under a pseudonym. He also wrote the novella The Dark Wheel which was included with the best-selling game Elite, originally released on the BBC Micro in 1984. On a totally different theme he was also responsible for writing the book The Emerald Forest, based on the film of the same name as directed by John Boorman (director of Deliverance and Excalibur amongst others).

Robert Holdstock

Many of Robert's books over the past 20 years are set in or near woods and forests in addition to being set in ancient times, often featuring primitive cultures. The books are rich with atmosphere and can be very immersive, sometimes even possessing a 'shamanistic' feel which aids in drawing in those readers with a liking for the rustic, the ancient, the historical, the unusual and the mysterious. The original UK covers of the Mythago Wood series of books also serve to evoke the wonderful feeling of the mysterious — these original covers were produced by the English fantasy artist Geoff Taylor.

[edit] Awards

Robert's books have won a number of awards, only a handful of which are mentioned here — Mythago Wood won the 1985 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel along with the BSFA Award in 1984. Lavondyss, the follow-up to Mythago Wood, won the BSFA Award for Best Novel in 1988. Some other books which have won awards are The Ragthorn (written with Garry Kilworth) and The Bone Forest. There have been many others in the UK and around the world.