Author Archives: Alec Lynch
Readings
During the Covid pandemic of 2020, while the world practiced social distancing and quarantine measures, a project took shape amongst a number of writers to offer short videos of themselves doing readings from their work. Filmed by his son Sam, … Continue reading
Some Writing Advice: Don’t Take Others’ Advice
This first appeared at www.lithub.com in 2019. I am, more or less, allergic to writing advice. This is a problem these days, because writing advice is floating in the air like pollen in springtime, I await the Top Ten List … Continue reading
When Gods are Absent from Fantasy: Religion and Spiritual Experience in Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Lions of Al-Rassan and The Sarantine Mosaic, by Sylwia Borowska-Szerszun
When Gods are Absent from Fantasy: Religion and Spiritual Experience in Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Lions of Al-Rassan and The Sarantine Mosaic. Published at www.academia.edu Sylwia Borowska-Szerszun, Bialystok University, Department of Philology, Faculty Member. Guy Gavriel Kay, a Canadian author … Continue reading
Faire Ladies Re-Imagined: Female Characters in Guy Gavriel Kay’s A Song for Arbonne by Sylwia Borowska-Szerszun
Faire Ladies Re-Imagined: Female Characters in Guy Gavriel Kay’s A Song for Arbonne. Published at www.academia.edu Sylwia Borowska-Szerszun, Bialystok University, Department of Philology, Faculty Member. Abstract: This essay aims to examine the construction of female characters in Guy Gavriel Kay’s … Continue reading
Reviews of A Brightness Long Ago
Review by Gary K Wolfe for Locus Magazine. At the risk of oversimplification – well, no, to be honest, with the intent of oversimplification – the fantastic genres have a long and complex relationship with historical fiction, but they often tend to … Continue reading
Cover of A Brightness Long Ago (UK)
UK edition. Artist: Thorne Ryan. Pub: Hodderscape
Cover of A Brightness Long Ago (Canada)
Canadian edition (USA edition is similar). Design: Lisa Jager. Pub: Penguin Canada.
Cover of A Song For Arbonne (France)
France reprint edition. Artist: leraf Design. Publisher: L’Atalante.
Cover art Lord of Emperors (Macedonian edition)
Macedonian edition of Sailing to Sarntium Pub: Ikona
Cover of Lord of Emperors (French paperback)
French paperback edition Lord of Emperors. Artist: Gilles Cornu Pub: J’ai Lu
Cover of Lord of Emperors (Croatian edition)
Croatian edition of Lord of Emperors Artist: Igor Kordey Pub: Algoritam
Cover for Under Heaven (Germany)
Publisher: Tor Designed by Nele Schütz
Cover for River of Stars (Germany)
Publisher: Tor Designed by Nele Schütz
Cover for River of Stars (France)
France edition Publisher: L’Atalante
Sailing to Sarantium (Macedonian)
Pub: Ikona
Sailing to Sarantium (French paperback)
Artist: Gilles Cornu Pub: J’ai Lu
Cover Art of Sailing to Sarantium (Canadian paperback)
Artist: Cathy MacLean Pub: Penguin
Cover of Sailing to Sarantium (Croatian edition)
Artist: Igor Kordev Publisher: Algoritam
Cover of Sailing to Sarantium (Canadian Hardcover)
Artist: Cathy MacLean. Pub: Penguin Canada.
Cov for Last Light of the Sun (Canadian trade)
Canadian trade paperback edition. Artist: Cathy McLean Publisher: Penguin Canada
Cover of The Lions of Al-Rassan (Quebec edition)
Quebec edition of The Lions of Al-Rassan Pub: Alire
Cover of The Lions of Al-Rassan (French Edition)
French edition of The Lions of Al-Rassan Pub: J’ai Lu
Cover of A Song for Arbonne (U.S. paperback)
US paperback edition. Artist: Mel Odom. Pub: Roc
Cover of A Song for Arbonne (Canadian Trade)
Canadian trade paperback edition. Artwork by Marie De Sousa, design by Cathy MacLean. Pub: Penguin Canada.
Linon and the Zubir by Clémence Brousse
Clémence writes: “In the Sarantine Mosaic the encounter with the Zubir is an incredibly haunting scene and I wanted to convey the oppressive feeling of old power, but also the sense of decay that the old god carries. This piece … Continue reading
Tabor and Imraith-Nimphais, by Jenny Dolfen
Tabor and Imraith-Nimphais from The Fionavar Tapestry, by Jenny Dolfen. You can see more of Jenny’s work on her website. (Click for larger image)
Reading Passages from Tigana
Filmed Reading of the prologue by GGK Click here to view. Passage from Chapter 8 of Tigana Dianora could remember, with jagged, sharp-edged clarity, the first time she’d called her home Lower Corte. They all could, all the … Continue reading
Ambiguities and Divided Loyalties: Focalization in Guy Gavriel Kay’s Tigana
Ambiguities and Divided Loyalties: Focalization in Guy Gavriel Kay’s Tigana This is a bachelor’s thesis by Roosa Töyrylä, written at the University of Helsinki, Finland. 2017. Introduction In fantasy literature, good and evil are often portrayed as absolute opposites, the … Continue reading
Children of Earth and Sky Author Questions
1) Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors are two of your most beloved novels. What is it like to return to this setting so many years later, both in the fictional continuity and at this point in your career? … Continue reading
Children of Earth and Sky Discussion Questions
CHILDREN OF EARTH AND SKY — DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1) Readers of Guy Gavriel Kay’s Sarantine Mosaic novels, Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors, will recognize the setting of Children of Earth and Sky. (This is also the near-Europe of … Continue reading
Interview with Shelagh Rogers for The Next Chapter
This audio interview for CBC’s The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers took place soon after the publication of The Children of Earth and Sky. Topics include writing about civilizations on the edge, the role of the observer, and telling the … Continue reading
Interview with Alison Flood for The Guardian
This piece discusses Guy Gavriel Kay’s involvement in helping to edit The Silmarillion, a look back at writing The Fionavar Tapestry, his path as a writer…and even a bit about umlauts. This piece originally appeared at http://www.theguardian.com. It was written … Continue reading
Podcast Interview with Moses Siregar of Adventures in SciFi Publishing.
A podcast interview with GGK, by Moses Siregar of Adventures in SciFi Publishing. Just some of the topics discussed include writing to a theme, Tolkien, reader and reviewer responses, and the use of the present tense in the novels (note: … Continue reading
Interview with Book Banter with Alex C Telander
A recorded interview with Alex C. Telander of Bookbanter. Discussions include insights into the process behind writing Under Heaven, GGK’s beginnings as an author, some of his writing and reading habits, and news out of Hollywood. https://bookbanter.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/bookbanter-episode-23-with-guy-gavriel-kay/
Audio Interview with Rick Kleffel of The Agony Column
An audio interview with Rick Kleffel of The Agony Column, given on the Ysabel publicity tour. Click here for an mp3 download (77mb) Click here for a real player download (13mb)
Danica and Leonora
Friendship interests me as a writer. It can be a mysterious thing. Usually it grows over time, someone becomes a presence in our life and at some point we realize how much we value them – and often that comes … Continue reading
Children of Earth and Sky: An Origin Story
Croatia has roads in many places going back to the Romans. They joke today that the old roads are better graded and designed than the new ones. It is probably true. On a book tour many years ago, I was … Continue reading
Cover of The Lions of Al-Rassan (2017 France Edition)
Cover by leraf Design
Cover of Children of Earth and Sky (Quebec edition)
A Song for Arbonne, by Staffan Alsparr
Staffan writes: “I picked up A Song for Arbonne at the local library when looking for something new to read. I find books a great fodder for painting and picture-making and always have a reading project going. I wasn’t familiar … Continue reading
Cover of Children of Earth and Sky (Russian Edition)
6 Books I Love
Guy Gavriel Kay described the process of picking his six favourite books as a thoroughly regrettable, “evil, sadistic exercise.” This first appeared at www.cbc.ca in 2016. The historical fiction that first hooked him Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff … Continue reading
Something to Write Home About
This first appeared at https://thewalrus.ca in 2016. I wrote my first, never-published book in a fishing village on the south coast of Crete at the end of the 1970s. I went back, two winters later, to write most of The Summer … Continue reading
On the Strengths of Fiction Done as Near-History
This first appeared at http://boingboing.net/ in 2016. The origin story of Children of Earth and Sky, my current novel, begins with my Croatian editor being the first person ever to tell me about the Uskoks of Senj. He did that … Continue reading
Tigana, by Bard Judith
Bard writes: “I’m an artist/bard/creative who uses digital art journalling on a regular basis to process life, facilitate creativity, calm and heal myself, and record events/ideas/emotions that are worth preserving and remembering. This piece was done on one of the … Continue reading
Review by Bill Capossere for Fantasy Literature
Reproduced with kind permission of Fantasy Literature. A new Guy Gavriel Kay novel is cause for great celebration and anticipation in our household, as he has authored some of our most beloved novels over the decades (by “our” I mean … Continue reading
Review by Gary K. Wolfe for Locus
Reproduced with kind permission of Locus. In the brief acknowledgments at the end of his magnificent new novel Children of Earth and Sky, Guy Gavriel Kay mentions that his fictional Renaissance city of Obravic is an ‘‘amalgam,’’ and it occurs to … Continue reading
Cover of Children of Earth and Sky (Penguin Canada Leatherbound Edition)
Cover of Children of Earth and Sky (1st U.K. Hardcover Edition)
Cover of Children of Earth and Sky (1st U.S.A. Hardcover Edition)
Artist: Larry Rostant