Category Archives: GGK’s Words
The J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature
On Tuesday May 11th, 2022 GGK delivered the eighth annual Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford, broadcasting live from Toronto in Canada. For more information and responses to the lecture, see the tolkienlecture.org website.
Watch GGK in conversation with Paul Blezard at the Lockdown Litfest
Watch GGK in conversation with Paul Blezard at the Lockdown Litfest:
Guest Editor for LoveReading
As the 2021 spring guest editor for LoveReading, GGK shares recommendations for five books. His poem “Mostly Quiet” is also showcased. Follow the link below to read it. https://www.lovereading.co.uk/lovereading-loves/guest-editor-spring-2021-guy-gavriel-kay-29.html
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
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
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
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
Q&A with Guy about Ysabel
This interview has been taken from the official Ysabel website of Penguin Canada, with permission. ________________________________ Q: One of your trademarks as an author is to take real historical events and settings and use them as the basis for the … Continue reading
Interview with Kristin Centorcelli
SF Signal: An interview with Guy Gavriel Kay This interview was conducted online by Kristin Centorcelli and originally appeared at SF Signal in February 2013. Reproduced with kind permission. Guy Gavriel Kay is the #1 internationally bestselling author of ten … Continue reading
Bibliographies
by Guy Gavriel Kay The links below lead to an extremely selective listing of works I used in researching the ‘historical’ fantasies. It would feel silly at this point for me to try going back to a decade’s worth of … Continue reading
On Readings
Public performances are another aspect of the writer’s business about which I feel some ambivalence. There are ironies here: I enjoy reading aloud, and I derive a great deal of pleasure from meeting readers. What’s the problem, then? Well, I’ve … Continue reading
GGK’s note on reviews
There have, of course, been negative reviews over the years, too. I thought of urging Deborah Meghnagi to include some, but it seemed both masochistic and a little bit ‘cute’. Most of the time what this author (any author?) wants … Continue reading
Site Essays
GGK’s Original Introduction to Brightweavings: Somewhere on this site is the quote from Cato the Elder that I used for years in reply to queries about the absence of an ‘official’ website about me or my work. Cato is said … Continue reading
Interview for the Camelot Project
Interview with Guy Gavriel Kay by Raymond H. Thompson Mythcon: Vancouver, B.C. 30th July 1989 Interview reproduced by kind permission of Raymond H. Thompson. Mr. Thompson conducted a series of interviews with authors of modern Arthurian Literature. To read the … Continue reading
Tigana Afterword
This afterword first appeared in the ROC USA 10th anniversary edition of Tigana, published in 1999. It is reprinted here with kind permission of the publishers. Tigana is in good part a novel about memory: the necessity of … Continue reading
Interview with Solaris Magazine
Interview with Solaris This interview was conducted by Jean-Louis Trudel, in 1995, for the French language magazine Solaris, published in Quebec. Interview courtesy of Jean-Louis Trudel and Solaris. On the back of the Quebec translations of your trilogy, the wording … Continue reading
Interview with Solaris Magazine (French)
Entrevue avec Solaris L’entrevue a été menée par Jean-Louis Trudel, en 1995, pour la revue francophone Solaris, publiée au Québec. Tous droits réservés. Avec la permission de Jean-Louis Trudel et de Solaris. 1) La petite biographie fournie en quatrième de … Continue reading
Under Heaven Author’s Letter
This was first printed in the advance reading copies of Under Heaven, 2010. With Under Heaven – a novel inspired by Tang Dynasty China – about to be released, my editors have suggested I write a note about it and … Continue reading
Interview with the Voyageur Newsletter
This interview was conducted by Alex von Thorn at the World Fantasy Con in Montreal, in November 2001. It appeared in the Voyageur newsletter and website, and is reproduced with kind permission. AvT: You helped Christopher Tolkien assemble The Silmarillion, … Continue reading
Toastmaster address at WFC 2007
Toastmaster Address, World Fantasy Awards 2007 This was the toastmaster address GGK delivered at the World Fantasy Awards banquet in Saratoga Springs, at WFC 2007. It lacks the ad libs and the laugh track, but does have an addendum with … Continue reading
Guy Kay – Interview with CBC
Q & A with Guy This interview has been taken from the official Ysabel website of Penguin Canada, with permission. Q: One of your trademarks as an author is to take real historical events and settings and use them … Continue reading
Interview with Andrew Adams
This interview was done over e-mail in January 1995. Copyright is jointly held by Guy Gavriel Kay and Andrew A. Adams. Reproduced with permission. To visit Andrew Adams’ website, click here. How did you become involved in editing The … Continue reading
On Rereading
A while ago, a reader posted online that she’d finished her fourteenth read of one of my earlier novels. I offered a thank you and queried, idly, if that was the record. Evidently not. People began outlining their reread statistics, … Continue reading
Interview in the Historical Novels Review
Parallel Universes: Guy Gavriel Kay reflects on twenty years of alternative history This interview appears courtesy of The Historical Novels Review, and first appeared in their November ’04 edition. The interview was conducted by Teresa Basinski Eckford. Reproduced with kind … Continue reading
Interview with Sci Fi Channel Website
A Question of Character – an interview with Guy Gavriel Kay This interview appears courtesy of the UK Sci Fi Channel website. The interview was conducted by Sandy Auden. Reproduced with kind permission. ‘I’d say complexity is one of the … Continue reading
Interview with Alaya Dawn Johnson
A Conversation with Guy Gavriel Kay This interview originally appeared at http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/. It was conducted by author Alaya Dawn Johnson and is reproduced with her kind permission. Alaya Dawn Johnson: First, congratulations on winning the World Fantasy Award for best … Continue reading
Interview with SFSite
An interview with Guy Gavriel Kay, September 2000 Interview conducted by Rodger Turner. Reproduced from SFSite with kind permission. RT: One idea that popped into my head, while reading Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors, was the frequency with … Continue reading
Tour Journals
Please note that, unlike other forum topics, the most recent entries are found at the top rather than the bottom of the page. Under Heaven The Last Light of The Sun Ysabel THE JOURNAL – by Guy Gavriel Kay
Interview with SFX (UK magazine)
This interview was conducted by Guy Haley and can be read in print in SFX #93, July 2002. Reproduced with kind permission (and thanks to Nicola Clarke for doing the typing!) “It’s one of those life-shifting coincidences,” says renowned fantasy … Continue reading
Sometimes a Game is Just a Game
This was first printed in the Globe & Mail, May 2008. Reproduced with kind permission. Incidentally, the title was their choice! Edmond Burke said, “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do … Continue reading
Interview with Richard Marcus of ‘Leap in the Dark’
Bright Weavings – GGK’s Words: Interview with Richard Marcus of ‘Leap in the Dark’ An interview with Richard Marcus This interview appears courtesy of Richard Marcus of Leap in the Dark. It was syndicated to desicritics.org and blogcritics.org. Reproduced with … Continue reading
Mondegreens
Mondegreens This piece first appeared in the National Post. It is reprinted here with kind permission. Sometimes life delivers something we always longed for but didn’t even know it. It doesn’t happen (as best I can tell) nearly often enough, … Continue reading
On Myth
This was written in the summer of 1999 as part of the Chapters book chain’s ‘Great Writers’ series of essays that ran as full page inserts in Canadian newspapers. ‘Mythology is what never was, but always is.’ It … Continue reading
Interview with Marion Zimmer Bradley Fantasy Magazine
This interview appeared in the fall ’99 edition of the Marion Zimmer Bradley Fantasy Magazine. The interview was conducted by Charlene Brusso. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with kind permission. Guy Gavriel Kay is the author of quite a few … Continue reading
Interview with New York Review of Science Fiction
New York Review of Science Fiction: Interview with Guy Gavriel Kay This interview appears courtesy of Peter Halasz, who interviewed GGK for the New York Review of Science Fiction during 2000. Guy Gavriel Kay, for those as yet unfamiliar with … Continue reading
Interview with Patrick St-Denis
This interview originally appeared at http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com/ in April 2010. – In a recent National Post interview, you’re quoted as saying: “I’m not giving them fantasy in any sense that they understand,” he says. “I’m doing history with a spin from … Continue reading
The Problem with the Patriot"
Bright Weavings – GGK’s Words: Essay “The Problem with the Patriot” The Problem with ‘The Patriot‘ I was in London when the latest summer blockbuster, Roland Emmerich’s ‘The Patriot’ opened in theatres there. It was assaulted by some of the … Continue reading
Interview with Phantastes "The Mythic Heart"
Interview by Stacy Ann Dumoski This interview appears courtesy of Phantastes. Guy Gavriel Kay is a rare thing among genre writers, tending towards single-volume, stand-alone works in a time when the market favors (seemingly endless) series and multiple returns … Continue reading
Reflections on an Ethical Society
What follows was delivered on November 4, 2000 at the one-day ‘Reflections on an Ethical Society’ conference at University of Toronto’s Convocation Hall. (Ironically, the setting for the opening scene of The Summer Tree .) This is a somewhat edited … Continue reading
Interview with Rambles Magazine
This interview appears courtesy of the online cultural arts magazine Rambles. The interview was conducted by Laurie Thayer. Reproduced with kind permission. Laurie Thayer: Did your work on The Silmarillion inspire your own writing? Guy Gavriel Kay: The year I … Continue reading
Biography
Many thanks to Holly Ordway (Assistant Professor of Letters at MiraCosta College in Oceanside, California), for contributing this biography. photo by Beth Gwynn Guy Gavriel Kay (7 November 1954 – present) Guy Gavriel Kay was born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, on … Continue reading