Diana Gabaldon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Diana Gabaldon
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Gabaldon in 2017
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| Born | January 11, 1952 Williams, Arizona, US |
| Occupation | Novelist, professor |
| Education | |
| Period | 1991–present |
| Genre | Speculative fiction, historical fiction, historical romance, historical mystery, historical fantasy, scientific literature |
| Notable works |
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| Spouse | Doug Watkins |
| Children | 3 (including Sam Sykes) |
| Parents | Tony Gabaldon (father) |
Diana J. Gabaldon (born January 11, 1952) is an American writer. She is famous for her book series called Outlander. Her books mix different types of stories. They include historical fiction, which means they are set in the past. They also have elements of romance, mystery, adventure, and science fiction or fantasy. A TV show based on her Outlander novels started on Starz in 2014.
Contents
Diana Gabaldon's Early Life and School
Diana Gabaldon was born on January 11, 1952. Her hometown is Williams, Arizona, in the United States. Her father, Tony Gabaldon, was a state senator in Arizona. He served for 16 years. Her mother was Jacqueline Sykes.
Gabaldon grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona. She studied science in college. She earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from Northern Arizona University. Later, she got a master's degree in marine biology from the University of California, San Diego. She also earned a PhD in behavioral ecology from Northern Arizona University.
Diana Gabaldon's Career as a Writer
Before becoming a full-time writer, Diana Gabaldon worked at Arizona State University. In 1984, she became the first editor of a magazine called Science Software Quarterly. During the 1980s, she wrote articles about computers. She also wrote popular science articles and even some Disney comics. She was a professor for 12 years. She taught about scientific computing before she left to write books all the time.
How the Outlander Series Began
In 1988, Gabaldon decided to write a novel. She wanted to practice writing and learn how. She didn't plan to show it to anyone. She thought a historical novel would be easy to research. She didn't know much about history at first.
She saw an old episode of the TV show Doctor Who. It was called "The War Games". One character was a young Scottish man from the 1740s. His name was Jamie McCrimmon. This character gave her the idea for her main male character, James Fraser. It also inspired her to set the story in 18th-century Scotland.
Gabaldon decided to have an Englishwoman in the story. This character would interact with the Scottish men. But her female character, Claire, started telling the story herself. Claire made funny, modern comments about everything. To explain Claire's modern behavior, Gabaldon used time travel. She did her research using books because the internet didn't exist yet.
Publishing Her First Book
Gabaldon shared a small part of her novel online. An author named John E. Stith introduced her to a literary agent. Her first book deal was for three books. The first book was called Cross Stitch at first. Her US publishers changed the title to Outlander. But in the UK, it kept the name Cross Stitch. When her second book was finished, Gabaldon left her job at Arizona State University. She became a full-time author.
The Outlander Book Series
The Outlander series has nine published novels. The ninth book, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, came out on November 23, 2021. Gabaldon also wrote The Exile (An Outlander Graphic Novel) in 2010.
She also writes the Lord John books. These books are part of the Outlander world. They focus on a different character from the main series. In September 2021, Gabaldon shared that she was working on the tenth Outlander book. She announced in May 2025 that this will be the final book in the main series. Its title will be A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out.
Diana Gabaldon's Personal Life
Diana Gabaldon lives in Scottsdale, Arizona. She lives with her husband, Doug Watkins. They have three adult children. Her son, Sam Sykes, is also a fantasy writer. Gabaldon is a Roman Catholic.
Outlander Books and TV Shows
The Outlander books are available as audiobooks. Some of the Lord John books are also available as audiobooks.
A TV show based on the Outlander series started on Starz in the US. It premiered on August 9, 2014. Diana Gabaldon even appeared briefly in an episode in August 2014. She played a character named Iona MacTavish. Gabaldon also works as a consultant for the show. She wrote the script for an episode in 2016 called "Vengeance Is Mine".
In 2010, Gabaldon turned the first part of Outlander into a graphic novel. It was called The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel. The same year, a musical with 14 songs based on Outlander was released. It was called Outlander: The Musical.
See also
In Spanish: Diana Gabaldon para niños
