Diana Wynne Jones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Diana Wynne Jones
Born	(1934-08-16)16 August 1934 London, England
Died	26 March 2011(2011-03-26) (aged 76) Bristol, England
Occupation	Novelist
Genre	Science fiction, speculative fiction, children's, fantasy, comic fantasy
Subject	Fantasy fiction, science fiction, surrealism
Literary movement	Postmodernism
Years active	1968–2011
Notable works	Chrestomanci series Dalemark Quartet Howl's Moving Castle
Notable awards	Guardian Prize 1978 Mythopoeic Award 1996, 1999 Karl Edward Wagner Award 1999 World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement 2007

Diana Wynne Jones (born August 16, 1934 – died March 26, 2011) was a famous British author. She wrote many exciting fantasy and science fiction books. Her stories were mostly for children and young adults.

Diana Wynne Jones was known for her creative plots. Her books often explored ideas like time travel and different worlds. Some of her most popular books include the Chrestomanci series and the Moving Castle novels.

Many well-known fantasy authors, like Neil Gaiman and J.K. Rowling, have said she inspired them. Neil Gaiman even called her "quite simply the best writer for children of her generation." Her amazing work earned her many awards and nominations throughout her career.

Growing Up and Family Life

Diana Wynne Jones was born in London, England. Her parents, Marjorie and Richard, were both teachers. When World War II started, she was evacuated from London. This meant she had to move away from the city for safety.

She moved several times as a child. Her family finally settled in Thaxted, Essex, in 1943. There, Diana and her two younger sisters, Isobel and Ursula, had a childhood where they often explored on their own.

After finishing school, Diana studied English at St Anne's College, Oxford. She even attended lectures by famous authors like C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. In 1956, she graduated and married John Burrow. He was a scholar who studied old literature. They had three sons: Richard, Michael, and Colin. The family lived in Oxford for many years before moving to Bristol in 1976.

Becoming a Writer

Diana Wynne Jones started writing in the mid-1960s. She said she wrote "mostly to keep [her] sanity." This was when her youngest child was a toddler. Her first book, Changeover, was for adults and came out in 1970.

Her books are known for being funny and clever. She often made fun of common ideas in fantasy stories. For example, The Tough Guide To Fantasyland and Dark Lord of Derkholm playfully point out clichés in typical fantasy adventures.

Many people compare Diana Wynne Jones's books to the Harry Potter series. Her stories helped spark interest in fantasy reading for many young people. Because of this, many of her older books were re-released for new readers.

Diana was also friends with other fantasy writers like Neil Gaiman. She even dedicated her 1993 novel Hexwood to him. He had also dedicated his comic book series The Books of Magic to her and three other "witches."

Awards and Recognition

Diana Wynne Jones won the 1978 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for Charmed Life. This was the first book in her Chrestomanci series. She was also a runner-up for the Carnegie Medal three times. This award recognizes the best children's book of the year.

She won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award twice. First in 1996 for The Crown of Dalemark, and again in 1999 for Dark Lord of Derkholm.

Her 1986 novel, Howl's Moving Castle, became very famous. A boy at a school she visited asked her to write a book called "The Moving Castle," which gave her the idea. In 2004, a famous Japanese director, Hayao Miyazaki, turned it into an animated movie. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

In 2006, Howl's Moving Castle won the Phoenix Award. This award celebrates great children's books published twenty years earlier that didn't win a major award at the time.

Diana Wynne Jones received an honorary degree from the University of Bristol in 2006. In 2007, she won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. This award recognized her amazing contributions to the fantasy genre throughout her life. In 2014, Google even honored her with a special Google Doodle.

Later Life and Legacy

In 2009, Diana Wynne Jones was diagnosed with lung cancer. She bravely fought the illness. Sadly, she passed away on March 26, 2011. She was surrounded by her family.

She was working on a new story called The Islands of Chaldea when she became too ill to write. Her sister, Ursula Jones, finished the book, and it was published in 2014. Another book, Vile Visitors., was also published after her death. Diana Wynne Jones left behind a wonderful collection of stories that continue to inspire readers and writers today.

Works

Selected awards and honours

Diana Wynne Jones won and was nominated for many awards for her books.

See also

In Spanish: Diana Wynne Jones para niños