Jo Walton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jo Walton
Jo Walton in 2014
Born	1964 (age 60–61) Aberdare, Wales, UK
Occupation	Writer
Citizenship	Canadian
Genre	Fantasy, science fiction, alternate history
Spouse	Emmet A. O'Brien
Children	1

Jo Walton (born in 1964) is a talented writer from Wales and Canada. She writes exciting stories in the genres of fantasy and science fiction. She also writes poems.

Jo Walton is famous for her fantasy novel Among Others. This book won two major awards, the Hugo and Nebula Awards, in 2012. Another well-known book is Tooth and Claw. It's a unique story set in the Victorian era but features dragons! This novel won the World Fantasy Award in 2004.

She also wrote a series called Small Change. These books mix alternate history with fun mystery stories. The series includes Farthing, Ha'penny, and Half a Crown. Her fantasy novel Lifelode won the Mythopoeic Award in 2010. Her alternate history book My Real Children received the Tiptree Award in 2015.

Besides her novels, Jo Walton writes non-fiction. This includes book reviews and comments about science fiction for Tor.com. A collection of her articles was published in What Makes This Book So Great (2014). This book won the Locus Award for Best Non-Fiction.

About Jo Walton's Early Life

Jo Walton was born in 1964 in Aberdare, a town in Wales. She went to several schools in Wales and England. She studied at Lancaster University. She lived in London and Lancaster before moving to Swansea in Wales. In 2002, she moved to Canada.

Jo Walton can speak Welsh. She learned it in school and from her grandmother. Her grandmother was a well-known Welsh scholar and translator.

Jo Walton's Writing Journey

Jo Walton started writing when she was 13 years old. However, her first novel was not published until the year 2000. Before that, she wrote for different role-playing game publications. She often worked with her husband at the time, Ken Walton. He helped start the Cakebread & Walton games company.

Jo Walton was also active in online groups for science fiction fandom. She was known for her poem "The Lurkers Support Me in E-Mail." This poem is often shared in online discussions.

Her First Novels

Walton's first three novels were fantasy stories. They were The King's Peace (2000), The King's Name (2001), and The Prize in the Game (2002). These books are set in a world inspired by Arthurian legends and Irish myths. In 2002, she won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Her next novel, Tooth and Claw (2003), was a unique idea. She wanted to write a story like those by Anthony Trollope, but with dragons instead of humans.

The Small Change Series

Farthing was Jo Walton's first science fiction novel. It mixes a cozy mystery with an alternate history. In this story, the United Kingdom made peace with Adolf Hitler before the United States joined World War II. This book was nominated for several awards.

The next book in the series was Ha'penny, published in 2007. The final book, Half a Crown, came out in 2008. Ha'penny won the Prometheus Award in 2008.

Online Writing and Other Works

In 2008, Jo Walton started writing an online column for Tor.com. She mostly wrote reviews of older books. A collection of these articles was published as What Makes This Book So Great (2014). She also wrote a series of articles about past Hugo Award nominees. These were later collected in An Informal History of the Hugos (2018).

Her book Among Others (2012) won many awards, including the Hugo Award for Best Novel and Nebula Award for Best Novel. Her recent books include the alternate history My Real Children (2014). This book won the Tiptree Award.

She also wrote Thessaly trilogy (2015–16). This science fiction and fantasy series features Greek Gods. It also re-imagines Plato's famous book Republic. Her historical fantasy novel Lent (2019) is set in Renaissance Italy. Her 2020 novel Or What You Will is about immortality and creativity. It features an older fantasy novelist writing a book set in Renaissance Florence.

In 2018, Jo Walton was a special guest and speaker at the "Life, the Universe, & Everything" science fiction and fantasy event. In 2022, she released an audio drama called Heart's Home. It is based on a Welsh folk tale.

Awards and Recognition

Jo Walton has won many awards for her amazing writing. Here are some of them:

Jo Walton's Personal Life

After her first novel was published, Jo Walton moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is married to Emmet A. O'Brien. They have one child.

See also

In Spanish: Jo Walton para niños