Jay Kristoff (born 11 November 1973) is an Australian author of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novels. As of 2022, he has published 16 novels, both for adult readers and young adults. He currently resides in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Biography

Kristoff was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1973. As a child, Kristoff read frequently and played tabletop games, including

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

. Kristoff is 6'7" tall. He graduated from college with an Arts degree. He worked in creative advertising for television for eleven years before beginning his literary career. He lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife.

Works

The Lotus War Kristoff is the author of '' The Lotus War'', a

Steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

series inspired by Tokugawa-era Japan. The first novel, '' Stormdancer'', was a finalist for a 2012

Aurealis Award The Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction is an annual literary award for Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror fiction. Only Australians are eligible for the award. History The Aurealis Award was established in 1995 by ...

, was shortlisted for two 2013 David Gemmell Awards (for best novel and best debut novel), and was a finalist for the 2013

Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) to the year's best English language debut novel in the science fiction, fantasy, or horror genres, as voted by its members. BSFS confers the award at their annua ...

. The prequel novella ''The Last Stormdancer'' was the winner of the 2013 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Fiction. Kristoff refers to the series as

crossover fiction A crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders (known as intercompany ...

that appeals to older young adults and adults. The Illuminae Files Kristoff's second series, ''The Illuminae Files'', was acquired by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

in a preempt in 2013. Kristoff co-wrote the series with fellow Melbourne author, Amie Kaufman. The first book in the series, titled '' Illuminae'', was published in late October 2015. It debuted at #5 on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller List Young Adult Hardcover list, and eventually reached the #2 spot. In November 2015, it was announced that

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

and his production company,

Plan B Entertainment Plan B Entertainment, Inc., more commonly known as Plan B, is an American production company founded in November 2001 by Brad Pitt, Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn and Jennifer Aniston. The company first signed with Warner Bros. as a replacement for ...

, had acquired the film rights to ''Illuminae''. ''Illuminae'' was nominated for the 2016 Prime Minister's Literary Award, won the 2015 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction novel, the 2016 Gold Inky Award for best teen fiction, and the 2016 Australian Book Industry Award Book of the Year for Older Children. The sequel to ''Illuminae'', ''Gemina'', debuted at #3 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list and won the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction novel. The final book in the series ''Obsidio'', was published in May 2018, and debuted at #6 on the ''New York Times'' bestselling series list as the #1 young adult bestseller in Australia, and as a

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

bestseller. Kristoff refers to the series as young adult fiction. The Nevernight Chronicle Kristoff's second solo series, an adult epic fantasy entitled ''the Nevernight Chronicle'', commenced publication with '' Nevernight'' in August 2016. ''Nevernight'' earned Kristoff his second David Gemmell Awards nomination, and won the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel. The sequel '' Godsgrave'' was published in October, 2017, and won the 2017 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy novel. In 2019, it was announced

Screen Australia Screen Australia is the Australian Federal Government's key funding body for the Australian screen production industry, created under the ''Screen Australia Act 2008''. From 1 July 2008 Screen Australia took over the functions of its predecess ...

had funded a film adaptation of the first novel. The series finale '' Darkdawn'' was published in September, 2019, debuting on the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' and USA Today bestseller lists. In the same month, the trilogy was published in Italy by

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In ...

and became an instant bestseller. The series has subsequently achieved bestseller status in Germany, Spain and France. Lifelike In March 2016, Kristoff announced another young adult series, entitled ''Lifel1k3''. ''Lifel1k3'' was published in May, 2018, and won Kristoff his fifth Aurealis Award, again for best Science Fiction Novel. The sequel, ''Dev1at3'', was published in June, 2019. The third and final book in the series, ''Truel1f3'', was published in 2020. The series was shortlisted for the Sara Douglass Award For Best Series as part of the Aurealis Awards in 2021. The Aurora Cycle Kristoff and his ''Illuminae'' co-author Amie Kaufman announced a new science fiction series, entitled ''Aurora Rising'', which was acquired by Random House, the publishers of the ''Illuminae'' series. ''Aurora Rising'' was published in May 2019, and debuted at #2 on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list, as the #1 young adult bestseller in Australia, and as a

bestseller. In June 2019, it was announced that

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

had acquired the television rights to ''Aurora Rising''. A sequel, titled ''Aurora Burning'', was published in May 2020, and the final book, ''Aurora's End'', was published in November 2021. Empire of the Vampire In January 2019, Kristoff announced his next adult series, an illustrated fantasy epic entitled '' Empire of the Vampire'', which was acquired by

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

, the publisher of his ''Nevernight'' and ''Stormdancer'' series. ''Empire of the Vampire'' was published in September 2021. It debuted on the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, ''Wall Street Journal'',

bestseller lists in the US and was a ''Sunday Times'' bestseller in the UK, as well as hitting #1 bestseller spots at

Barnes and Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

in the USA and Dymocks Books in Australia. ''Empire of the Vampire'' would become the #1 bestselling Fantasy hardback in the United Kingdom for 2021, and subsequently achieved #1 bestseller status in France and Spain, also achieving bestseller status in Germany and Italy, marking it as Kristoff's most commercially successful debut to date.The sequel, ''Empire of the Damned'', was published in March 2024.

Themes

Kristoff's works deal with themes of familial bonds, friendship, love, loss, and betrayal. His fiction suggests that "victory without sacrifice is meaningless".

Books

''The Lotus War'' Series

# '' Stormdancer'' (

Thomas Dunne Books Thomas Dunne Books was an imprint of St. Martin's Press, which is a division of Macmillan Publishers. From 1986 until April 2020, it published popular trade fiction and nonfiction. History The imprint signed David Irving, a scholar, for a Joseph ...

, 2012) # ''Kinslayer'' (

, 2013) # ''Endsinger'' (

, 2014) * ''The Last Stormdancer'' (prequel novella to ''Stormdancer''; Thomas Dunne Books, 2013) * "Praying for Rain" (free short story, posted online 2013)

''The Illuminae Files'' (co-authored with Amie Kaufman)

# '' Illuminae'' (

, 2015) # ''Gemina'' (

, 2016) # ''Obsidio'' (

, 2018) * ''Memento'' (Prequel novella;

, 2019)

'' The Nevernight Chronicle''

# '' Nevernight'' (

, 2016) # '' Godsgrave'' (

, 2017) # '' Darkdawn'' (

, 2019)

''Lifel1k3''

# ''Lifel1k3'' (

, 2018) # ''Dev1at3'' (

, 2019) # ''Truel1f3'' (

, 2020)

''The Aurora Cycle'' (co-authored with Amie Kaufman)

# ''Aurora Rising'' (

, 2019) # ''Aurora Burning'' (

, 2020) # ''Aurora's End'' (

, 2021)

''Empire of The Vampire''

# '' Empire of the Vampire'' (

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, 2021) # ''Empire of the Damned'' (

, 2024) # ''Empire of the Dawn'' (

, 2025)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kristoff, Jay Australian fantasy writers Steampunk writers Living people Writers of young adult science fiction 1973 births Australian male novelists Writers from Perth, Western Australia