Steph Swainston is a British literary fantasy/ science fiction author, known for the ''Castle'' series. Her debut novel, ''

The Year of Our War The fantasy novel ''The Year of Our War'' (2004) is the first book by British author Steph Swainston. It is often given as an example of the New Weird literary genre. Plot introduction The novel is set in the Fourlands, a country in danger of ...

'' (2004), won the 2005 Crawford Award and a nomination for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Profile

Stephanie "Steph" Jane Swainston was born in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

in 1974. She attended St. Joseph's College, Bradford, followed by Girton College, University of Cambridge, and the University of Wales. Outside writing, Swainston has had a broad range of occupations, which include bookseller,

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, lock keeper,

information scientist The term information scientist developed in the latter part of the twentieth century to describe an individual, usually with a relevant subject degree (such as one in Information and Computer Science - CIS) or high level of subject knowledge, prov ...

, and pyrotechnician. Swainston's novels to date take place in the Fourlands, which the author has described as a secret childhood paracosm,Profile at orionbooks.co.uk
/ref>Interview at clarkesworldmagazine.com
further influenced by aspects of her later adult life, including the competitive academic world. The novels centre on the life of the Circle, an elite group of immortals created and sustained by the Emperor, a near god-like figure engaged in a prolonged conflict with insect-like creatures, apparently from another world. Told in the

first person First person or first-person may refer to: * First person (ethnic), indigenous peoples, usually used in the plural * First person, a grammatical person * First person, a gender-neutral, marital-neutral term for titles such as first lady and first ...

, the novels follow the life of Jant, a winged humanoid with a distinctly flawed personality. The ''Castle'' series is also marked by the existence of multiple worlds, including the fantastic, baroque "Shift". The novels have been labeled by others as New Weird fantasy. Swainston has argued against labeling writers, including herself, within genres, on the basis that good fantasy and mainstream literature form a continuum. She has been critical of the conservative nature of much commercial fantasy writing.Profile at uksfbooknews.net
Her writing, unlike most works classified as traditional fantasy depicts drug use and graphic sex scenes, alongside the hyper- realistic depiction of warfare. Swainston describes her work as appealing to the ongoing deep structures of universal storytelling, as literature written as much in response to the author's own needs than as a response to specific market requirements. Swainston took a break from writing in 2011 to become a chemistry teacher, but subsequently returned to writing.Blog entry
Fair Rebel - the fifth Castle book
(2 October 2015) Her fifth novel, ''Fair Rebel'', was published in 2016.

Bibliography

Books

Novels

* ''

'' (Gollancz SF, 2004) * ''

No Present Like Time The fantasy/science fiction novel ''No Present Like Time'' (2005) by Steph Swainston Steph Swainston is a British literary fantasy/science fiction author, known for the ''Castle'' series. Her debut novel, '' The Year of Our War'' (2004), won t ...

'' (Gollancz SF, 2005, hardcover) * '' The Modern World'' (Gollancz SF, 2007, hardback) * ''Above the Snowline'' (Gollancz SF, 2010, hardcover) * ''Fair Rebel'' (Gollancz SF, 2016, paperback)

Omnibus

* ''The Castle Omnibus: "The Year of Our War", "No Present Like Time", "The Modern World"'' (Gollancz SF, 2009, paperback)

Short fiction

* "The Wheel of Fortune" (included in ''The Best British Fantasy 2013'', Salt Publishing, 2013, paperback) * ''Wrought Gothic and Other Scenes'' (collection) (Air and Nothingness Press, 2016, paperback) * ''Aftermath'' (an excerpt from a book-length sequel to ''Fair Rebel'' entitled ''The Savant and the Snake'', and other material) (Air and Nothingness Press, 2016, paperback) * ''Turning Point'' (collection) (Air and Nothingness Press, 2018, paperback) * "Velocity" (included in ''The Best of British Fantasy 2018'', NewCon Press, 2019)

References

External links

* *
Interview
conducted by

Jeff VanderMeer Jeff VanderMeer (born July 7, 1968) is an American author, editor, and literary critic. Initially associated with the New Weird literary genre, VanderMeer crossed over into mainstream success with his bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy. The tr ...

for Clarkesworld Magazine
Interview
conducted in 2006 by Jay Tomio
Reviews
of all three books in the ''Castle'' series
HarperCollins interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swainston, Steph 1974 births Living people Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of Wales English fantasy writers Writers from Bradford Date of birth missing (living people) British women short story writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers English women novelists 21st-century English women writers 21st-century English writers 21st-century British novelists People educated at St. Joseph's Catholic College, Bradford 21st-century British short story writers Weird fiction writers