Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958, in

Fort Dix, New Jersey Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air For ...

) is an American

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine

World Fantasy Awards The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

, the

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...

, and the

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

, and her collection ''The Armless Maiden'' appeared on the short-list for the

James Tiptree, Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science ...

. In 2010, Windling received the SFWA Solstice Award, which honors "individuals with a significant impact on the

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

field". Her work has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Lithuanian, Turkish, Russian, Japanese, and Korean.

Early life

Terri Windling was born on December 3, 1958, in Fort Dix,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. She was raised in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. She attended

Antioch College Antioch College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection and began operating in 1852 as a non-secta ...

, graduating in 1979. After college, she moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and worked in publishing as an editor and an artist.

Career

Writing

In the American publishing field, Windling has been one of the primary creative forces behind the

mythic fiction Mythic fiction is literature that draws from the tropes, themes, and symbolism of myth, legend, folklore, and fairy tales. It is usually set in the real world and deals with realistic issues, but a mythic atmosphere prevails; however, not all my ...

resurgence that began in the early 1980s, through her work as an innovative editor for the

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

and

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

fantasy lines and as the editor of more than thirty anthologies of magical fiction. She created the Fairy Tale Series. Retrieved 2020-03-15. of novels that reinterpret classic

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

s. She is also recognized as one of the founders of

urban fantasy Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, placing supernatural elements in a contemporary urban area, urban-affected setting. The combination provides the writer with a platform for classic fantasy tropes, quixotic plot-elements, and unusual charac ...

, having published and promoted the first novels of

Charles de Lint Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer. Primarily a writer of fantasy fiction, he has composed works of urban fantasy, contemporary magical realism, and mythic fiction. Along with authors like Terri Windling, Emma Bull ...

Emma Bull Emma Bull (born December 13, 1954) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novels include the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo- and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula-nominated ''Bone Dance'' and the urban fantasy ''War for the Oa ...

, and other pioneers of the genre., pp. 148, 237, 333. With

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award ( Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her car ...

, Windling edited 16 volumes of ''

Year's Best Fantasy and Horror ''The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' was a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press from 1988 to 2007. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition included a number of retrospect ...

'' (1986–2003), an anthology that reached beyond the boundaries of

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

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, ...

to incorporate

magic realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical re ...

, surrealism, poetry, and other forms of magical literature. Datlow and Windling also edited the '' Snow White, Blood Red'' series of literary fairy tales for adult readers, as well as many anthologies of myth & fairy tale inspired fiction for younger readers, such as '' The Green Man'', ''The Faery Reel'', and ''The Wolf at the Door''. Windling also created and edited the '' Borderland'' series for teenage readers, and ''The Armless Maiden'', a fiction collection intended for adult survivors of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

like herself.Clute (1995), p. 251. As an author, Windling's fiction includes '' The Wood Wife'' (1996), winner of the

Mythopoeic Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...

for Novel of the Year, and several children's books: ''The Raven Queen'', ''The Changeling'', ''A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale'', ''The Winter Child'', and ''The Faeries of Spring Cottage''. Her essays on myth, folklore, magical literature and art have been widely published in newsstand magazines, academic journals, art books, and anthologies. She was a contributor to ''The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales'', edited by

Jack Zipes Jack David Zipes (born June 7, 1937) is a literary scholar and author. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch at the University of Minnesota. Zipes is known for his work on fairy tales, folklore, crit ...

. In May 2016, Windling gave the fourth annual Tolkien Lecture at

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

, speaking on the topic of fantasy literature in the post-Tolkien era. In 2020, she announced the establishment of a publishing company, Bumblehill Press.

Art

As an artist, Windling specializes in work inspired by

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

, and fairy tales. Her art has been exhibited across the US, as well as in the UK and France. Windling is the founder of the

Endicott Studio Endicott Studio (also known as the Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts) was a nonprofit organization, based in the United States and United Kingdom, that is dedicated to literary, visual, and performance arts inspired by myth, folklore, fairy tales, a ...

, an organization dedicated to myth-inspired arts, and was the co-editor with

Midori Snyder Midori Snyder is an American writer of fantasy, mythic fiction, and nonfiction on myth and folklore. She has published eight novels for children and adults, winning the Mythopoeic Award for ''The Innamorati''. Her work has been translated int ...

of ''The Journal of Mythic Arts'' from 1987 until it ceased publication in 2008. She also sits on the board of the

Mythic Imagination Institute The Mythic Imagination Institute is a non-profit organization based in Atlanta, Georgia, whose purpose is to encourage a creative response to life, both individual and collective, through storytelling and mythology: "Every life is a story, and a sto ...

Personal life

In September 2008, Windling married Howard Gayton, a British dramatist and co-founder of the Ophaboom Theatre Company, a

Commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

troupe. Since the early 1990s she has resided in

Devon, England Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

; she divided her time between there and

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, for many years. Windling is a close friend and neighbor of artists

Wendy Wendy is a given name generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activit ...

and

Brian Froud Brian Froud (born 1947) is an English fantasy illustrator and conceptual designer. He is most widely known for his 1978 book '' Faeries'' with Alan Lee, and as the conceptual designer of the Jim Henson films '' The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ...

, and has collaborated with them on several projects.

Works

Fiction

* "The Green Children", ''The Armless Maiden'', Tor Books, 1995 * '' The Wood Wife'', Tor Books, 1996 (winner of the

) * "The Color of Angels", ''The Horns of Elfland'', New American Library, 1997 * ''The Raven Queen'', with Ellen Steiber, Random House, 1999 * ''The Changeling'', Random House, 1995 * The Old Oak Wood Series, Simon & Schuster, illustrated by Wendy Froud ** ''A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale'', 1999 ** ''The Winter Child'', 2000 ** ''The Faeries of Spring Cottage'', 2001 * "Red Rock", ''Century Magazine'', 2000 * ''The Moon Wife'', Tor Books, forthcoming * ''Little Owl'', Viking, forthcoming

Nonfiction

* "Surviving Childhood", ''The Armless Maiden'', Tor Books, 1995 * "Transformations", ''Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales'' (Expanded Edition), Anchor, 1998 * Co-writer and editor of ''Brian Froud's Good Faeries/Bad Faeries'', Simon & Schuster, 2000 * "On Tolkien and Fairy Stories", ''Meditations on Middle-Earth'', St. Martin's Press, 2001 * Contributing writer to ''The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales'', edited by Jack Zipes, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002 * Contributing writer to ''Fées, elfes, dragons & autres créatures des royaumes de féerie'', edited by Claudine Glot and Michel Le Bris, Hoëbeke, France, 2004 * Contributing writer to ''Panorama illustré de la fantasy & du merveilleux'', edited by André-François Ruaud, Les Moutons Electriques, France 2004 * Numerous articles on myth and mythic arts for ''

Realms of Fantasy ''Realms of Fantasy'' was a professional bimonthly fantasy speculative fiction magazine published by Sovereign Media, then Tir Na Nog Press, and Damnation Books, which specialized in fantasy fiction (including some horror), related nonfiction (wi ...

'' magazine and the ''

Journal of Mythic Arts Endicott Studio (also known as the Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts) was a nonprofit organization, based in the United States and United Kingdom, that is dedicated to literary, visual, and performance arts inspired by myth, folklore, fairy tales, a ...

'', 1992–2008

Anthologies

* ''Elsewhere, Volumes I–III'', edited with Mark Alan Arnold, Ace Books, 1981–1983 (winner of the World Fantasy Award for Volume I) *'' Faery'', Ace Books, 1985 (World Fantasy Award nominee) *

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror ''The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' was a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press from 1988 to 2007. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition included a number of retrospect ...

series, with

, 1986–2003 (winner of three World Fantasy Awards and the Bram Stoker Award) * Snow White, Blood Red series, with Ellen Datlow **'' Snow White, Blood Red'', Morrow/Avon, 1993 (World Fantasy Award nominee) **'' Black Thorn, White Rose'', Morrow/Avon, 1994; Prime Books, 2007 **''

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears ''Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears'' is the third book in a series of collections of re-told fairy tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. Contents Source: *Introduction – Terri Windling & Ellen Datlow *"Ruby Slippers" – Susan Wade – a ...

'', Morrow/Avon, 1995; Prime Books 2008 **''Black Swan, White Raven'', Avon Books, 1997; Prime Books, 2008 **'' Silver Birch, Blood Moon'', Avon Books, 1999 (winner of the World Fantasy Award) **''Black Heart, Ivory Bones'', Avon Books, 2000 *''Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers'', with Ellen Datlow, HarperPrism, 1998; Avon, 2002 * '' The Armless Maiden and Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors'', Tor Books, 1995 (

shortlist) * Retold Fairy Tales series, with Ellen Datlow (for Middle Grade readers) **''A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales'', Simon & Schuster, 2000 **''Swan Sister: Fairy Tales Retold'', Simon & Schuster, 2002 **''Troll's Eye View and Other Villainous Tales'', Viking, 2009 * Mythic Fiction series, with

, illustrated by Charles Vess (for Young Adult readers) **''The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest'', Viking, 2002 (winner of the World Fantasy Award) **''The Faery Reel: Tales From the Twilight Realm'', Viking, 2004 (World Fantasy Award nominee) **''The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales'', Viking, 2007 (World Fantasy Award nominee) **''The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People'', Viking, 2010 *''Salon Fantastique'' with Ellen Datlow, Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006 (winner of the World Fantasy Award) *''Teeth'' with Ellen Datlow, HarperCollins, 2011 *''After'' with Ellen Datlow, Disney/Hyperion, forthcoming 2012 *''Queen Victoria's Book of Spells'' with Ellen Datlow, Tor Books, forthcoming 2013

Series edited

* The ''Fairy Tale Series'', created with artist Thomas Canty, Ace Books and Tor Books, 1986 to present – novels that retell and reinterpret traditional fairy tales; by

Steven Brust Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He is best known for his series of novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos, one of a disdained minority group of humans livi ...

Pamela Dean Pamela Collins Dean Dyer-Bennet (born 1953), better known as Pamela Dean, is an American fantasy author whose best-known book is ''Tam Lin (novel), Tam Lin'', based on the Child Ballads, Child Ballad of the Tam Lin, same name, in which the Scott ...

, Charles de Lint,

Tanith Lee Tanith Lee (19 September 1947 – 24 May 2015) was a British science fiction and fantasy writer. She wrote more than 90 novels and 300 short stories, and was the winner of multiple World Fantasy Society Derleth Awards, the World Fantasy Lifetime ...

Patricia Wrede Patricia Collins Wrede (; born March 27, 1953) is an American author of fantasy literature. She is known for her ''Enchanted Forest Chronicles'' series for young adults, which was voted number 84 in NPR's 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels list. Care ...

Jane Yolen Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 400 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...

, and others * Brian Froud's ''Faerielands'', Bantam Books, 1994 – contemporary fantasy novellas by Charles de Lint and

Patricia A. McKillip Patricia Anne McKillip (February 29, 1948 – May 6, 2022) was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. She wrote predominantly standalone fantasy novels and has been called "one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy ge ...

, illustrated by Brian Froud * ''Borderland'', New American Library, Tor Books, Harper Prism, 1985 to present The latter Young Adult shared-world series features the intersection of Elfland and human lands, which is generally populated by teenagers, runaways, and exiles. Primary series writers are

Ellen Kushner Ellen Kushner (born October 6, 1955) is an American writer of fantasy novels. From 1996 until 2010, she was the host of the radio program '' Sound & Spirit'', produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International. Backgroun ...

, Charles de Lint,

, and Will Shetterly. The series consists of five anthologies and three novels to date.

References

Other sources

Terri Windling
at the

Internet Book List The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, publi ...

* * by Julie Bartel, ''The Journal of Mythic Arts'', 2005
Terri Windling interview
in

Locus Magazine ''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy fields. ...

, October 2003 * Zipes, Jack (2000), ''The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales'', Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, * de Vos, Gail, and Altmann, Anna E. (1999),'' New Tales for Old: Folktales as Literary Fictions for Young Adults'', CT: Libraries Unlimited/The Greenwood Publishing Group,
"Into the Woods: The Faery Worlds of Terri Windling"
by Donald G. Keller, Legends Magazine, February 1998
SFWA.org
SFWA Announces 2010 Solstice Award Honorees, SFWA website, May 2010

External links

* * *
The Journal of Mythic Arts
by Niko Sylvester, Mythic Passages Sept–Oct 2003

by Helen Pilinovsky (examines the Donkeyskin fairy tale in fiction by

Robin McKinley Robin McKinley (born November 16, 1952) is an American author best known for her fantasy novels and fairy tale retellings. Her 1984 novel '' The Hero and the Crown'' won the Newbery Medal as the year's best new American children's book. In 20 ...

, and Terri Windling), ''Realms of Fantasy'' magazine, 2001, and ''The Journal of Mythic Arts'', 2005
Windling interview in ActuSF
French online sf magazine, 2011 *
The Wood Wife – Q&A with Terri Windling (March 27 – April 3, 2010)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Windling, Terri 1958 births Living people American expatriates in England American fantasy writers American online publication editors Antioch College alumni 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women science fiction and fantasy writers World Fantasy Award–winning writers American women novelists American speculative fiction editors American women editors