Will Elliott (born 1979) is an Australian horror and
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, ...
writer living in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Queensland. He currently tutors at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Profile
Elliott dropped out of a law degree at the age of 20 when he developed
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
. His first
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
alter ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
who appears when he dons
clown
A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...
face paint; Elliott has said the novel is not autobiographical. ''The Pilo Family Circus'' was published in Australia in 2006 after winning the inaugural
ABC Fiction Award
The ABC Fiction Award was an Australian literary award presented annually to the best, original, unpublished, adult fiction manuscript, written by an Australian resident over the age of 18. It was launched in 2005. The aim of the award was "to enco ...
(sponsored by ABC Books). The novel went on to win the
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 ...
(co-winner: Best Horror novel, plus the Golden Aurealis Award),Aurealis Awards winners archive Retrieved 16 September 2007. the Australian Shadows Award, the
Ditmar Award
The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise ...
(Best Novel), ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
's'' "Best Young Novelist Award" for 2007 and the 'Premios Nocte' Best Foreign Book Award 2011. ''The Pilo Family Circus'' was also short-listed for the 2007
International Horror Guild Award
The International Horror Guild Award (also known as the IHG Award) was an accolade recognizing excellence in the field of horror/dark fantasy, presented by the International Horror Guild (IHG) from 1995 to 2008.
The IHG Awards were determined by ...
for Best Novel.International Horror Guild Award 2007 shortlist. /ref> ''The Pilo Family Circus'' was picked North American distribution by Victoria Blake's new publishing company, Underland Press and debuted there in 2009. A sequel, entitled "The Pilo Traveling Circus", has appeared.
The Pendulum Trilogy, a fantasy trilogy made up of ''Pilgrim'', ''Shadow'' and ''World's End'' was published between 2010 and 2011 (on two separate dates) by HarperCollins Publishers Australia. Elliott has expressed disappointment with this series. He said that it was written in difficult personal circumstances, and that it is "not the kind of fiction he should be writing". The trilogy still received a positive critical response from reviewers.
Elliott's dark humor fantasy ''Nightfall'' was published in Australia in 2012. A standalone comic fantasy, "Inside Out" was published in October, 2013.
Elliott's short stories include his first published short fiction, "Ain't no ordinary ham", published in the September 2006 issue of ''Griffith Review''. It was reprinted in '' Best Australian Stories 2006'', ed.
Robert Drewe
Robert Duncan Drewe (born 9 January 1943) is an Australian novelist, non-fiction and short story writer.
Biography
Robert Drewe was born on 9 January 1943 in Melbourne, Victoria. At the age of six, he moved with his family to Perth. He grew up ...
(
Black Ink
India ink (British English: Indian ink; also Chinese ink) is a simple black or coloured ink once widely used for writing and printing and now more commonly used for drawing and outlining, especially when inking comic books and comic strips. I ...
, 2006). "Pre-emptive Strike" was published in the 2007 volume. ''Happy Endings'', a short story collection, was published in May 2013 as an E-book.
A memoir, "Strange Places" was released in Australia in 2009. It detailed Elliott's experiences with schizophrenia and the development of his writing career. It was short-listed for the
Clive Barker
Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading horror author ...
Jasper Fforde
Jasper Fforde (born 11 January 1961) is an English novelist whose first novel, '' The Eyre Affair'', was published in 2001. He is known mainly for his '' Thursday Next'' novels, but has also published two books in the loosely connected '' Nurser ...
,
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Laurence Peake (9 July 1911 – 17 November 1968) was a British writer, artist, poet, and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the '' Gormenghast'' books. The four works were part of what Peake conceived ...
, and
George Saunders
George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels. His writing has appeared in ''The New Yorker'', ''Harper's'', ''McSweeney's'', and '' GQ''. He also contributed a we ...
Ditmar Award
The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise ...
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 ...
, Best Novel (2007)
*Aurealis Award, Horror novel, ''co-winner with Edwina Grey's
Prismatic
An optical prism is a transparent optics, optical element with flat, polished surfaces that are designed to refraction, refract light. At least one surface must be angled—elements with two parallel surfaces are ''not'' prisms. The most fami ...
'' (2007)
*"Best Young Novelist Award", ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' (2007)
*
ABC Fiction Award
The ABC Fiction Award was an Australian literary award presented annually to the best, original, unpublished, adult fiction manuscript, written by an Australian resident over the age of 18. It was launched in 2005. The aim of the award was "to enco ...
(2006)
* Nocte Award Best Foreign Book Award (2011).
Nominations
*
International Horror Guild Award
The International Horror Guild Award (also known as the IHG Award) was an accolade recognizing excellence in the field of horror/dark fantasy, presented by the International Horror Guild (IHG) from 1995 to 2008.
The IHG Awards were determined by ...