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Looking for British Fantasy Authors?

Hi,
Just wanted some help because I'm looking for current (like in the last 5 years) Fantasy novels written by British authors. I just wanted to see what sells in that genre in this country. There doesn't seem to be much and someone said to me.
" It's more of an American thing; good luck trying to get it published in the UK. If your goal is to publish write crime or Romance. The other Genre see little action here."
I'm worried that might be true.
What should I do? Thanks
 

Slartibartfast

Minstrel
Phillip Pullman has just started pumping books out again. Admittedly he already has about as good a name as anyone can get but his earlier books weren't that long ago. Neil Gaiman is still going strong too. Ok some of British Fantasy's triumphs were a bit longer ago (CS Lewis, Tolkien, JM Barrie) but more recently we've also had star writers JK Rowling, Terry Pratchett & Brian Jaques. Maybe not stars but still very well known and quite current are Suzanna Clarke, and believe it or not Susan Cooper is still trundling on.

Now to me if you wrote a 'who's who' of fantasy fiction, I think there are some strong contenders for some of the top spots right there. I haven't got a clue how we stack up against the States in terms of getting X type of book published with Y type of sales history but I think to say that we 'don't do fantasy' in the UK is just not quite correct.
 

Miles Lacey

Archmage
Hi,
Just wanted some help because I'm looking for current (like in the last 5 years) Fantasy novels written by British authors. I just wanted to see what sells in that genre in this country. There doesn't seem to be much and someone said to me.
" It's more of an American thing; good luck trying to get it published in the UK. If your goal is to publish write crime or Romance. The other Genre see little action here."
I'm worried that might be true.
What should I do? Thanks

Considering that fantasy as a genre largely originated in the United Kingdom I would find it hard to believe that it's "more of an American thing" or that the British aren't that interested in fantasy.

J K Rowling is still doing her Fantastic Beasts stories. Michael Moorcock, Piers Anthony (Dillingham), Joe Abercrombie, Philip Pullman, China Mieville, Susan Cooper, Jonathan Stroud and Robert Holdstock are among many fantasy writers from the United Kingdom who are currently writing fantasy.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
I might [and I do say might] go so far as to agree that there is more focus on crime and romance in the trad british publishing industry, but it would relative to the US and not that the UK doesn't do fantasy.
I just did a google search on British fantasy authors and was surprised to see that Tanith Lee was [British] and Stephen Lawhead wasn't [British]...
 
but are you sure it's true
Not sure that's why I thought I'd ask. And when I looked up contemporary Fantasy novels by British authors all I got was a list of ones from over 20-30 years ago. Nothing recent like American authors.

I mean, it wont stop me writing my book but I'd also like a career in this area. It's hard enough as it is.
 

Miles Lacey

Archmage
And when I looked up contemporary Fantasy novels by British authors all I got was a list of ones from over 20-30 years ago. Nothing recent like American authors.

I took the approach of searching for British fantasy authors then looked up their profiles on Wikipedia to make sure that (a) they were still alive and (b) still writing fantasy. Silicon Valley search engines are next to bloody useless these days.
 
I took the approach of searching for British fantasy authors then looked up their profiles on Wikipedia to make sure that (a) they were still alive and (b) still writing fantasy. Silicon Valley search engines are next to bloody useless these days.

Did you find any recent ones? Any newbies breaking in? Mostly I found self published. What about if I combined crime and Fantasy lol With a romance. I could try and combined all the genres.
 
What's wrong with self-published? That form dominates the market now.
I know nothing about it yet, then there's all the marketing you have to do yourself. Also, I feel like no one has put their stamp of approval on it other than yourself. How do I know my work is good enough for be paid for? But it is something to look into. Plus it costs money.
 

Miles Lacey

Archmage
Did you find any recent ones? Any newbies breaking in? Mostly I found self published. What about if I combined crime and Fantasy lol With a romance. I could try and combined all the genres.

I did type "debut fantasy novels 2019" which produced some interesting results but I didn't check to see what nationalities the authors were as the reception cut out.
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
I'm looking for current (like in the last 5 years) Fantasy novels written by British authors.
Check out the works of Benedict Patrick: Benedict Patrick (Author of They Mostly Come Out at Night)
Excellent writer, with a few books published in the last few years. I think you'll like them.

As for publishers, check out Inspired Quill (Independent Publisher of Inclusive Genre/Literary Fiction | Inspired Quill). They're British, and they're publishing fantasy. I don't know all of their authors, but I know at least some of them are British or Irish.
 
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