Charles de Lint is the author of more than eighty adult, young adult, and children's
books. Renowned as one of the trailblazers of the modern fantasy genre, he is the recipient of the World
Fantasy, Aurora (three times), Sunburst, and White Pine awards, among others and was recently inducted into the
Canadian SF & Fantasy Association Hall of Fame.
De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer. He has written critical essays, music
reviews, opinion columns and entries to encyclopedias, and he's been the main book reviewer
for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction since 1987. De Lint served as Writer-in-residence for two
public libraries in Ottawa and has taught creative writing workshops for adults and children in Canada and the
United States. He's been a judge for several prominent awards, including the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore
Sturgeon and Bram Stoker.
Born in the Netherlands in 1951, de Lint immigrated to Canada with his family as an infant. The family moved
often during de Lint's childhood because of his father's job with an international surveying company, but by
the time Charles was twelve—having lived in Western Canada, Turkey and Lebanon—they had settled
in Lucerne, Quebec, not far from where he now resides in Ottawa, Ontario.
In 1980, de Lint married the love of his life, MaryAnn Harris, who works closely with him as his first
editor, business manager and creative partner. They share their love and home with a little
dog named Johnny Cash.
Charles de Lint is best described as a romantic: a believer in compassion, hope and human potential. His
skilled portrayal of character and settings has earned him a loyal readership and glowing praise from
peers, reviewers and readers.
Charles de Lint writes like a magician. He draws out the strange inside our own world, weaving stories
that feel more real than we are when we read them. He is, simply put, the best.
—Holly Black (bestselling author)
Charles de Lint is the modern master of urban fantasy. Folktale, myth, fairy tale, dreams,
urban legend—all of it adds up to pure magic in de Lint's vivid, original world. No one does it better.
—Alice Hoffman (bestselling author)
To read de Lint is to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, to be reminded of the greatness
of life, of the beauty and majesty lurking in shadows and empty doorways.
—Quill & Quire
The Wind in His Heart, de Lint's first adult novel in eight years, was published in September 2017,
swiftly amassing five-star reviews from readers on Goodreads, Amazon, etc. Longtime fans are delighted
that The Wind in His Heart has some Newford threads woven into the story. His fictional city of
Newford gives readers a sense of visiting a favourite city and seeing old friends. Though not a
consecutive series, the twenty-six standalone books set in or connected to Newford helped build de
Lint's reputation for bringing a vivid setting and cast of characters to life on the page.
De Lint's young adult Wildlings trilogy—Under My Skin, Over My Head,
and Out of This World—came out from Penguin Canada and Triskell Press in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Under My Skin won 2013 Aurora Award, as did Out of This World, in 2015. A novel for middle-grade
readers, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, published by Little Brown in 2013, won the Sunburst Award,
earned starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Quill & Quire, and was chosen by the New York Times
as one of the top six children’s books for 2013.
De Lint's storytelling skills also shine in his original songs. He
and MaryAnn (also a musician) recently released companion CDs of their original songs, samples of which
can be heard on de Lint's website. A multi-instrumentalist, his main instruments are guitar, harmonica
and vocals, while MaryAnn's are mandolin, guitar, vocals and percussion.