Darren O'Shaughnessy
Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972), is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series "The Saga of Darren Shan", "The Demonata", and "Zom-B", published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The former was adapted into a manga series from 2006 to 2009 as well as in 2009, with a prequel series, "The Saga of Larten Crepsley", releasing from 2010 to 2012. O'Shaughnessy has published other children's books as Darren Shan, including "Koyasan", and "The Thin Executioner", and his newest series is called "Archibald Lox". In the past, O'Shaughnessy has  also published novels for adults under the Darren Shan pseudonym, but since 2014 he has released his work for older readers under the name of Darren Dash. Early life and education. O'Shaughnessy was born in St Thomas's Hospital in London, opposite the Houses of Parliament. At the age of three, he started school at English Martyrs' near the Elephant and Castle where he lived. When he was six, he moved with his parents and younger brother, to Limerick in Ireland, where he has lived ever since. He received his primary education in Askeaton, and attended secondary school at Copsewood  College, Pallaskenry, graduating in 1989. He returned to London in 1990 to pursue a degree in Sociology and English from Roehampton Institute of Higher Education. Career. O'Shaughnessy bought his first typewriter when he was fourteen and wrote many short stories, comic scripts, and books that he never finished, many of which are unpublished. O'Shaughnessy claims that most of these stories will never be published. His first success came to him at age fifteen, when he was a runner-up in a TV script-writing competition for RTÉ in Ireland, with a dark comedy story entitled "A Day in the Morgue . After university, O'Shaughnessy worked in a TV cable company in Limerick for two years, before becoming a full-time writer at the age of 23. His breakthrough came with Ayuamarca", published in February 1999 by Orion Publishing Group under his full name. The sequel, "Hell's Horizon", was published in February 2000. "Ayuamarca" was re-released in March 2008 under the title "Procession of the Dead" and the pen-name "D.B. Shan". "Hell's Horizon" followed in March 2009, and the third in the trilogy, "City of the Snakes" in March 2010 (but this time under the name of Darren  Shan). In January 2000, Shan released "Cirque du Freak", the first book of "The Saga of Darren Shan" series in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The series was a huge global success and by 2021 his books were on sale in 40 countries, in 32 languages, and had sold thirty million copies worldwide. O'Shaughnessy signed up with the Christopher Little Literary Agency in 1996 and they continued to represent him until Christopher Little's death in 2021. He is now represented by the Curtis Brown Agency. Personal life. O'Shaughnessy continues to live in Pallaskenry in Limerick, Ireland with his wife  Helen Basini, a freelance university lecturer and global aid specialist. On 23 September 2014, the couple celebrated the birth of their first child, Dante, named after the famous Italian author. Shan and his wife Helen welcomed their second child, a daughter named Gaia, on 26 March 2019. Books. Section::::"The Saga of Darren Shan". Also known as "Cirque Du Freak" series. Section::::"The City Trilogy". "The City Trilogy" was written for adult readers and was originally released under O'Shaughnessy's own name. The third book was never published and the original versions are now out of print. They were published by Orion  Publishing Group. However, in March 2008, "Ayuamarca" was re-published as "Procession of the Dead" (with substantial changes) by the Voyager imprint of HarperCollins (O'Shaughnessy's children's publisher). "Hell's Horizon" was released in March 2009 and "City of the Snakes" was released in March 2010. All three books are now also available in the US, as well as in several other countries. Section::::"The Saga of Larten Crepsley". This is a four-book series covering 200 years in the life of Larten Crepsley, a vampire first introduced to readers in "The Saga of Darren Shan". Section::::"Zom-B". On 12  October 2011, it was announced that O'Shaughnessy's next series for teenagers under the name of Darren Shan would focus on zombies, and that the title of the series was "Zom-B". There were twelve books in total. The first book was released in the UK and USA in late September 2012, and the last book was released in April 2016. A short novel titled "Zom-B Circus", set between "Zom-B Gladiator" and "Zom-B Mission", was released on 27 April 2014. This is officially book 6.5 in the series chronology. Section::::"Archibald Lox". On 2 April 2020, O'Shaughnessy announced  that he had silently released three books digitally due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making up the first volume of the "Archibald Lox" series, a few days previously. There will be three volumes in total in the series. Stand-alone books. Section::::"Koyasan". A short novel released for World Book Day in the UK in 2006. The paperback edition is out of print, but it is available in ebook format through Kindle on Amazon stores worldwide. It has also been translated and released in several other countries. Section::::"The Thin Executioner". A one-off novel, "The Thin Executioner" was released in April 2010 . Inspired in part by "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and based in a brutal, fantastical world, it details the perilous quest of Jebel, the thin son of a respected executioner, to petition a fire god for invincibility, so that he can succeed his father. O'Shaughnessy has stated that this is his favourite out of all of the books he has written. Section::::"Lady of the Shades". "Lady of the Shades" was released in the UK and Ireland on 30 August 2012. Section::::"Hagurosan". A short story originally released in a book collection called Kids Night In in the UK in 2003. O'Shaughnessy  tweaked and slightly expanded it ten years later, and it was released as a book by the publishing group Barrington Stoke with illustrations by Zack McLaughlin. Darren Dash. In 2014, O'Shaughnessy started publishing his books for adults under the name of "Darren Dash", so that they would not be confused with his children's books under the "Darren Shan' name. announcing that he would be publishing the rest of his adult books under this pen name in the future. Unpublished books. In July 2009, O'Shaughnessy revealed that he had written first drafts of 53 books in total. Most of those  have now been published, although there are several which have yet to see the light of day, which he plans to release in the future, most probably under his Darren Dash umbrella. There are also a few that will very likely never be published. O'Shaughnessy has not revealed details of any of his unpublished books, with two exceptions — "Mute Pursuit" and "The Cannibal King": Television and film. Universal Studios bought the film rights to the first three books of "The Saga of Darren Shan" and combined them to make a single film, "", released in the US on 23 October 2009 . Lauren Shuler Donner produced the film and Paul Weitz directed. The original screenplay was written by Brian Helgeland but rewritten entirely by Paul Weitz. In May 2019, "Zom-B" was optioned for a ten-part television series adaptation by London-based production company The Electric Shadow Company. In March 2020, it was announced that The Electric Shadow Company had partnered with Slam Films in developing the series. In March 2021, Susan E. Connolly was announced to be attached as the lead writer on the project, with The Electric Shadow Company releasing a teaser image depicting a blood-spattered B Smith  opposite her best friend Vinyl to their website.