Garry Kilworth
Garry Douglas Kilworth (born 5 July 1941 in York) is a British science fiction, fantasy and historical novelist, and a former Royal Air Force cryptographer. Early life. Kilworth was raised partly in Aden, South Arabia, the son of an airman. Having an itinerant father, he travelled widely, both in Britain and abroad, and attended over 20 different schools before the age of 15. Kilworth is a graduate of King's College London. Career. Kilworth went to military school and served in the Royal Air Force for 18 years as a cryptographer. On demobilisation he joined Cable & Wireless, an  international telecommunications company, leaving them to become a full-time writer in 1981. His science fiction and fantasy does not fit any set formula, being more interested in the enigmatic and strange, with roots in folk lore. He states that his one great passion is the short story, at which he is most adept. However, as an eclectic writer he has produced novels in several genres including science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical, children's fiction, war and literary novels (his "Witchwater Country" was longlisted for the Booker Prize). He has also written several books of short stories and two volumes  of poetry (the second with the novelist and short story writer, Robert Holdstock, with whom he shared a lifelong friendship and collaboration). Kilworth continues to produce novels and short stories, and released an autobiography, "On My Way To Samarkan", detailing, among other things, his vast travelling experiences over the globe. He has published one hundred thirty short stories and over seventy novels. His most recent books are "Dragoons", a historical war novel set in South Africa, and "Attica", a dark quest set in an attic the size of a continent which is currently under production with Johnny Depp's film  company, Adfinitum Nihil. A new collection of stories came out under the title "The Fabulous Beast". Awards. Kilworth has twice been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction and won the Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award for his short novel "The Electric Kid". Kilworth's novel "Rogue Officer" won the 2008 Charles Whiting Award for Historical War Literature. "The Ragthorn", a novella co-authored with Robert Holdstock, won the World Fantasy Award in 1992. Personal life. In 1962 he married Annette Bailey, the daughter of an R.A.F. Catalina aircraft pilot.