Catherine Fisher
Catherine Fisher (born 1957) is a poet and novelist for children and Young Adults. Best known for her internationally bestselling novel Incarceron and its sequel, Sapphique, she has published over 40 novels and 5 volumes of poetry. She has worked as an archaeologist, and as a school and university teacher, is an experienced broadcaster and adjudicator and has taught at the Arvon Foundation and Ty Newydd Writers' Centres.
Catherine Fisher
- Name
- Catherine Fisher
- Born
- 1957
- Birthplace
- Newport, Wales
- Occupation
- Author
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Fields
- creative and professional writing · children's literature · children's poetry · primary education
- Education
- University of Wales
- Honours
- Tir na n-Og Award · Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature
- Languages
- English
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Catherine Fisher (born 1957) is a poet and novelist for children and Young Adults. Best known for her internationally bestselling novel Incarceron and its sequel, Sapphique, she has published over 40 novels and 5 volumes of poetry. She has worked as an archaeologist, and as a school and university teacher, is an experienced broadcaster and adjudicator and has taught at the Arvon Foundation and Ty Newydd Writers' Centres.
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In this article
Biography
Biography
She lives in Wales, UK.
Catherine Fisher studied at University of Wales. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is creative and professional writing, children's literature and children's poetry. Places of work recorded in the authority are Wales. Employment is recorded with University of Glasgow and University of Glamorgan. Distinctions recorded are Tir na n-Og Award and Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Catherine Fisher • Born — 1957 • Birthplace — Newport, Wales • Occupation — Author • Period — 1990-present • Website — https: catherine-fisher.com/ • Genre — Young adult, science fiction, fantasy
Personal life
Personal life
Fisher was born in Newport, in the Welsh county of Gwent. She graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in English Literature and Education.
Work experience
Work experience
Catherine Fisher has worked as a primary-school teacher and as an archaeologist. She also taught writing for children at the University of South Wales. She has been a full-time writer of fiction and poetry since 2002.
Writing
Writing
Since the late 1980s, Fisher has been writing children's fantasy, both Young Adult and Middle Grade. These novels have been translated into over 30 languages, and many of her works have won or been shortlisted for literary awards. She has twice won the Welsh Books Council Tir na n'Og prize for fiction in English, with The Candle Man (2000) and The Clockwork Crow (2015). Her young adult fantasies Incarceron and Sapphique were New York Times bestsellers and Times Book of the Year. The Oracle, the first volume of a trilogy mixing Egyptian and Greek myth, was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize. The Clockwork Crow, first of an acclaimed trilogy for middle grade, an enchanting reworking of Welsh fairylore and Victorian Gothic, was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Prize. Fisher's work mixes myth, legend and folktale, with vibrant characters and language that is precise and evocative. She has written several well-received re-tellings of Welsh myth and legend, including The Cat With Iron Claws, and Culhwch and Olwen. In addition to her writing for children, Fisher has published four poetry collections with Seren Books: Immrama (1988), The Unexplored Ocean (c. 1994), Altered States (1999) and The Bramble King (2019). She has also published a pamphlet, Folklore (2003), with Smith/Doorstop Books, and many poems in magazines and anthologies, including Poetry Wales, Poetry Now, The Poetry Review and the Forward Book of Poetry. The collection Immrama won the Welsh Arts Council Young Writers' Prize in 1989. She won the Cardiff International Poetry Competition in the same year with her poem 'Marginalia'.
Poetry
Poetry
• Immrama (1988) Seren Books • The Unexplored Ocean (1994)Seren Books • Altered States (1999) Seren Books • Folklore (2003) Smith/Doorstop Books • The Bramble King (2019) Seren Books.
The Snow-Walker trilogy
The Snow-Walker trilogy
• The Snow-Walker's Son (1993) The Bodley Head Red Fox pb • The Empty Hand (1995) The Bodley Head Red Fox pb • The Soul Thieves (1996) The Bodley Head Red Fox pb
The Book of the Crow series
The Book of the Crow series
(US title: Relic Master series) • The Relic Master Bodley Head 1998 Red Fox paperback 1998 (US title: The Dark City, 2011) • The Interrex (1999) Bodley Head Red Fox paperback 2000 (US title: The Lost Heiress, 2011) • Flain's Coronet (2000) Bodley Head Red Fox paperback (US title: The Hidden Coronet, 2011) • The Margrave (2001) Red Fox paperback (US title: The Margrave, 2011)
The Oracle trilogy
The Oracle trilogy
• The Oracle Hodder Childrens 2003 ' (US title: The Oracle Betrayed Greenwillow Books, 2003) • The Archon Hodder Childrens 2004 (US title: The Sphere of Secrets Greenwillow Books, 2004) • The Scarab Hodder Childrens 2005 (US title: Day of the Scarab, Greenwillow Books 2005)
Incarceron series
Incarceron series
• Incarceron (2007) Hodder Childrens 2007 US Dial Penguin. • Sapphique (2008) Hodder Childrens 2008 US Dial Penguin.
Chronoptika series
Chronoptika series
• Obsidian Mirror (2012) Hodder Childrens US Dial Penguin • The Box of Red Brocade (2013) Hodder Childrens (US title: Slanted Worlds, 2013 Dial Penguin). • The Door in the Moon (2015) Hodder Childrens (2016 US Dial Penguin) • The Speed of Darkness (2016) Hodder Childrens The Clockwork Crow series • The Clockwork Crow (2018) Firefly Press • The Velvet Fox (2019) Firefly Press • The Midnight Swan (2020) Firefly Press * • Re-tellings. • The Magic Thief (2010) Barrington Stoke.ISBN 9781842998212 • The Cat with Iron Claws. (2012) Pont Books. ISBN 9781848513174 • Culhwch and Olwen (2024) Graffeg Press ISBN 9781802586459 Short Stories. The Red Gloves and Other Stories (2021) Firefly Press. ISBN 9781913102685
Standalone books
• The Conjuror's Game (1990) The Bodley Head • The Conjuror's Game (1991) Red Fox • Fintan's Tower (1991) The Bodley Head • Fintan's Tower (1992) Red Fox • Saint Tarvel's Bell (1992) Chivers Press • The Candle Man (1994.) The Bodley Head • The Candle Man (1994) Red Fox. • The Hare And Other Stories (1994) Pont books • Belin's Hill (1997) The Bodley Head • Belin's Hill (1997) Red Fox • The Lammas Field (1999) Hodder Children's • Darkwater Hall (2000) Hodder Children's • Corbenic (2002) Red Fox • Darkhenge (2005) The Bodley Head • The Weather Dress (2005) Pont Books • Crown of Acorns (May 2010) Hodder Children's Books.
Awards and honors
Awards for Fisher's writing • Year — Title — Award — Result — Ref. • 1996 — ' — Tir na n-Og Award for Best English-Language Book — Winner • 2003 — ' — Whitbread Children's Book Award — Shortlist • 2003 — ' — Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers — Nominee • 2007 — Corbenic — Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature — Winner • 2011 — Incarceron — Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature — Finalist • 2019 — ' — Blue Peter Book Award — Nominee • 2019 — ' — Tir na n-Og Award for Best English-Language Book — Winner
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Catherine Fisher - author, writer, novelist, UK - about. Catherine Fisher.
- 2.gwecambrianweb. Catherine Fisher wins the Tir na n-Og children's literature award with The Clockwork Crow Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. 2019-05-16.
- 3.Dates from British Library catalogue.
- 4.Tir Na N-og Awards. Welsh Books Council.
- 5.Past Winners. Costa Book Awards.
- 6.Past Award Nominees and Winners. Horror Writers Association. 2000-06-15.
- 7.Mythopoeic Awards 2007. The Mythopoeic Society.
- 8.Levy, Michael. Children's Fantasy Literature. Cambridge University Press. 133–160. 2016-01-31. 10.1017/cbo9781139087421.008.
- 9.WHAT'S ON: Shortlist for book awards announced and includes Newport author. South Wales Argus. 2018-11-08.
- 10."Catherine Fisher wins the Tir na n-Og children's literature award with The Clockwork Crow" Welsh Books Council. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-07.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
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