[close] Charles de Lint is a Canadian fantasy author and Celtic folk musician. It is often said that, along with Terri Windling, he established the genre of mythic fiction which falls somewhere between fantasy literature, and mainstream fiction with a magical realist bent. This is debatable, as John Crowley preceded de Lint with the novel "Little, Big", which was published in 1981, and won the World Fantasy Award the following year for its blending of classical fantasy with modern culture. In any case, de Lint can certainly be credited with popularizing the emerging genre, which is also known as "urban myth" or "urban fantasy." De Lint's work has been called "fantasy for people who normally don't read fantasy."
Many of his later stories center around the mythical North American city of Newford and a regular cast of characters that make cameo and feature appearances. "The books have all been written in such a way that you should be able to pick up any one and get a full and complete story. However, characters do reoccur, off center stage as it were, and their stories do follow a sequence." He has received many awards including the 2000 World Fantasy Award for Best Collection for Moonlight and Vines. He has also published a children's book, Circle of Cats, with artist Charles Vess.
In addition to being the author of numerous novels and short stories, de Lint is also a poet, musician, artist, folklorist, and critic. His poetry can be found online in the Endicott Studio Journal of Mythic Arts. [close]