Christopher Priest (English novelist)
Encyclopedia
Christopher Priest is an English novelist and science fiction
writer. His works include Fugue for a Darkening Island
, Inverted World
, The Affirmation
, The Glamour, The Prestige
and The Separation
.
Priest has been strongly influenced by the science fiction of H. G. Wells
and in 2006 was appointed to the position of Vice-President of the international H. G. Wells Society
.
, concerns a traumatized man who apparently flips into a delusional world in which he experiences a lengthy voyage to an archipelago
of exotic islands. This setting had previously featured in many of Priest's short stories, which raises the question of whether the Dream Archipelago is actually a fantasy. The state of mind depicted in this novel is similar to that of the delusional fantasy-prone psychoanalytic patient ("Kirk Allen") in Robert Lindner's The Fifty-Minute Hour or Jack London
's tortured prisoner in The Star Rover
.
Priest also dealt with delusional alternate realities in A Dream of Wessex
in which a group of experimenters for a British government project are brain-wired to a hypnosis machine and jointly participate in an imaginary but as-real-as-real future in a vacation island off the coast of a Sovietized Britain.
movie eXistenZ
, which contains themes of the novels A Dream of Wessex
and The Extremes
.
Priest was also approached to write stories for the 18th and 19th seasons of Doctor Who
. The first, "Sealed Orders," was a political thriller based on Gallifrey
; it was eventually abandoned due to script problems and replaced with "Warriors' Gate
." The second, "The Enemy Within," was eventually abandoned due to script problems and what Priest perceived as insulting treatment after he was asked to modify the script to include the death of Adric
. It was replaced by "Earthshock
." This falling-out soured the production office on the use of established literary authors, with no more being commissioned as a result.
A film
of his novel The Prestige
was released on 20 October 2006. It was directed by Christopher Nolan
and starred Christian Bale
and Hugh Jackman
. Despite differences between the novel and screenplay, Nolan was reportedly so concerned the denouement be kept a surprise that he blocked plans for a lucrative US tie-in edition of the book.
for the best novel three times:
in 1974, for Inverted World;
in 1998, for The Extremes;
and in 2002, for The Separation). He has also won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
for Fiction and the World Fantasy Award
(for The Prestige).
Priest has also won the BSFA award for short fiction in 1979, for the short story "Palely Loitering"; and has been nominated for Hugo Award
s in the categories of Best Novel
, Best Novella
, Best Novelette
, and Best Non-Fiction Book (this last for his The Book on the Edge of Forever (aka Last Deadloss Visions), an exploration of the unpublished Last Dangerous Visions
anthology). The Space Machine
won the International SF prize in the 1977 Ditmar Award
s http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Ditmar1977.html. Priest's 1979 essay "The Making of the Lesbian Horse" (published as a Novacon
chapbook) takes a humorous look at the roots of his acclaimed novel Inverted World. He was guest of honour at both Novacon 9
in 1979 and Novacon 30
in 2000, and at the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention
in 2005.
In 1983, Priest was named one of the twenty Granta Best of Young British Novelists
.
Between 7 November and 7 December 2007, the Chelsea College of Art and Design
had an exhibition in its gallery Chelsea Space inspired by Priest's novel The Affirmation
. It followed "themes of personal history and memory (which) through the lens of a more antagonistic and critical form of interpretation, aims to point towards an overtly positive viewpoint on contemporary art practice over any traditional melancholy fixation."
and lives in Hastings
with their twin children, Simon and Elizabeth. He was previously married to writer Lisa Tuttle
.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writer. His works include Fugue for a Darkening Island
Fugue for a Darkening Island
Fugue For A Darkening Island is a dystopian science fiction novel by Christopher Priest. First published in 1972, it deals with a man's struggle to protect his family and himself in a near future England ravaged by civil war brought about by the failings of an conservative government and a massive...
, Inverted World
The Inverted World (novel)
The Inverted World is a 1974 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest, expanded from a short story by the same name included in New Writings in SF 22. In 2010 it was included in the SF Masterworks collection.-Plot summary:...
, The Affirmation
The Affirmation
The Affirmation is a 1981 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest.-Synopsis:Peter Sinclair endures professional unemployment and the breakup of a long-term relationship, and tries to escape his self-perceived newfound social marginality through creating an intricate fantasy fiction...
, The Glamour, The Prestige
The Prestige
The Prestige is a 1995 novel by British writer Christopher Priest. The novel is epistolary in structure: that is, it purports to be a collection of real diaries that were kept by the protagonists and later collated...
and The Separation
The Separation
The Separation is a 2002 novel by Christopher Priest. It is an alternate history revolving around the experiences of identical twin brothers during the Second World War, during which one becomes a pilot for the RAF, and the other, a conscientious objector, becomes an ambulance driver for the Red...
.
Priest has been strongly influenced by the science fiction of H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
and in 2006 was appointed to the position of Vice-President of the international H. G. Wells Society
H. G. Wells Society
The H.G. Wells Society, founded in 1960, is an international association composed of people interested in the life, work and thought of the British writer and thinker Herbert George Wells , and encouraging a wider interest in his writings and ideas...
.
Works
One of his early novels, The AffirmationThe Affirmation
The Affirmation is a 1981 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest.-Synopsis:Peter Sinclair endures professional unemployment and the breakup of a long-term relationship, and tries to escape his self-perceived newfound social marginality through creating an intricate fantasy fiction...
, concerns a traumatized man who apparently flips into a delusional world in which he experiences a lengthy voyage to an archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of exotic islands. This setting had previously featured in many of Priest's short stories, which raises the question of whether the Dream Archipelago is actually a fantasy. The state of mind depicted in this novel is similar to that of the delusional fantasy-prone psychoanalytic patient ("Kirk Allen") in Robert Lindner's The Fifty-Minute Hour or Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
's tortured prisoner in The Star Rover
The Star Rover
The Star Rover is a novel by American writer Jack London published in 1915 . It is a story of reincarnation....
.
Priest also dealt with delusional alternate realities in A Dream of Wessex
A Dream of Wessex
A Dream of Wessex is a 1977 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest. In the United States it was released under the title The Perfect Lover.-Synopsis:...
in which a group of experimenters for a British government project are brain-wired to a hypnosis machine and jointly participate in an imaginary but as-real-as-real future in a vacation island off the coast of a Sovietized Britain.
Tie-in work
Priest wrote the tie-in novel to accompany the 1999 David CronenbergDavid Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
movie eXistenZ
EXistenZ
eXistenZ is a 1999 body horror/science fiction film by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law....
, which contains themes of the novels A Dream of Wessex
A Dream of Wessex
A Dream of Wessex is a 1977 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest. In the United States it was released under the title The Perfect Lover.-Synopsis:...
and The Extremes
The Extremes
The Extremes is a BSFA Award winning 1998 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest.-Plot introduction:Teresa Simons is drawn to a quiet English seaside town in the aftermath of a motiveless massacre by a gunman. Her husband, an FBI agent, had died in a similar outburst of violence in a small...
.
Priest was also approached to write stories for the 18th and 19th seasons of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. The first, "Sealed Orders," was a political thriller based on Gallifrey
Gallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
; it was eventually abandoned due to script problems and replaced with "Warriors' Gate
Warriors' Gate
Warriors' Gate is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was written by the English author Stephen Gallagher and first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 January to 24 January 1981...
." The second, "The Enemy Within," was eventually abandoned due to script problems and what Priest perceived as insulting treatment after he was asked to modify the script to include the death of Adric
Adric
Adric is a fictional character played by Matthew Waterhouse in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, he was a regular in the...
. It was replaced by "Earthshock
Earthshock
Earthshock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 8 March to 16 March 1982...
." This falling-out soured the production office on the use of established literary authors, with no more being commissioned as a result.
A film
The Prestige (film)
The Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century...
of his novel The Prestige
The Prestige
The Prestige is a 1995 novel by British writer Christopher Priest. The novel is epistolary in structure: that is, it purports to be a collection of real diaries that were kept by the protagonists and later collated...
was released on 20 October 2006. It was directed by Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...
and starred Christian Bale
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
and Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
. Despite differences between the novel and screenplay, Nolan was reportedly so concerned the denouement be kept a surprise that he blocked plans for a lucrative US tie-in edition of the book.
Work under pseudonyms
- Priest uses the pseudonyms John Luther Novak and Colin Wedgelock, usually for his movie novelizations. As well as the eXistenZ novelization (which undermined the pseudonym by including Priest's biography on the pre-title page), he has also novelised the movies Mona Lisa (as John Luther Novak) and Short Circuit (as Colin Wedgelock).
- Priest has co-operated with fellow British science fiction author David LangfordDavid LangfordDavid Rowland Langford is a British author, editor and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter Ansible.-Personal background:...
on various enterprises under the Ansible brand. - Comic book writer Jim OwsleyChristopher Priest (comic book writer)Christopher James Priest is a writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993.-Biography:...
changed his name to "Christopher Priest" in the mid-1990s. He has stated that he was completely unaware at the time that there was an established author of the same name.
Awards and honours
Priest won the BSFA awardBSFA award
The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association to honor works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members...
for the best novel three times:
in 1974, for Inverted World;
in 1998, for The Extremes;
and in 2002, for The Separation). He has also won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for Fiction and the World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
This World Fantasy Award is given to the fantasy novel or novels voted best by a panel of judges, and presented each year at the World Fantasy Convention.-1975:...
(for The Prestige).
Priest has also won the BSFA award for short fiction in 1979, for the short story "Palely Loitering"; and has been nominated for Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
s in the categories of Best Novel
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
, Best Novella
Hugo Award for Best Novella
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
, Best Novelette
Hugo Award for Best Novelette
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
, and Best Non-Fiction Book (this last for his The Book on the Edge of Forever (aka Last Deadloss Visions), an exploration of the unpublished Last Dangerous Visions
The Last Dangerous Visions
The Last Dangerous Visions was a planned sequel to the science fiction short story anthologies Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions, originally published in 1967 and 1972 respectively. It is edited by Harlan Ellison....
anthology). The Space Machine
The Space Machine
The Space Machine, subtitled A Scientific Romance, is a science fiction novel written by English writer Christopher Priest.First published in 1976, it follows the travels of protagonists Edward Turnbull and Amelia Fitzgibbon...
won the International SF prize in the 1977 Ditmar Award
Ditmar Award
The Ditmar Award has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention to recognise achievement in Australian science fiction and science fiction fandom...
s http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Ditmar1977.html. Priest's 1979 essay "The Making of the Lesbian Horse" (published as a Novacon
Novacon
Novacon is an annual science fiction convention, usually held each November in the West Midlands, UK. It is now the annual convention of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.-History:...
chapbook) takes a humorous look at the roots of his acclaimed novel Inverted World. He was guest of honour at both Novacon 9
Novacon
Novacon is an annual science fiction convention, usually held each November in the West Midlands, UK. It is now the annual convention of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.-History:...
in 1979 and Novacon 30
Novacon
Novacon is an annual science fiction convention, usually held each November in the West Midlands, UK. It is now the annual convention of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.-History:...
in 2000, and at the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention
63rd World Science Fiction Convention
The 63rd World Science Fiction Convention was called Interaction, and was held in Glasgow, Scotland 4–8 August 2005. The event was also the Eurocon. The Venue for the 63rd Worldcon was the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre with the attached Clyde Auditorium and Moat House Hotel...
in 2005.
In 1983, Priest was named one of the twenty Granta Best of Young British Novelists
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
.
Between 7 November and 7 December 2007, the Chelsea College of Art and Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design
Chelsea College of Art and Design, the erstwhile Chelsea School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation...
had an exhibition in its gallery Chelsea Space inspired by Priest's novel The Affirmation
The Affirmation
The Affirmation is a 1981 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest.-Synopsis:Peter Sinclair endures professional unemployment and the breakup of a long-term relationship, and tries to escape his self-perceived newfound social marginality through creating an intricate fantasy fiction...
. It followed "themes of personal history and memory (which) through the lens of a more antagonistic and critical form of interpretation, aims to point towards an overtly positive viewpoint on contemporary art practice over any traditional melancholy fixation."
Personal life
Priest is married to writer Leigh KennedyLeigh Kennedy
Leigh Kennedy is an American science fiction writer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1985.Kennedy's story "Her Furry Face" was a nominee for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story....
and lives in Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
with their twin children, Simon and Elizabeth. He was previously married to writer Lisa Tuttle
Lisa Tuttle
Lisa Tuttle is an American-born science fiction, fantasy, and horror author. She has published over a dozen novels, five short story collections, and several non-fiction titles, including a reference book on feminism. She has also edited several anthologies and reviewed books for various...
.
Novels
- Indoctrinaire, (n.) Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, London, 1970 - Fugue for a Darkening IslandFugue for a Darkening IslandFugue For A Darkening Island is a dystopian science fiction novel by Christopher Priest. First published in 1972, it deals with a man's struggle to protect his family and himself in a near future England ravaged by civil war brought about by the failings of an conservative government and a massive...
, (n.) Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, London, 1972—Campbell nominee, 1973 - The Inverted WorldThe Inverted World (novel)The Inverted World is a 1974 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest, expanded from a short story by the same name included in New Writings in SF 22. In 2010 it was included in the SF Masterworks collection.-Plot summary:...
, (n.) Faber and Faber, London, 1974—BSFA winner, 1974, Hugo Award nominee, 1975 - The Space MachineThe Space MachineThe Space Machine, subtitled A Scientific Romance, is a science fiction novel written by English writer Christopher Priest.First published in 1976, it follows the travels of protagonists Edward Turnbull and Amelia Fitzgibbon...
, (n.) Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, London, 1976 - A Dream of WessexA Dream of WessexA Dream of Wessex is a 1977 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest. In the United States it was released under the title The Perfect Lover.-Synopsis:...
(US title The Perfect Lover), (n.) Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, London, 1977 - The AffirmationThe AffirmationThe Affirmation is a 1981 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest.-Synopsis:Peter Sinclair endures professional unemployment and the breakup of a long-term relationship, and tries to escape his self-perceived newfound social marginality through creating an intricate fantasy fiction...
, (n.) Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, London, 1981—BSFA nominee, 1981 - The Glamour, (n.) Jonathan CapeJonathan CapeJonathan Cape was a London-based publisher founded in 1919 as "Page & Co" by Herbert Jonathan Cape , formerly a manager at Duckworth who had worked his way up from a position of bookshop errand boy. Cape brought with him the rights to cheap editions of the popular author Elinor Glyn and sales of...
, London, 1984—BSFA nominee, 1984 - Short Circuit, (n.) Sphere Books, 1986 (Film tie-in novelisation as Colin Wedgelock)
- Mona Lisa, (n.) Sphere Books, 1986 (Film tie-in novelisation as John Luther Novak)
- The Quiet Woman, (n.) BloomsburyBloomsbury Publishing PlcBloomsbury Publishing plc is an independent, London-based publishing house known for literary novels. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. The company's growth over the past decade is primarily attributable to the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Bloomsbury was named Publisher of...
, London, 1990 - The PrestigeThe PrestigeThe Prestige is a 1995 novel by British writer Christopher Priest. The novel is epistolary in structure: that is, it purports to be a collection of real diaries that were kept by the protagonists and later collated...
, (n.) Touchstone, Simon and Schuster, London, 1995—BSFA nominee, 1995; World Fantasy Award winner, James Tait Black Memorial Prize winner, Clarke Awards nominee, 1996 - The ExtremesThe ExtremesThe Extremes is a BSFA Award winning 1998 science fiction novel by Christopher Priest.-Plot introduction:Teresa Simons is drawn to a quiet English seaside town in the aftermath of a motiveless massacre by a gunman. Her husband, an FBI agent, had died in a similar outburst of violence in a small...
, (n.) Simon and Schuster, London, 1998—BSFA winner, 1998; Clarke Award nominee, 1999 - eXistenZEXistenZeXistenZ is a 1999 body horror/science fiction film by Canadian director David Cronenberg. It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law....
, (n.) Harper, 1999 - The SeparationThe SeparationThe Separation is a 2002 novel by Christopher Priest. It is an alternate history revolving around the experiences of identical twin brothers during the Second World War, during which one becomes a pilot for the RAF, and the other, a conscientious objector, becomes an ambulance driver for the Red...
, (n) Scribner, 2002; Old Earth BooksOld Earth BooksOld Earth Books is a specialty publisher which specializes in out-of-print and niche books, primarily in the science fiction genre. The name comes from the Cordwainer Smith Lords of the Instrumentality series. It is located in Baltimore, MD...
2005—BSFA winner, 2002; Clark Award winner, Campbell Award nominee, 2003 - The Islanders Gollancz, 2011
- The Adjacent 2012
Short Story collections
- Real-time World, (s.s.) Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
1975 - reissued 2009 - An Infinite Summer, (s.s.) Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
1979 (three stories reissued in "The Dream Archipelago") - The Dream Archipelago, (s.s.) EarthlightEarthlightEarthlight is a science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1955. It is an expansion to novel length of a short story that he had published four years earlier.-Overview:...
1999 - reissued 2009 - Ersatz Wines - Instructive Short Stories (s.s.) GrimGrin Studio 2008 (anthology of early works)
Short stories and other works
- "The Run", (ss) SF Impulse, May 1966 [Volume 1 Number 3]
- "Conjugation", (ss) New Worlds, #169 December 1966
- "Impasse", (sss) SF Impulse, February 1967 [Volume 1 Number 12]
- "The Ersatz Wine", (ss) New Worlds, #171 March 1967
- "The Match", (ss) Tit-Bits, 11 November 1967
- "Occupation Force", (ss) Tit-Bits, 25 November 1967
- "The Haul" [with Dick Howett], (ss) Tit-Bits, 31 August 1968
- "The Interrogator", (nv) New Writings in SF 15New Writings in SF 15New Writings in SF 15 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the fifteenth volume in a series of thirty, of which he edited the first twenty-one...
, editor John Carnell, London: Dobson, 1969 - "The Perihelion Man", (nv) New Writings in SF 16New Writings in SF 16New Writings in SF 16 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the sixteenth volume in a series of thirty, of which he edited the first twenty-one...
, editor John Carnell, London: Dobson, 1969 - "Breeding Ground", (ss) Vision of Tomorrow, January 1970
- "Double Consummation", (ss) The Disappearing Future, editor George Hay, Panther, 1970
- "Fire Storm", (ss) Quark/#1, editor Samuel R. Delany & Marilyn Hacker, Paperback Library, 1970
- "Nothing Like the Sun", (ss) Vision of Tomorrow #10, July 1970
- "Real-Time World", (nv) New Writings in SF 19New Writings in SF 19New Writings in SF 19 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by John Carnell, the nineteenth volume in a series of thirty, of which he edited the first twenty-one...
, editor John Carnel, London: Dobson, 1971 - "Sentence in Binary Code", (ss) Fantastic, August 1971
- "The Head and the Hand", (ss) New Worlds Quarterly 3, editor Michael Moorcock, London: Sphere, 1972
- "The Inverted World", (nv) New Writings in SF 22New Writings in SF 22New Writings in SF 22 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Kenneth Bulmer, the first volume of nine he oversaw in the New Writings in SF series in succession to the series' originator, John Carnell...
, editor Kenneth Bulmer, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1973 - "Transplant", (ss) Worlds of If, January/February 1974
- "A Woman Naked", (ss) Science Fiction Monthly, v1 #1 1974
- "The Invisible Men", (ss) Stopwatch, editor George Hay, New English Library, 1974
- Your Book of Film-Making, (n.f.) Faber and Faber, London 1974
- "Men of Good Value", (ss) New Writings in SF 26New Writings in SF 26New Writings in SF 26 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Kenneth Bulmer, the fifth volume of nine he oversaw in the New Writings in SF series in succession to the series' originator, John Carnell. It was first published in hardcover by Sidgwick & Jackson in August 1975,...
, editor Kenneth Bulmer, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1975 - "The Cremation", (nv) Andromeda 3, editor Peter Weston, London: Futura, 1978
- "The Negation", (nv) Anticipations, editor Christopher Priest, Scribner's, 1978
- "The Watched", (na) The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1978
- "Whores", (ss) New Dimensions 8, editor Robert Silverberg, Harper & Row, 1978
- "Palely Loitering", (nv) The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 1979
- "The Agent" (with David Redd), (nv) Aries 1, editor John Grant, David & CharlesDavid & CharlesDavid & Charles is a publisher. The company was founded - and is still based - in the market town of Newton Abbot, in Devon, UK, on 1 April 1960 by David St John Thomas and Charles Hadfield. It first made its name publishing titles on Britain's canals and railways...
, 1979 - The Making of the Lesbian Horse (n.f.), Novacon 9 (for the Birmingham Science Fiction Group), 1979
- "The Miraculous Cairn", (nv) New Terrors #2, editor Ramsey Campbell, London: Pan, 1980
- "The Ament", (nv) Seven Deadly Sins: A Collection of New Fiction, editor anon., Severn House, London 1985
- The Book on the Edge of Forever, (n.f.) Fantagraphics, Seattle, June 1993
- "In a Flash" (from The Prestige), (ex) Interzone, #99 September 1995
- "I, Haruspex", (ss) The Third Alternative, #16 1998
- "The Equatorial Moment", (ss) The Dream Archipelago, Earthlight, 1999
- "The Cage of Chrome", (sss) Interzone, #156 June 2000
- "The Discharge", (ss) SciFi.com Website 13 February 2002
- "A Dying Fall", (ss) Asimov’s Science Fiction December 2006 [Volume 20 Number 12]
- "The Trace of Him", (ss) Interzone February 2008 [Issue 214]
- The Magic - the story of a film, (n.f.) GrimGrin Studio, Hastings, 2008
External links
- Christopher Priest's web site
- His story "The Discharge" at Sci FictionSci FictionSci Fiction was an online magazine which ran from 2000 to 2005. At one time, it was the leading online science fiction magazine. Published by Syfy and edited by Ellen Datlow, the work won multiple awards before it was discontinued.- History :...
- 1995 interview by David Langford, includes brief summaries and comments by Priest on most of his novels to date.
- His Guest of Honour speech at the 2005 World Science Fiction Convention Interview de Christopher Priest in Actusf.com