Joy Chant is the pen name of British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 writer Eileen Joyce (Joy) Rutter (nee Chant). She is best known for her three novels on the House of Kendreth.

Works

Chant's first novel was Red Moon and Black Mountain

Red Moon and Black Mountain

Red Moon and Black Mountain: the End of the House of Kendreth is a fantasy novel by Joy Chant, the first of three set in her world of Vandarei. It was first published in hardcover by George Allen & Unwin, London, in 1970. The first paperback edition was issued by Ballantine Books as the...

, a parallel world

Parallel universe (fiction)

A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...

 fiction. According to the author, it was based on elaborate fantasy legends and imaginary games she began enacting and writing as a young child. It was first published in England by George Allen & Unwin in 1970, and in 1971 in the America by Ballantine Books

Ballantine Books

Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...

 as part of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series

Ballantine Adult Fantasy series

The Ballantine Adult Fantasy series was an imprint of Ballantine Books. Launched in 1969 , the series reissued a number of works of fantasy literature, which were out of print or dispersed in back issues of pulp magazines , in cheap paperback form—including works...

, with a cover by illustrator Bob Pepper

Bob Pepper

Robert Ernest Pepper was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played one game for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1915.-External links:...

. The "House of Kendreth" sequence includes this novel and Chant's subsequent books The Grey Mane of Morning (1977) and When Voiha Wakes (1983).

Chant's other major work is The High Kings (1983), illustrated by George Sharp

George Sharp

George Sharp , in West Hartlepool, County Durham, England) is an English former first class cricketer who is currently a first class umpire.-Playing career:...

, designed by David Larkin and edited by Ian

Ian Ballantine

Ian Keith Ballantine was a pioneering American publisher who founded and published the innovative paperback line of Ballantine Books from 1952 to 1974 with his wife, Betty Ballantine....

 and Betty Ballantine

Betty Ballantine

Betty Ballantine is a publisher who, with her husband Ian Ballantine, formed Bantam Books in 1945 and Ballantine Books in 1952. They became freelance publishers in the 1970s. Their son Richard is an author and journalist specialising in cycling topics.Ballantine received a Special Committee Award...

. It is a reference work on the King Arthur

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

 legends and the Matter of Britain

Matter of Britain

The Matter of Britain is a name given collectively to the body of literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and its legendary kings, particularly King Arthur...

 incorporating retellings of the legends. She has also written numerous articles on fantasy fiction.

Awards

Red Moon and Black Mountain won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award

Mythopoeic Awards

The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given by the Mythopoeic Society to authors of outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas; the full criteria and description can be read on the Mythopoeic Society's -Mythopoeic Fantasy...

 in 1972; The Grey Mane of Morning was a runner for the same award in 1981, with tenth place in the Locus Poll Award

Locus Award

The Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...

 the same year; When Voiha Wakes won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award in 1984. The High Kings, which took second place in the Locus Poll Award, won the 1984 World Fantasy Special Award for Professional Work

World Fantasy Special Award: Professional

This World Fantasy Award is presented to individuals for their outstanding professional work in the fantasy field, and voted by a panel of judges at the World Fantasy Convention....

. It was also a nominee of the Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book.

Fantasy novels

• House of Kendreth series
  • Red Moon and Black Mountain
    Red Moon and Black Mountain
    Red Moon and Black Mountain: the End of the House of Kendreth is a fantasy novel by Joy Chant, the first of three set in her world of Vandarei. It was first published in hardcover by George Allen & Unwin, London, in 1970. The first paperback edition was issued by Ballantine Books as the...
    
    (1970)
  • The Grey Mane of Morning (1977)
  • When Voiha Wakes (1983)
• The High Kings (1983, George Allen & Unwin) (with, Ian and Betty Ballantine, George Sharp and David Larkin, in collaboration), rev. ed. (1989, George Allen & Unwin)

Short stories

• "The Coming of the Starborn" (1983)
• "Die Mauern von Kophitel (The Walls of Kophitel)" (1983) - so far only published in a German translation by Mechtild Sandberg

External links