Karen Simpson Nikakis
Encyclopedia
Karen Simpson Nikakis is an Australian fantasy
author, writer and poet who lives at Melton
, whose first fantasy novel The Whisper of Leaves (2007), has been described as an "impressive debut", with the National Library of Australia
describing her first book as heralding "the arrival of an exciting new talent on the Australian fantasy landscape".
's fantasy epic Lord of the Rings. She has since written a number of published academic essays on myth and fantasy writing.
She has worked as a secondary teacher, TAFE teacher and lecturer in business communications at Deakin University
. She completed a Master in Education in young adult literature with her thesis being on The Purpose of Dragons in Selected Children’s Literature in the Twentieth Century and went on to complete a Ph.D in 1997 in fantasy fiction from Victoria University
with her thesis on The Use of Narrative in Order to Break the Masculine Domination of the Hero Quest.
Her first fantasy novel was published by Allen & Unwin
in 2007 as The Whisper of Leaves, the first book in a fantasy series: the Kira Chronicles. A second book The Song of the Silvercades was released in July 2008.
In 2008 she was appointed the foundation head of the Bachelor Degree in Writing and Publishing for Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE
.
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...
author, writer and poet who lives at Melton
Melton, Victoria
Melton is an outer-suburban city of Melbourne Victoria, Australia located 35 km east from Melbourne's central business district. It is the administrative centre for the Shire of Melton Local Government Area. At the 2006 Census, the Shire of Melton had a population of 35,490...
, whose first fantasy novel The Whisper of Leaves (2007), has been described as an "impressive debut", with the National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
describing her first book as heralding "the arrival of an exciting new talent on the Australian fantasy landscape".
Early life
Nikakis was raised in the central Victorian town of Mansfield, surrounded by the mountains of the Victorian Alps. Her interest in fantasy occurred at age 19, when she read TolkienJ. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's fantasy epic Lord of the Rings. She has since written a number of published academic essays on myth and fantasy writing.
She has worked as a secondary teacher, TAFE teacher and lecturer in business communications at Deakin University
Deakin University
Deakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
. She completed a Master in Education in young adult literature with her thesis being on The Purpose of Dragons in Selected Children’s Literature in the Twentieth Century and went on to complete a Ph.D in 1997 in fantasy fiction from Victoria University
Victoria University
Victoria University may refer to:* Victoria University, Australia, Melbourne, Australia* Victoria University of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh* University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada...
with her thesis on The Use of Narrative in Order to Break the Masculine Domination of the Hero Quest.
Writing
During the 1980s she started writing picture story books, which she also illustrated.Her first fantasy novel was published by Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin
Allen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
in 2007 as The Whisper of Leaves, the first book in a fantasy series: the Kira Chronicles. A second book The Song of the Silvercades was released in July 2008.
In 2008 she was appointed the foundation head of the Bachelor Degree in Writing and Publishing for Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE
Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE
Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE is a TAFE institute located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It has six city campuses located at Preston, Collingwood, Epping, Fairfield, Greensborough, Heidelberg, a country campus at Ararat, and country training facilities at Eden...
.
Novels
- The Whisper of Leaves: Book 1 of the Kira Chronicles (2007) Allen and Unwin
- The Song of the Silvercades: Book 2 of the Kira Chronicles (2008) Allen and Unwin
- The Cry of the Marwing: Book 3 of the Kira Chronicles(To be released July 2009) Allen and Unwin
Short Stories
- The gift in Aurealis #40, Chimaera Publications, Australia, 2008
- Redemption in Moondance – E-zine: USA
- Lovers in Smokelong Quarterly – E-zine: USA
- Song of the frog prince in Zahir #4: USA
External links
- Interview: Smoking With Karen Simpson Nikakis, Smokelong Quarterly, Issue 5, August 2004.}