query: occupation nicholas stuart gray
supports: Fiction is the classification for any story or universe derived from imaginationin other words, not based strictly on history or fact. Fiction can be expressed in a variety of formats, including writings, live performances, films, television programs, animations, video games, and role-playing games, though the term originally and most commonly refers to the narrative forms of literature (see "literary" fiction), including the novel, novella, short story, and play. Fiction constitutes an act of creative invention, so that faithfulness to reality is not typically assumed; in other words, fiction is not expected to present only characters who are actual people or descriptions that are factually true. The context of fiction is generally open to interpretation, due to fiction's freedom from any necessary embedding in reality; however, some fictional works are claimed to be, or marketed as, historically or factually accurate, complicating the traditional distinction between fiction and non-fiction. Fiction is a classification or category, rather than a specific mode or genre, unless used in a narrower sense as a synonym for a particular literary fiction form. A graphic novel is a book made up of comics content. Although the word "novel" normally refers to long fictional works, the term "graphic novel" is applied broadly and includes fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work. It is distinguished from the term "comic book", which is used for comics periodicals. Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the "Old Kingdom", "Seventh Tower" and "Keys to the Kingdom" series. He has frequently been asked if his name is a pseudonym, to which he has responded, "I guess people ask me because it sounds like the perfect name for a writer of fantasy. However, it is my real name." Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Most fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Magic and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three, all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction. The Celtic Sea (; ) is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany. The southern and western boundaries are delimited by the continental shelf, which drops away sharply. The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago of small islands in the sea. Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (born Neil Richard Gaiman, 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and films. His notable works include the comic book series "The Sandman" and novels "Stardust", "American Gods", "Coraline", and "The Graveyard Book". He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards, as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals. He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work, "The Graveyard Book" (2008). In 2013, "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards. Speculative fiction is a broad umbrella genre denoting any narrative fiction with supernatural or futuristic elements; this encompasses the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror, alternative history, magic realism, and superhero fiction, as well as combinations of the previous genres. It typically strays strongly from reality and so may feature fictional types of beings like mythical creatures and supernatural entities, technologies that do not exist in real life like time machines and interstellar spaceships, or magical or otherwise scientifically inexplicable elements. The term's popularity is sometimes attributed to Robert Heinlein, who referenced it in 1947 in an editorial essay, although there are prior mentions of speculative fiction, or its variant "speculative literature". A country is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated people with distinct political characteristics. Regardless of the physical geography, in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945, a resident of a country is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction. Scotland (Scots: ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south-west. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides. Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force or Mademoiselle de La Force (16541724) was a French novelist and poet. Her best-known work was her 1698 fairy tale "Persinette" which was adapted by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 as the story "Rapunzel". England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain (which lies in the North Atlantic) in its centre and south; and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. Science fiction (often shortened to SF, sci-fi or scifi) is a genre of speculative fiction, typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a "literature of ideas." It usually avoids the supernatural, and unlike the related genre of fantasy, historically science fiction stories were intended to have a grounding in science-based fact or theory at the time the story was created, but this connection is now limited to hard science fiction. Sophie Masson is a French-Australian fantasy and children's author. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, it includes the island of Great Britain (the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole country), the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to its east, the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south-south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of , the UK is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants. Together, this makes it the fourth most densely populated country in the European Union. The Bitterbynde is a fantasy trilogy written by Australian writer Cecilia Dart-Thornton. It comprises "The Ill-Made Mute", "The Lady of the Sorrows", and "The Battle of Evernight". Cassandra [Mia] Golds (born 1962) is an Australian children's author. Borders are geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Some borderssuch as a state's internal administrative border, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Areaare often open and completely unguarded. Other borders are partially or fully controlled, and may be crossed legally only at designated border checkpoints and border zones may be controlled. Mostly contentious, borders may even foster the setting up of buffer zones. A difference has also been established in academic scholarship between border and frontier, the latter denoting a state of mind rather than state boundaries. The supernatural (Medieval Latin: "superntrlis": "supra" "above" + "naturalis" "natural", first used: 15201530 AD) includes all that cannot be explained by science or the laws of nature, including things characteristic of or relating to ghosts, gods, or other supernatural beings, or to things beyond nature. American Gods is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel by English author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shadow. Several of the themes touched upon in the book were previously glimpsed in "The Sandman" comic book series. Kate Forsyth is an Australian author. She is best known for her historical novel "Bitter Greens", which interweaves a retelling of the "Rapunzel" fairy tale with the true life story of the woman who first told the tale, the 17th century French writer Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force. Hilari Bell (born 1958) is an American fantasy author. She is the author of several science-fiction and fantasy novels including the critically acclaimed "Farsala Trilogy". Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of . Wales has over of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate. "Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of "Children's and Household Tales". The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale "Rapunzel" by Friedrich Schulz published in 1790. The Schulz version is based on "Persinette" by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698 which in turn was influenced by an even earlier tale, "Petrosinella" by Giambattista Basile, published in 1634. Its plot has been used and parodied in various media and its best known line ("Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair") is an idiom of popular culture. In volume I of the 1812 annotations (Anhang), it is listed as coming from Friedrich Schulz Kleine Romane, Book 5, pp. 269288, published in Leipzig 1790. Nicholas Stuart Gray ( 23 October 1922 , Scotland - 17 March 1981 ) was a British actor and playwright , perhaps best known for his work in children 's theatre in England . He was also an author of children 's fantasy ; he wrote a number of novels , a dozen plays , and many short stories . Neil Gaiman has written that Gray `` is one of those authors I loved as a boy who holds up even better on rereading as an adult '' . Many other modern fantasy authors , such as Hilari Bell , Cecilia Dart - Thornton , Kate Forsyth , Cassandra Golds , Katherine Langrish , Sophie Masson , and Garth Nix , cite Gray 's work as something they enjoyed as children . Perhaps his best - known books are The Seventh Swan and Grimbold 's Other World . Gray often produced adaptations or continuations of traditional fairy tales and fantasy works , as in his Further Adventures of Puss in Boots . His The Stone Cage is a re-telling of Rapunzel from a cat 's point of view . Over the Hills to Fabylon is about a city whose king has the ability to make it fly off across the mountains if he feels it is in danger . Gray maintained a long - term collaborative relationship with set designer and illustrator Joan Jefferson Farjeon ( niece of Eleanor Farjeon and Harry Farjeon ) ; she supplied the costume and scenic designs for many of the theatrical productions of his plays , as well as the illustrations for most of his printed plays and for the novel version of The Seventh Swan . The Isles of Scilly (or "") are an archipelago off the south western tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. It is the southernmost location in England and the United Kingdom, as well as the most westerly in England. The Graveyard Book is a children's fantasy novel by the English author Neil Gaiman, simultaneously published in Britain and America during 2008. "The Graveyard Book" traces the story of the boy Nobody "Bod" Owens who is adopted and raised by the supernatural occupants of a graveyard after his family is brutally murdered. Cecilia Dart-Thornton is an Australian author of fantasy novels, notably the "Bitterbynde" Trilogy. Coraline is a dark fantasy children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. It has been compared to Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and was adapted into a 2009 stop-motion film directed by Henry Selick.
candidates: academic author book fantasy author magic novelist poet saint science sovereign television united kingdom writer
answer: writer