Quick Facts
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| Profession | Media Personalities |
If you have seen the weird TV show, American Gods or Lucifer, read the comic book series, The Sandman and novels Stardust and Coraline, you might have heard of Neil Gaiman. He is one of the popular and most accomplished authors alive.
His works range from novels, comic books, and graphic novels to audio theatre and films. These works have brought him numerous awards. Notably, The Graveyard Book made him the first author to bag the Newbery and Carnegie medals for a single work. Now that we have your interest, the following are the things to know about the English author and his wife Amanda Palmer.
Who Is Neil Gaiman?
Those who can tell a thing or two about the heritage of this author are aware that he hails from a Polish-Jewish family. Also, it is common knowledge that his roots have been traced to a handful of other Jewish ancestries in Eastern Europe. In fact, it is said that his great-granddad left Belgium and settled in the UK in the early 1910s.
His mother, Sheila Gaiman was a pharmacist and his father, David Bernard Gaiman worked in a chain of grocery stores Gaiman’s grandfather established in the south of England. Neil has two younger sisters, Claire and Lizzy. Claire is a worker for the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles. While Gaiman grew up in close interaction with Jewish and Scientology practices, he doesn’t believe in the existence of God nor subscribes to any religion.
Neil was born in 1960 on the 10th of November. Various accounts hold that he started reading at the age of four and fell in love with it immediately. At the age of 10, he had read his way through various works of classic authors. One work that left a huge impression on him was J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. When he was 20 years, he sent a letter to his favorite science fiction writer, R.A Lafferty and asked for advice on how to become an author. Lafferty sent Gaiman an encouraging and informative letter, along with literary advice.
In the early 1980s, Gaiman pursued a career in journalism, conducting interviews and writing book reviews as a way to learn about the world and network with the people he hoped would later help him get published. He wrote extensively for the British Fantasy Society. Gaiman’s first professional short story was Featherquest, a fantasy story that was published in Imagine Magazine in May 1984.
After forming a friendship with the comic-book writer, Alan Moore, whose work made Gaiman fall in love with comic books, Gaiman started writing comic books. Similarly, he dabbled into graphic novels and wrote three with Dave McKean.
Gaiman’s work impressed the giant comic book company, DC Comics and they hired him in February 1987. His first work for DC, Black Orchid impressed the head of DC and they offered him a job to rewrite an old character, The Sandman. Gaiman’s story on The Sandman lasted from January 1989 to March 1996 and it was very popular. In all, this author has written multiple comic books for DC and currently oversees The Sandman Universe line of comic books. Once asked why he loves comic books over other writing mediums, he says comics came with the knowledge that he was writing in an untouched territory, in a medium where he would create something new that no one had done before.
In Novels, Neil Gaiman’s works have received recognition from the literary community, with his novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane named Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards in 2013. Before reaching the heights of a national book of the year award, Gaiman’s first novel, Good Omens was published in 1990.
The English author’s writing exploits span various mediums. His scriptwriting accomplishments include writing the script for The Polar Express and Beowulf. A few of his works have also been adapted for live action production including American Gods. Neil Gaiman frequently performs public readings of his stories and poetry. He regularly blogs on his website and, is also a frequent Twitter user where he tweets as @neilhimself.
His Wife Amanda Palmer
Neil Gaiman married his wife, Amanda Palmer, a songwriter and performer on 2 January 2011. The couple has an open marriage and had been dating since June 2009. On marrying Amanda, he adopted her middle name, MacKinnon. On 18th March 2015, the couple announced on Facebook that they are expecting their son, Anthony. He was born 16, September 2015.
Neil Gaiman’s wife is bisexual. She once disclosed that she has slept with both men and women. The American musician has received numerous awards for her career in entertainment, including the 2012 Artist & Manager Pioneer award. In 2010, she was honored with the Boston Music Awards as the Artist of the Year.
She released her first solo studio album titled Who Killed Amanda Palmer sometime in September 2008. While her solo efforts have undeniably contributed to her fame, she earned a major bulk of the popularity she now enjoys from being the pianist and lead vocalist of The Dresden Dolls, an American musical duo formed in 2000.
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