Derek Landy

Derek Landy (born 23 October 1974) is an Irish author and screenwriter, best known for the Skulduggery Pleasant book series.

Derek Landy
Landy in Edinburgh, August 2011
BornDerek Landy
(1974-10-23) 23 October 1974
Lusk, County Dublin, Ireland
NationalityIrish
GenreChildren's fantasy
Notable worksSkulduggery Pleasant and Demon Road series
Notable awardsRed House Children's Book Award
2008 Skulduggery Pleasant

Career

Landy has written two screenplays that have been made into films, the IFTA award-winning Dead Bodies and the IFTA-nominated Boy Eats Girl starring Samantha Mumba. Landy himself was nominated for an IFTA for Best Script.

Frustrated with the collaborative process of filmmaking, Landy moved on to writing the Skulduggery Pleasant series, starting with the novel of the same name.[1] The novel was published by Harper Collins, who paid £1.8 million for the publishing rights.[2] There are 13 books in the series with 3 spin offs. In 2007, he signed a deal with Warner Bros. worth an estimated US$1 million for the rights to adapt his Skulduggery Pleasant series, which he will adapt himself.[3] However, his script was constantly rewritten and Landy, unhappy with the results, bought back the rights. He is currently working on a script with the producers of Clash of the Titans.

Landy is a fan of Joss Whedon's works, notably Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.[4] He is also a fan of Gilmore Girls and Doctor Who.

Landy wrote a short story based on the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who as part of a short story collection celebrating the show's 50th anniversary. The story was published by Puffin in 2013, titled "The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage".

Personal life

Landy attended Drogheda Grammar School during his childhood years, and later studied animation at Ballyfermot College.[5] He also has a black belt in kenpo karate.[3] Prior to his contract with HarperCollins, he worked on his parents' vegetable farm.[1]

Reception

In a review of his first book, Skulduggery Pleasant, Sarah Webb of the Irish Independent wrote that it "is taut, full of zippy dialogue and fantastically visuals".[2]

Awards

In 2008, Landy won the Red House Children's Book Award.[6] Playing with Fire, Mortal Coil and Last Stand of Dead Men each won the senior Irish Children's Book Award, in 2009, 2010 and 2013.[7] In addition in 2010 Skulduggery Pleasant (Sceptre of the Ancients) was voted as Irish book of the decade.[8]

Bibliography

Skulduggery Pleasant series
First series
Second series

Demon Road
  • The Demon Road Trilogy: Demon Road (August 2015) (also titled The Demon Road Trilogy: Hell and Highway)
  • The Demon Road Trilogy: Desolation (March 2016)
  • The Demon Road Trilogy: American Monsters (August 2016) (also titled The Demon Road Trilogy: Infernal Finale)

Miscellaneous

References
  1. Dwyer, Clara (11 December 2011). "Plotting a great escape". Irish Independent. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  2. Webb, Sarah (24 February 2007). "Skulduggery that's worth a cool £1.8m!". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  3. "Warner Bros. scoops high-profile kids' book series". Reuters. 24 May 2007. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  4. Rowbotham, Jill (6 March 2010). "Pointing the Bone". The Australian. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  5. Spain, John (24 February 2007). "Gardener in ?1.5m book deal hailed as new JK Rowling". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  6. Pauli, Michelle (31 May 2008). "Hay festival: Derek Landy wins Red House prize". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  7. "List of winners". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  8. "Homepage of Sponsor". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
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