Diana Wynne Jones 1934-2011

Sad news that Diana has passed away.

:(

Very sad. She will be missed.

Yes indeed.

I knew that she had cancer, but I'd thought it had been in remission, so the news was quite a surprise. Very sad.

Neil Gaiman has written a rather lovely blog about her - they were friends and he saw her not long before she died.

The Guardian obituary is good -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/mar/27/diana-wynne-jones-obituary

Another great tribute in the Guardian blog:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/mar/29/diana-wynne-jones-chrestom...

Yes, sad news indeed. Feel quite depressed, especially after the suggestion she might be in remission. She wrote a very kind response to a letter soon after I left Bristol, asking if I'd watched the film of Howl's Moving Castle, but sadly it was some time later till I saw it and I never did get round to resuming the correspondence, especially after news of her illness.
Thanks for the links, Nerilka and flissp.

thanks for sharing neil's post. i've been a fan of diana's since 1982, when i was 12 and discovered the magicians of caprona. i feel as though i've lost a much loved relative.

There is now a Celebrate DWJ blog tour and tumblr set up for tributes to DWJ.
http://dwj2012.tumblr.com/
Here's Australian Judith Ridge's piece. She wrote a thesis on DWJ's work a few years ago.

I've posted this on Goodreads, but it's worth repeating here: I recently picked up Stories, edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio, which, if you weren't already aware of it, includes a short story by DWJ called 'Samantha's Diary'. The collection came out in 2010 in hardback, in paperback last year, so this must have been one of her last published stories.

It's very slight, a futuristic take on The Twelve Days of Christmas and not one of her best, but in many ways typical of her short stories. She must have written it in response to NG's personal request. I've yet to get properly stuck into the other stories, but many of them (including some by very big names) look promising. Myself, I find short story collections generally unsatisfying, despite the fact that they promise so much, so I hope this bucks the trend!

Really interesting read, DWJ's Reflections: on the Magic of Writing, which I've given a lengthyish review of. Hopefully it'll appear in paperback in the not too distant future so more fans can afford to enjoy the range of her ideas, experiences and self-deprecating humour.

Good news! Just seen this via the Diana Wynne Jones Fan Page on Facebook: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/articl...

#13 -- Intriguing!

Today's Google Doodle for DWJ's birthday, illustrating Howl's Moving Castle
http://www.google.com/doodles/diana-wynne-jones-80th-birthday