Neil Gaiman is an English novelist, who was born in 1960 in Hampshire. Of Jewish background, Gaiman’s family were also Scientologists, something that Gaiman says used to confuse people when he was a child. The writer learned to read at the age of four, an important first step on his journey to becoming one of the world’s most highly regarded novelists.
Early influences on Gaiman would include both JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis, and he would also enjoy works by Edgar Allen Poe, Michael Moorcock, Lewis Carrol, Rudyard Kipling and Mary Shelley. As Gaiman matured, the works of American fantasy author Roger Zelazny would also become a key influence, as would science fiction writer RA Lafferty.
As well as fiction and great writers, though, Gaiman would also be influenced by other genres. The comedy show Monty Python’s Flying Circus was a key influence, and Gaiman remains a fan of the comedy troupe to this day. In 1984, another key influence would emerge, this time in the shape of comics. It would be the comics artist Alan Moore who would provide Gaiman with his next major source of inspiration.
Gaiman noticed a copy of Moore’s Swamp Thing comic. The artist’s approach to comics turned Gaiman, who was then working as an aspiring journalist, into a comic book fans, and he started taking regular trips to Forbidden Planet in London to purchase comics. While working as a journalist, Gaiman made contacts that would help him later in his writing career. In 1984, his first professional short story was published. This was a fantasy story called Featherquest, and it appeared in Imagine Magazine.
Gaiman’s first book was published in 1984. This was a biography of the band Duran Duran. He would stop being a journalist in 1987, and concentrate entirely on his fiction writing. In subsequent years, he would become famous for his work on the comic The Sandman, as well as writing stories for DC Comics. Gaiman’s first novel, Good Omens, was written in collaboration with Terry Pratchett in 1990.
In 2001, Gaiman’s key novel American Gods was published. Other works include novels like The Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Line. In February 2017, a book by Gaiman was published entitled Norse Mythology. This consisted of Gaiman’s personal retellings of Norse mythological tales, and was the latest step on what has been a fascinating writer’s journey.