My favourite author is Eoin Colfer: the creator of Artemis Fowl. Who is yours?

Laurell K. Hamilton, James Patterson (he is an amazing author) and.. Crud. Forgto teh name of the other! :p But she's really good.

Robert A. Heinlein. Starship Troopers is awesome. Orson Scott Card is a good second.

Anne McCaffrey and the author of the golden compass.

can anyone tell me if he has written other books and if so some titles.
I know I can look it up on the internet but would like someone's take on the quality.

H.P. Lovecraft - Great cosmic and pychological horror writer.
Stephen King - Good story teller and horror writer.
Ian Irvine - Great Fantasy writer, and his website really inspires me.
Dan Abnett - Fantasy writer, and is very entertaining if you can get anything by him.
Goerge Orwell - Political writer, great mind. 1984 is a classic.

I don't have one favorite author. For the most part, I like the characters and plots by Patricia Cornwell, although a couple of her books employed a distracting writing style. I enjoy Larry Niven for innovative thinking in scifi. James P. Hogan has also come up with some intriguing books, but the writing and character development are definitely weaker. J.R.R. Tolkein is the master of the fantasy epic with the Lord of the Rings. Ray Bradbury writes beautifully, although the science element of his scifi is less intriguing to me. Papa Hemingway is another master writer, even though the stories themselves fall outside my usual subject preferences.

There are really many more authors than these few I would call good for various reasons.

I don't have a favourite author. Never have. Though my favourite poet is William Shakespeare.

I have read a lot of novels and so forth but never really found an author that I could say was my favourite. I'm too fussy when it comes to novels and the like.

Fyodor Dostoevsky!

I like many authors J.R.R. Tolkein is a true inspiration. The twist and turns of an H.P. Lovecraft novel are always fun. Hemingway, Dickenson and Shakespeare are old time favorites of mine. For an easy read I would pick Anne Rice, Dean Koontz or Stephen King.

Toss up between Dostoevksy and Camus.

life's too rife with enjoyable things for me to restrict myself to a single 'favorite' anything... as authors go, my 'favorites' list would run to pages!

Robert Pirsig

Donald Barthelme

I really like Leo Tolstoy, but I don't know if I could say he's my favourite author, as he didn't actually write the english translations I've read.

For a while I would have said Truman Capote, but I haven't read any of his books lately, so I'm not sure.

This might seem peculiar, but Dr Seuss will always be a favorite of mine. -No, my vocabulary is not that limited, but he has a very simple, enjoyable way of talking about certain topics. (And no, I do not mean "Red Fish, Blue Fish.") I mean his stories such as "Oh, the Place You'll Go" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

On a more serious, technical note, I have always enjoyed C.S. Lewis' work and I really liked "Memoirs of a Geisha," his work was good as well. I have always liked Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson as well.

Raymond E Fiest.
Ian Watson
J.R.R. Tolkien

Hahaa. A good, simple reply!

Christopher Golden is another one I like.

Kylie Chan

Anne Bishop (the Author of the Black Jewels Trilogy)

Roger Zelazny

My favorites are:
1. Stephen King
2. Dan Brown
3. R.A. Salvatore
4. George R.R. Martin

A lot of people don't like Dan Brown's writing style, but I do. I like how he moves the story along at a fast pace, while still keeping the suspense up. I don't get that long drawn out feeling from him as I do with some other authors. Some people are surprised to find out he has three other books, and not just The Da Vinci Code.

A lot of people don't like Dan Brown's writing style, but I do. I like how he moves the story along at a fast pace, while still keeping the suspense up. I don't get that long drawn out feeling from him as I do with some other authors. Some people are surprised to find out he has three other books, and not just The Da Vinci Code.

I agree about his writing style. What his other books? I know there's Angels and Demons and...

The other two books are:

1. Digital Fortress

2. Deception Point

Digital Fortress is about a mathematician who works for the NSA and is trying to break a code that the NSA super computer cannot. It is an excellent book. My synopsis doesn't give it justice.

Deception Point is about an object found in the Artic ice. The story revolves around scientist trying to figure out what it is, as well as a political cover up.

For me it's between two very different authors:

J.R.R. Tolkein or Jane Austen.

Ah wonderful, I love Dan Brown's writing. His style really is superb, and he knows how to generate tension and excitement! I've only read the Da Vinci Code and Angels&Demons, but I'm planning to read Digital Fortress soon (have it at home, just never had the time to read it!).

But my favourite writer, I think, is Philip Pullman... I have only read the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy (Golden Compass/northern light; subtle knife, amber spyglass), but I totally loved it. I found it such a shame when I had finished the last book! Had a great time reading the books.

I've always enjoyed Horror writings, but also twisted tales. So my choices for favorite author are:

1.) Edgar Allan Poe
2.)Roald Dahl
3.) Stephen King

In that order as well.

Mine is Stephen King. He really is the best.

James Patterson and Arundhati Roy are mine..

I can name a few...

Jennings Michael Burch, Frank McCourt, Arthur Golden, Sarah Dessen...

Mine is Stephen King. He really is the best.
You know Stephen King was influenced by Edgar Allan Poe.
He said so himself.

Tons of people were/are inlfuenced by Poe... what's your point?

I'm a little amazed to not see Neil Gaiman anywhere... hm.

My list:
Tolkien
Neil Gaiman
China Mieville
Dan Abnett
William King
Robert Jordan
Arthur C. Clarke
Isaac Asimov

I love Neil Gaimon! Have you read Coraline?

Tons of people were/are inlfuenced by Poe... what's your point?

That if people were influenced by Poe so much that Poe is the best.

Definitely Erin Hunter, Author of he Warriors Series.

That if people were influenced by Poe so much that Poe is the best.

Why can't an author be greater than his/her inspiration?

Stephen King, hands down.
Not only are his ideas original and frightening enough, but his writing is just beautiful. It's nothing like I've ever read before and it's not normal. It takes you so deep into the story and makes you think. There was this time I was reading the Shining and there was a scene were he wrote about his character locked in this freezer type room eating a box of tiscuits and I thought it was SUCH good writing. Seriously, writing about a guy eating tiscuits! and I loved it!

Stephen King, hands down.
Not only are his ideas original and frightening enough, but his writing is just beautiful.

I know a lot of people who would dissagree with you on originality, mate.

I know a lot of people who would dissagree with you on originality, mate.

Shoot.

Who is your favourite author? J.K.Rowling. End of.

I don't know who mine is. I've never found an author that I'm "Totally crazy about". I have, however, found several great authors. Right now I'd say my favorite is Scott Westerfeld, because of his unique style.

Neil Gaiman for the win.

I gave Anansi Boys to my English teacher for Christmas, and he loves it.

Others:
-Terry Pratchett
-Douglas Adams
-Robert Rankin

I don't have a complete favorite author, but the ones I do like are:

Kafka
Tolstoy
Orwell
Kierkegaard
Richard Matheson
Paul Auster
Pasternak
Ray Bradbury

Why can't an author be greater than his/her inspiration?
Because a lot of Stephen Kings story's aren't spooky.
They don't scare me or get to go Oh you tricky bastard you.

In the case of Edgar Allan Poe the stories make me smile for each stroke of geniuses and intelligence.

I can't believe everyone forget Kurt Vonnegut. I find is writing style to be very original. He is my favorite over all others.

I'd have to say Wendy Mass. She's not very well known, but every single one of her books I am in love with.

I know a lot of people who would dissagree with you on originality, mate.
Complain about King's 'lack of originality', but at least he's miles better than Dean Koontz, who actually wrote a pathetically-written book about a guy running out of time to live, and named the main character Jimmy Tock.
Tock?! And the guy had tick tock days to live.

I've got one of Kings and Kootz books for Christmas. Not read either of them yet. One was the Shinning and Kiss the girls.

Complain about King's 'lack of originality', but at least he's miles better than Dean Koontz, who actually wrote a pathetically-written book about a guy running out of time to live, and named the main character Jimmy Tock.
Tock?! And the guy had tick tock days to live.

That's true!

I didn't mean to start anything, I was just saying that some people belive King isn't as origenal as most people think. But every writer has copyied things, just some poeple are really anal about those who have fame.

I can't believe everyone forget Kurt Vonnegut. I find is writing style to be very original. He is my favorite over all others.

Aha! I knew I forgot someone.

right now it is Mercedes Lackey.
I have always loved stories about elves and dragons and mythical creatures.
Hers are almost believable the way she writes them into the stories.

Gah! Going through these make me think up more "favorites"...

So far...

Douglas Adams
Orson Scott Card
Anne Rice <<(what can I say?)
Scott Westerfeld

And yes, I read King and Koontz, too. *(I agree with the person who mentioned that Koontz isn't that original, but I still like his style a bit. Mostly, though, I like his Odd Thomas series.)*

Iain M Banks is my favourite by a wide margin. The Culture books are the most absorbing thing i've ever read.

right now it is Mercedes Lackey.
I have always loved stories about elves and dragons and mythical creatures.
Hers are almost believable the way she writes them into the stories.

Dear, have you tried Anne Mccaffrey's works? Quite good, actually, and easy to get into to.

My favorite author. Recently, Tolstoy. Some Anne Rice and Stephen King. Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Francesca Lia Block. Creative writing styles, both of them. Oh, and Ellen Hopkins!

Emily Bronte :)

Kate Chopin - The Awakening, beautiful peice of work.

Heh. My favorite authors all write silly stories.

Terry Pratchet, Douglas Adams, and Neil Gaiman.

My favorite author has to be Ernest Hemingway. His endings can be a little depressing at times, but what matters to me is the way he tells the story. I haven't read all of his work yet, but I'm working on it.

Ernest Hemingway is great. I've read A Farewell to Arms, which is one of my favorite books, The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the Sea, part of For Whom the Bell Tolls and some of his short stories.

My favorite writers are F Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, Kurt Vonnegut and Cormac McCarthy.

I also enjoy Thomas Pynchon, Donald Barthelme, John Steinbeck, Flannery O'Connor and William Faulkner.

I just purchased Flappers and Philosophers by Fitzgerald and I wish I could start reading it, but school duty calls before hobby reading. I read This Side of Paradise not that long ago. He is also the origin of some of my favorite quotes.

This Side of Paradise is really good. I also liked The Great Gatsby and The Beautiful and Damned. The Love of the Last Tycoon wasn't so great, but that's probably because it wasn't finished before he died.

Stephen King- need I say more? :)

I'm a big fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephenie Meyer, and Edger Allen Poe.

I really should read more of Doyle's work. Its never a dull moment when old Sherlock is around.

That's what I think too. :D The Hound of the Baskerville was really good too.

That's what I think too. :D The Hound of the Baskerville was really good too.

Agreed, The Hound of the Baserkville was a great read.

My favourite author is Eoin Colfer: the creator of Artemis Fowl. Who is yours?

K.A. Applegate was one of mine, though I haven't read any works past Animorphs.

Robert Patterson is good, though he has a habit of unesseccarily killing off one of the good characters to create a bittersweet ending sometimes.

I'm a big fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephenie Meyer, and Edger Allen Poe.

I love Poe! He's my favorite poet. What's his favorite story and poem from him? I adore A dream within a dream.

My favorite author has to be Walter Moers, I go absolutely nuts over his stuff.

Terry Pratchett :D

Written loads of brilliant books. He's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I almost cried when I heard. He said this about it.

'I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think - it's too soon to tell.'"

I love Poe! He's my favorite poet. What's his favorite story and poem from him? I adore A dream within a dream.

My favorite author has to be Walter Moers, I go absolutely nuts over his stuff.I like his detective story. I can't recall the name, but it was the one that had the orangatang killing the lady and Raven. :)

I like his detective story. I can't recall the name, but it was the one that had the orangatang killing the lady and Raven. :)

I don't remember any orangatans, but I do remember "Quote the raven...evermore."

The Murders in the Rue Morgue :D I couldn't remember before, but I remember. :)

I would say either J.R.R. Tolkien, or C.S. Lewis. I will and will always love fantasy.

-Thomas

Orson Scott Card
-- Ender's Game
-- Empire

Robert Browning...I love his writing, his poems. His work always puts me in a nostalgic mood.

Tough one!

Toss up between A.C. Clark and Octavia Butler

Don't have one, never had an author where I've been continuously happy with his or her work.

My new favourte author has to be Thomas Pynchon now.
H.P. Lovecraft is now a respectable 2nd place behind this genius.

I bet no one has heard of my favorite author....-shrug-

Her name is Kate Horsley
She rights historical fiction. I've read 5 of the 6 books she has published. She is local author here in Albuquerque.

Heh, I live in the Albuqurque area also, she is an okay writer, but I'm not into historical fiction, at least, not really.

I love H.P.Lovecraft and J.R.R, even named my new cat after him.

Jack Kerouac, Steinbeck, Ginsberg, Shakespeare, Ian Fleming, Sir Arthur Connan Doyle...Arthur C. Clarke... and many many more...

Arthur Golden, Foeyer, Jane Austen, JK Rowling and Dostoevsky.

Dean Koontz.

Dan Abnett, hands down. He is an amazing Warhammer 40k future sci-fi author, completely blew my mind with both the entire Gaunt's Ghost series (I literally have a library shelfs worth of his books) and his aerial combat book Double Eagle, and hopefully he'll add Intercepter City to my menagerie of plane combat novel's!

Too good :cool:

Hunter S. Thompson, Cormac McCarthy, Mick Foley, Mark Kriegal, Tucker Max, Tom Callahan, and Bill Simmons.

I've got a lot: J.R.R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, Orson Scott Card, J.K. Rowling, Margaret Weis.

Hard to pick one, but if I had to, then probably Robert Heinlein, with maybe Harry Harrison and William Shakespeare, battling to topple him from that spot.

Al

Without questioning, Vladimir Nabokov takes it for me. I was surprised as I skimmed through this topic without seeing his named mentioned once. In my mind no one writes prose quite like he does.

When school is out for summer break I will pick up "A Crime and Punishment" again, but this time to finish it. I am sure I will love Dostoevsky as well; I have a thing for the Ruskies.

for me James Patterson, Stephen King and Jeff Deaver are the most brilliant ever.

My favorite authors would have to be: Marion Zimmer Bradley (Mists of Avalon) and Terry Goodkind (Sword of Truth series)

I'm having an affair with Peter Carey's novels at the moment, loved 'The Tax Inspector' and I'm giggling my way through 'Theft' at the moment. Also loved Yann Martel's, 'The life of Pi' plus novels by Patrick White, Thomas Hardy and Somerset Maughan.

Neil Gaiman ought to be on this list way more often- not to mention Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. C'mon, Britain! Do you know what you're missing?

My list:

-Neil Gaiman
-Douglas Adams
-Terry Pratchett
-Christopher Moore
-Gregory Maguire
-Philip Reeve
-Eoin Colfer
-Adrienne Kress
-Robert Rankin

The list, of course, goes on.

I've just finished one David Gemmell book, Sword in the Storm, and nearing the end of another one, Dark Moon, and am thoroughly enjoying his work. I think the plots are great and the way his writing flows makes it hard to put the books down. I recommend it to anybody who is interested in that particular genre and even those who aren't.
Other writers that I enjoy reading are J.R.R.Tolkein and J.K.Rowling.

David Gemmell, I've read a book or two from him :D

I cannot say only one favourite author, but these are my favourites:

1. Terry Pratchett
2. Neil Gaiman (I loved Good Omens with these two writing together *squees*)
3. J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Jane Austen
5. Mika Waltari
6. Stephen King (I think Rose Madder is my favourite)
7. William Blake
8. David Gemmell (I was so sad when he died; I think he's one of the most underrated authors of our time... I adored Dark Moon and it's still one of my all time favourites ever)
9. Philip Pullman
10. Sarah Rees Brennan :)

As a child I would have said Jack London and Albert Payson Terhune.

As a teenager I would have said William Faulkner, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Arthur Conan Doyle.

Today my favourite writers are William Faulkner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and James Joyce.

Liking Graham Greene a lot recently after reading 'Stamboul Train' and 'The Quiet American'

I don't really know that I really have a list of favorites or anything. When I look for books, I pretty much walk in the store and either look for something that sounds interesting or look for something that I'd previously heard about that sounded interesting.

I will say that Stephen King probably does stand out for me, though. I've probably read more of his books than anyone else's (mostly because I started out with the Dark Tower series, which kind of forced me to branch out into his other works). I don't know that I'd say he's full of originality. He himself will admit that he's a student of horror, and his work shows it. You can tell how much writers like Poe and Lovecraft influence his ideas. I, personally, have always liked him for his characterization. My favorite example of this is The Stand, a novel which goes largely unnoticed amidst many of his other works due to a bad taste left by an extremely substandard film. I've always thought his novels fit more into a supernatural suspense genre than the horror genre because I've never really been scared of anything in them. But that's just me.

I cannot say only one favourite author, but these are my favourites:

1. Terry Pratchett
2. Neil Gaiman (I loved Good Omens with these two writing together *squees*)
3. J.R.R. Tolkien
4. Jane Austen
5. Mika Waltari
6. Stephen King (I think Rose Madder is my favourite)
7. William Blake
8. David Gemmell (I was so sad when he died; I think he's one of the most underrated authors of our time... I adored Dark Moon and it's still one of my all time favourites ever)
9. Philip Pullman
10. Sarah Rees Brennan :)


You have really good taste :D My favorite author is Bernard Cornwell, creator of the awesome Sharpe series!

Although he only wrote two complete books, my favorite author is Christopher Reeve, he was very good with sharing insights about life and obstacles.

Stephenie Meyer is my overall favorite, though i have several that have novels that i enjoy.

Goethe

No stand out for me, but here are a few of my favourites.

1) Robert Anton Wilson. Love his crazy fiction, but his non-fiction work is brilliant too. RIP.
2) Iain (M) Banks. The stuff I love is awesome, but some of his work leaves me a little cold.
3) Terry Pratchett. Just gets better all the time.
4) Robert Rankin. Weirder than Pratchett and plays around with language in a way that delights me.
4) Salman Rushdie. Midnight's Children deserved the Booker of Bookers.
5) Jonathan Safran Foer. My favourite writer today and another who plays with language.
6) Julian May. Loved Saga of the Exiles series.
7) Michael Marshall Smith. His early work was great snappy 1st person madness.
8) Robert Heinlein. Stranger in a Strange Land is still my all time favourite book.
9) Kurt Vonnegut. Along with RAW and Carlos Castaneda he changed my life.
10) Carlos Castaneda.

But the number one for me will always be the genius who brough us Winnie-The-Pooh, Mr AA Milne. That book always makes me fee life is beautiful.
Apologies to any I've missed.

A few favorites include F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Roald Dahl, and Louisa May Alcott.

By far Dean Koontz, Tess Gerritsen and Stephen King.

I enjoy suspense; something that pulls me in and holds me till I turn the last page.

J.K. Rowling - The Harry Potter series can hold my attention like no other book. I want to know what happens next so bad I can't stop reading.

Eoin Colfer - The Artemis Fowl series is fairly interesting and keeps my attention well.

Christopher Paolini - The Inheritance Cycle is a great series, especially since the first book was written when the author was a teenager.

J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit is a great book, but I never could get through the LOTR trilogy.

Robin Hobb, for The Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy and The Tawny Man series.

Fantastic character development. You really grow attached to many of the characters in those books. And great plot development aswell.

Christopher Paolini - The Inheritance Cycle is a great series

Man oh man.

C.S. Lewis :)

Lauren Brooke, JK Rowling, Eoin Colfer, and Cornelia Funke all rank pretty high on my list of favourite authors. Oh, and Iris Gower.

Orson Scott Card & J.R.R. Tolkien are beating each other up to determine who wins the tie.

Man oh man.

Are you saying you like the series or not?

I have quite a few favorites myself:

Ray Bradbury: I have read very few stories by him that haven't worked in some way.

Henry Kuttner: The man was an unappreciated genius, what can I say? I don't like his novels very much, though.

Phillip K. Dick: I like his nitty-gritty style, though A Scanner Darkly was kind of boring. (Now Wait for Last Year was his best, I think.)

Some older authors I like are

Alexandre Dumas: Author of the Three Musketeers series. He was my gateway author to classical books.

Lao Tzu: When I was interested in all sorts of different religions, Lao Tzu Dao de Jing was one of the coolest books I ever read.

Victor Hugo: Les Miserables was too long, I think, but the Hunchback of Notre Dame was fantastic and nothing like the Disney version. Too bad he didn't write more.



For the most part, though, I don't like most of the canonical writers in the genre I write in (science fiction).

Christopher Paolini - The Inheritance Cycle is a great series, especially since the first book was written when the author was a teenager.

By the way, it seems a large amount of people (I hesitate to claim a majority) think the Inheritance Cycle was poorly written. I agree but others seemed to like it. We all have our preferences. Try antishurtugal.com for more information. For information opposite antishurtugal, there is, of course, shurtugal.com.

I understand how many people don't like the Inheritance Cycle because it takes bits and pieces from many fantasy novels. I can see the resemblance between the name Eragon and Aragorn from LOTR and other similarities. Despite these, I still think the series is overall an entertaining read.

R.A. Salvatore - Good Writer, fairly easy to follow.
Sarah Ash - Amazing novels, well laid out, but occasionally tend to jump from one spot to the next, although she always has a way of making this fit together in the end.
Robert Jordan - Author of one of my favourite series "The Wheel of Time"
Stephen King - Good horror author, pays good attention to detail.

I understand how many people don't like the Inheritance Cycle because it takes bits and pieces from many fantasy novels. I can see the resemblance between the name Eragon and Aragorn from LOTR and other similarities. Despite these, I still think the series is overall an entertaining read.

I liked it too! Maybe not the "best" writing in the world, but I really like the story! :)

My favourite author has to be Kazuo Ishiguro.

Lao Tzu: When I was interested in all sorts of different religions, Lao Tzu Dao de Jing was one of the coolest books I ever read.



Which translations have you read? My favourite is the Stephen Mitchell translation.

J.K. Rowling (sentimental favorite, grew up on Harry Potter, is still really great)
Stephen Baxter (great hard sci-fi with philosophical underpinnings)
George Orwell (do I really need to say?)
Voltaire (had to read Candide for French, but it was really funny still)

Matthew Reilly - Matthew Reilly is the international bestselling author of nine novels:

1. Contest,
2. Ice Station,
3. Temple,
4. Area 7,
5. Scarecrow,
6. Hover Car Racer (for younger readers),
7. Seven Ancient Wonders,
8. Hell Island(a novella written for Books Alive in 2005), and
9. The Six Sacred Stones.

Published in over 20 countries and known for their highly visual style, fast pace and large-scale action scenes, over 3.5 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.

Matthew’s books have also—unexpectedly—become a major tool in the fight to get teenage males into reading. While written for a mature readership, Matthew’s novels have become very popular with reluctant male readers.

Matthew has also recently created a television show set in the world of publishing called Literary Superstars. To be produced by Darren Star for Sony Pictures Entertainment and starring Jenna Elfman, the pilot is scheduled to be shot late in 2007.

In 2004, Matthew optioned the movie rights to Hover Car Racer to Disney. He had previously optioned the film rights to Ice Station to Paramount Pictures, but that option expired.

A huge movie fan, Matthew owns an extensive range of movie memorabilia, including:

1. A life-sized replica of Han Solo encased in carbonite (from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi)
2. A DeLorean DMC-12 car (from Back to the Future)
3. A very rare Jango Fett replica helmet (from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones)
4. A replica of the Chachapoyan fertility idol (from the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark)

biopic3
Han Solo and the DeLorean;
Jango and the Chachapoyan idol from ‘Raiders’

Matthew has also written several short stories over the years, mainly for the Bulletin magazine’s annual Summer Fiction issue in December. These include:

1. A Bad Day at Fort Bragg
2. The Mine (written for The Sydney Morning Herald in 2000 as a four part serial)
3. The Rock Princess and the Thriller Writer
4. Altitude Rush (written for the anthology, Girls Night In 2)
5. Complex 13
6. Time Tours

biopic4
Artwork for Time Tours
(The Bulletin, 2005, artwork by Glenn Lumsden)

utside of the entertainment industry, Matthew has also partaken in several charity-, celebrity- and publicity-based events. Including:

In 2000, Matthew was a delegate at the What Makes a Champion conference in Sydney. Nelson Mandela gave the opening address at the conference, and it featured such luminaries as Edmund Hillary, Richard Butler and Shane Gould.

On January 1st, 2001, Matthew walked in the Australian Centenary of Federation Parade as a representative of Australian Literature.

He has appeared on the Big Breakfast television show in Britain.

He has appeared on the Good News Week celebrity game show in Brisbane.

Matthew has been engaged by one of Australia's most successful television producers, Hal McElroy - creator of Blue Heelers and Water Rats - to develop a couple of new television series.

In 2001 and 2002, Matthew was a special ambassador for National Youth Week, an initiative designed to get young people to chase their dreams.

In 2003, he is one of the faces of the Australian government's National Literacy and Numeracy Week.

In August, 2003, his book, Ice Station, will be one of six books sold at less than half price as part of a special literacy-driven project called Books Alive.

As part of a charity dinner for the NSW Cancer Council in 2002, he offered to name a character in Scarecrow after the highest bidder. The winner was Alec Christie. Watch for his name in Scarecrow!

Matthew has played in several celebrity cricket matches and golf days alongside members of INXS, rugby union legend Matthew Burke and a host of other Australian celebrities.

He has even trekked to the base of Mount Everest!

Recently Terry Pratchett has been amazing. I really loved his Moving Pictures novel. Phenomenal.

~ The Essential Writer

Finished reading John Banville's 'The Sea' today and it is beatiful, descriptive prose throughout, a joy to read.

Kevin McFadden who is better known as Christopher Pike, a brilliant thriller and even fantasy adventure writer, which somehow surprised me when I was first reading it, it seemed like others but with less background... that quickly changed
Its so eerie to me how well he uses all the elements in his stories, my favorite book would probably be Monster, gawd that was the best Vampire (or at least very close) book I've ever read, it shocked me and had a great ending, like most of his other stories
I remember first reading his Spooksville stories when I was younger, and it brought back memories to read them in a more mature format

My favorite author is Ellen Raskin. She wrote The Westing Game.

I have a few favourites including J.K Rowling, Astrid Lindgren, Lian Hearn, Jodi Picoult and Douglas Adams. They write in very different styles, but they all have the ability to capture me and keep me interested throughout the books.
And yes, I know that Astrid Lindgren wrote children's books, but they are still great despite the fact that I'm way past that age.:D

Darren Shan is definately at the top of my list. Really enjoy his supernatural story series like 'The Demonata' and 'The Saga Of Darren Shan'.

A few years ago, for pure story, it was Stephen King; but JK Rowling bumped him down a notch.
I just wonder... how is she going to top Harry Potter?

For philosophy and characterization, Dostoevsky is my favorite. But I like Proust for his stylistic ability and description.

I can't remember who I stated last time... But a few recent favourites are: Kafka, Camus, Kierkegaard, Vonnegut and Bradbury.

1.George R.R. Martin
2.R.A. Salvatore
3. Jacqueline Carey
4. Robert Jordan (RIP)
5. Ursula Leguin

As you can see I'm a fantasy nerd . :P

Nicholas Sparks all the way!

James Joyce all the way!

And W.S. Graham as favourite poet

Robert Jordan
Terry Brooks
Stephan King
Michael Crichton
Stephanie Meyer

I like:

- Kurt Vonnegut
- Joseph Heller
- Haruki Murakami
- Ray Bradbury
- Margaret Atwood
- Dave Eggers

If I had to choose one that I could not live without, I believe it's a pretty fair competition between Vonnegut and Murakami.

Favorite authors...

George Orwell
Philippa Greggory
Joseph Heller
J.K. Rowling

George R. R. Martin
J.R.R. Tolkein
J.K. Rowling
Robert Jordan
Neil Gaiman
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (they write together)

Ooh, this is a toughy. Lets see.

#1. Christopher Moore - I definately love to follow his style of formating and the fact that he can give so many characters such destinct personalities is amazing.

#2. Lynne Ewing - Though her style of writing is, in my opinion, rather poor, I fell in love with how cliche the characters and plots of her Daughters of the Moon books felt. The little girl in me fell in love to be specific.

#3. Scott Westerfeld - Though I've only read Uglies, Pretties, and Specials I can say that I may very well be in love with his writing. For one thing, I've never read anything so unique before. And that in itself is a challenge for me. And I love challenges.

I'm not sure if I'm replied to this thread already, but my favorite author for years has been Stephen King. I appreciate a good horror story, though I'm going to distance myself from the Fangoria crowds and ravenous fans of gore and gratuitous bloodletting. It's the stories I like. But, this year I've been reading Clive Barker tales, and I'm quickly being converted to a Barker mark. While King has written a few stories I could never get into, what few books of Barker's I have read, I have enjoyed thoroughly.

I have a few that have provided me with lots of inspiration and authors that I will always read.

J.R.R. Tolkien
Terry Brooks
Terry Goodkind
J.K. Rowling