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Hi, I am the daughter of Joan Aiken and have set up this page to share news about her work - there is so much to discover!
Great news is that there is a new Aiken book coming out in 2011 - look out for "The Monkey's Wedding" - a fantastic collection of stories - some never published before - from her most inventive early career when she was just starting out as an up-and-coming fantasy writer on Argosy magazine - read all about it below or check out the Small Beer Website! (see link)

I have also created the official website for her called The Wonderful World of Joan Aiken (see link) where you can find out more about her, and see a timeline of her life in pictures.
This is a picture of her taken at her home in England. During her lifetime from September 4, 1924 – January 4, 2004, she wrote and published over 100 books, and became one of the best loved authors of her time. She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers; her father was Conrad Aiken, the Pulitzer Prize winning US poet. Joan Aiken was taught at home by her mother, a Radcliffe graduate, and started writing from the age of five. During the last war, when still only seventeen she worked for the BBC and then as a young widowed mother of two children, joined Argosy Magazine, before she was able to start writing full time from home, alternating between children's books and thrillers. In later life she was also known for her sequels to Jane Austen novels. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972) and was awarded an OBE by the Queen for her services to children's literature..
Many of her most popular books, including the Wolves Chronicles, were set in an elaborate alternate history of Britain in which her imagination could run wild, and desperate plotters called "Hanoverians" continually agitate against the monarchy, but are frequently defeated by cockney heroine Dido Twite and friends. Another popular series was about Arabel Jones and her crazy raven Mortimer. She is known for her wonderful collections of short stories, one of which "The Serial Garden" was recently published as a complete collection.
A new volume of previously unpublished stories to be called "The Monkey's Wedding" is due out in the USA this year!

Hi, I am the daughter of Joan Aiken and have set up this page to share news about her work - there is so much to discover! Great news is that there is a new Aiken book coming out in 2011 - look out for "The Monkey's Wedding" - a fantastic collection of stories - some never published before - from her most inventive early career when she was just starting out as an up-and-coming fantasy ... More