Patrick Rothfuss

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Patrick Rothfuss
Photo portrait of Patrick Rothfuss by Kyle Cassidy
Rothfuss in 2014
BornPatrick James Rothfuss
(1973-06-06) June 6, 1973 (age 48)
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
OccupationWriter
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (B.A.)
Washington State University (M.A.)[citation needed]
GenreFantasy
Notable awardsQuill Award (2007), David Gemmell Award (2012)
Children2
SignaturePatrick Rothfuss signature
Website
patrickrothfuss.com

Patrick James Rothfuss (born June 6, 1973) is an American writer of epic fantasy. He is best known for his projected trilogy The Kingkiller Chronicle, which has won him several awards, including the 2007 Quill Award for his debut novel, The Name of the Wind. Its sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, topped The New York Times Best Seller list.

Early life[]

Patrick Rothfuss was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and received his B.A. in English from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point in 1999.[1] He contributed to The Pointer, the campus paper,[2] and produced a widely circulated parody warning about the Goodtimes Virus.[3] He received an M.A. at Washington State University, and returned to teach at Stevens Point.[4][failed verification] In 2002, he won the Writers of the Future 2002 Second Quarter competition with "The Road to Levenshir," an excerpt from his then-unpublished novel The Wise Man's Fear.[5]

Career[]

Writing[]

In 2006, Rothfuss sold his novel The Name of the Wind to DAW Books, which was released in 2007. It won a Quill Award (for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror)[6] and was listed among Publishers Weekly's Books of the Year. It also won an Alex Award in 2008.[7] An illustrated tenth anniversary edition was published in 2017.[8] Its sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, was published in March 2011 and reached No. 1 on the New York Times Hardback Fiction Best Seller List.[9]

The Slow Regard of Silent Things, an illustrated novella, was published in October 2014 as a companion story for The Kingkiller Chronicle, centring on the character Auri.

Rothfuss has also released two stories set in the same world as The Kingkiller Chronicle in anthologies. The first was "How Old Holly Came To Be", published in Unfettered in June 2013. The second was the novella The Lightning Tree, released in Rogues in June 2014, featuring the character Bast. The whole anthology was nominated for the 2015 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology.[10]

In July 2020, Rothfuss's editor and publisher Betsy Wollheim responded publicly on her Facebook account to an article speculating on reasons why The Doors of Stone, the concluding volume of the trilogy, had not been published, [11] saying she had "never seen a word of book three" and that she didn't think Rothfuss had written anything since 2014.[12] The post has since been deleted.[13]

Charity[]

Rothfuss organizes the charity Worldbuilders, which, since 2008, has raised over $11.5 million, primarily for Heifer International, a charity that provides livestock, clean water, education, and training for communities in the developing world.[14][15] By 2020, Worldbuilders had raised over $10 million in support of Heifer.[16]

Podcasts[]

In August 2012, Rothfuss began a monthly podcast, The Story Board, on fantasy, featuring authors such as Terry Brooks and Brandon Sanderson.[17] The Story Board ran for eight episodes.

In June 2015, he and Max Temkin started a podcast, Unattended Consequences, then named Untitled Patrick Rothfuss.[18] The podcast concluded in 2018.

Roleplaying and games[]

In 2014, Rothfuss began collaborating with James Ernest to create an abstract strategy game called Tak based on the game featured in his book The Wise Man's Fear.[19]

Rothfuss has played a character named Viari in the Penny Arcade's live Dungeons & Dragons games known as Acquisitions Inc. from Season 7 onward, as well as a guest role in its spin-off show "The 'C' Team". He also role-played as guest character Kerrek in Geek and Sundry's show Critical Role episode 56, "Hope," and again in episodes 81–84.[20] He also recorded a letter his character wrote which was heard in episode 69, "Passed Through Fire".[21]

Rothfuss was a guest on Wil Wheaton's Tabletop, playing Lords of Waterdeep on Episode 10 of Season 2, which he won.[22]

He was a member of the Story Design team for inXile's Torment: Tides of Numenera game.[23]

Works[]

The Kingkiller Chronicle[]

Related stories:

  • "How Old Holly Came To Be" – short story. (July 2013, Grim Oak Press), Unfettered, edited by Shawn Speakman. ISBN 978-0-9847136-3-9
  • The Lightning Tree – novella. (June 2014, Bantam) Rogues, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. ISBN 978-0345537263
  • The Slow Regard of Silent Things (October 2014, DAW Books). ISBN 978-0-7564-1043-8

The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle[]

  • The Thing Beneath the Bed (2010)
  • The Dark of Deep Below (2013)

Others[]

  • The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed (July 2010, Subterranean Press).
  • The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Dark of Deep Below (2013, Subterranean Press), a sequel to The Thing Beneath the Bed.
  • Your Annotated, Illustrated College Survival Guide (January 2005, Cornerstone Press).
  • Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons (w/ Jim Zubkavich, 4 issues August 2018-January 2019, tpb March 2019, IDW Publishing).

Awards and honors[]

  • Writers of the Future (2002 Second Quarter)[5]
  • Quill Award (2007)[24]
  • "Best Books of the Year" (2007) – Publishers Weekly – Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror[25]
  • Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Epic Fantasy (2007)[26]
  • NPR Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books (2011)[27]
  • "David Gemmell Legend Award" (2012)[28][29]
  • Ranked 3rd in "Best 21st Century Fantasy Fiction Novels" by Locus (2012)[30]

References[]

  1. ^ "Patrick Rothfuss: Worldbuilder". Locus. August 12, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  2. ^ Rothfuss, Patrick (May 8, 2008). "Your College Survival Guide: The End". The Pointer. University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
  3. ^ "Legend/AntiLegend: Humor as an Integral Part of the Contemporary Legend Process", in Rumor Mills: The Social Impact of Rumor and Legend, ed. Gary Alan Fine, Veronique Campion-Vincent, and Chip Heath, pp. 131-33. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. ISBN 978-0-202-30747-3
  4. ^ Rothfuss, Patrick (2007). "Bio". Patrick Rothfuss official website. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "2002". Writers of the Future Contest Winners. Author Services, Inc. 2007. Archived from the original on September 9, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  6. ^ "2007 Quill Award Winners". WNBC.com (Internet Archive). Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  7. ^ "2008 Alex Awards". ala.org. Young Adult Library Services Association, American Library Association. January 14, 2008. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  8. ^ Rocket, Stubby the (May 11, 2017). "The Name of the Wind Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary with a Gorgeous Illustrated Edition". Tor.com. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  9. ^ "Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers". The New York Times. March 20, 2011 – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ^ "World Fantasy Awards 2015". sfadb.com. November 8, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  11. ^ Whalen, Andrew (July 27, 2020). ""Kingkiller Chronicle" editor believes author hasn't written anything for years". Newsweek. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  12. ^ Whalen, Andrew (July 27, 2020). "'Kingkiller Chronicle' Editor Believes Author Hasn't Written Anything for Years". Newsweek. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  13. ^ Flood, Alison. "First George RR Martin, now Patrick Rothfuss: the curse of sequel-hungry fans". The Guardian.
  14. ^ "Our Story - History". worldbuilders.org. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  15. ^ "Geeks Doing Good". worldbuilders.org. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  16. ^ "Author Pat Rothfuss on Fundraising for Heifer International via Worldbuilders, Joy in a Dark Time and What It Means to Be a Geek". Heifer International. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  17. ^ "The Story Board". Geek & Sundry. Archived from the original on August 14, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2019 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ "Rothfuss podcast starts second season". StevensPointJournal.com. Stevens Point Journal Media. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  19. ^ "Tak Abstract Strategy Game". Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  20. ^ "Critical Role: Episode 56 - Hope". Geek and Sundry. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  21. ^ "Critical Role: Episode 69 - Passed Through Fire". Geek and Sundry. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  22. ^ "Lords of Waterdeep: Felicia Day, Pat Rothfuss, and Brandon Laatsch Join Wil on TableTop SE2E10". Geek & Sundry. Retrieved January 3, 2019 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ Hafer, T. J. (April 4, 2013). "Torment: Tides of Numenera interview with Colin McComb and Patrick Rothfuss". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  24. ^ "UWSP lecturer honored at 2007 Quill Awards" (Press release). University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point. October 26, 2007. Archived from the original on August 24, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  25. ^ "PW's Best Books of the Year". Publishers Weekly. November 5, 2007. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2009.
  26. ^ "RT Award Nominees & Winners". RT Book Reviews. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  27. ^ "Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books". npr.org. August 11, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  28. ^ DeNardo, John (June 17, 2012). "Winners: 2012 David Gemmell Award." SFSignal.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  29. ^ (2012-06-15) "David Gemmell Legend Award Winners 2012 Announced Archived September 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine." GemmellAward.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  30. ^ "Locus Announces Winners of "Best Novels of 20th and 21st Century" Poll". Tor.com. December 22, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2013.

External links[]

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