Clive Barker
Clive Barker was born on October 5th, 1952 and is currently 72 years old. Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England. Barker attended the University of Liverpool.
Clive Barker is primarily known as an English visual artist, director, and author who for the most part writes in the dark fantasy and horror genres. Leonard Barker, his father, worked for an industrial relations firm as a human resources director, and Joan Ruby, his mother, was a school welfare officer and painter.
Given Barker’s mother’s predilections, he started dabbling in artistic endeavors in school where he was a member of the school theater. Early on in his career as an artist, he used to work as a male prostitute to make ends meet. But he would find success with
The Dog Company, a theater group he founded in 1978.
Clive Barker published
The Damnation Game, his first novel, in 1985, even as he wrote the scripts for the movies
Rawhead Rex and
Underworld. However, he was so disappointed by the two movies that he decided to convert some of his written stories into a movie that would become the 1987 released
Hellraiser, the cult classic which he also directed.
Outside of his work in the movies and in literature, he has also worked as an illustrator and visual artist, He has been contracted to work on visual arts projects, comic books, and television and has also illustrated his own books.
The Great and Secret Show is a work that Clive Barker published in 1989. The focus is on the greatest power ever known to man known as
The Art, which Fletcher a force for light, and Jaff an evil spirit are fighting over. The conflict between these two results in a decades-long conflict that affects all humans and distorts reality.
Clive Barker published the second novel of the
Art Books series
Everville in 1994. The work is set in Everville, which sits between the world of Quiddity and this world. For years, it never knew about the treasures on its coasts, but Clive Barker opens the doors and reveals the forces that have shaped the past and are preparing to destroy the future.
In 1987, Clive Barker published his second standalone novel
Weaveworld. It opens with Susanna Parish summoned to Liverpool when her grandma suffers a stroke. Working with a man on the run named Cal Mooney, they find themselves in a strange world underneath her grandmother's carpet. It is a place where a few magical beings had fled to escape the Scourge, a very dark evil and human persecution too.
Clive Barker: Awards & Accolades
Clive Barker won the Bram Stoker Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2012.
Clive Barker has won many awards including:
- Books of Blood I-III won the World Fantasy Award, Collection, in 1985.
- In the Hills, the Cities won the British Fantasy Award, Best Short Story, in 1985.
- The Forbidden won the British Fantasy Award, Best Short Story, in 1986.
- Coldheart Canyon won the Audie Award, Best Male Narrator, in 2002.
- Days of Magic, Nights of War won the Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in Work for Young Readers, in 2004.
- Dark Delicacies won the Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in an Anthology, in 2005.
- Demons: Encounters with the Devil and His Minions, Fallen Angels, and the Possessed won the Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in an Anthology, in 2011.
- Behold! Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders won the Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in an Anthology, in 2017.
The following novels by Clive Barker were also nominated for these awards:
- Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament: World Fantasy Award, Novella (1985).
- The Damnation Game: World Fantasy Award, Novel (1986). Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in a First Novel (1987).
- The Hellbound Heart: World Fantasy Award, Novella (1987). British Fantasy Award, Best Short Story (1987).
- Weaveworld: World Fantasy Award, Novel (1988).
- Cabal: World Fantasy Award, Collection (1989).
- Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror: Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction (1997).
- Sacrament: British Fantasy Award, Best Horror Novel (the August Derleth Award) (1997).
- Abarat: The First Book of Hours: Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in Work for Young Readers (2002).
- Days of Magic, Nights of War: British Fantasy Award, Best Horror Novel (the August Derleth Award) (2005).
- Haeckel\'s: Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in Short Fiction (2005).
- Shrouded by Darkness: Tales of Terror: British Fantasy Award, Best Anthology (2007).
- Dark Delicacies II: Fear: Shirley Jackson Award, Best Anthology (2007). Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in an Anthology (2007).
- Hellbound Hearts: British Fantasy Award, Best Anthology (2010).
- The Scarlet Gospels: Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in a Novel (2015). Goodreads Awards, Best Horror (2015).
- Gutted: Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in an Anthology (2016).
- The Beauty of Death, Vol. 2: Bram Stoker Awards, Superior Achievement in an Anthology (2017).
Related Authors
The most common authors followed by users who also follow Clive Barker are:
- Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
- Neil Gaiman, author of the American Gods Series.
- J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter Series.
- George R.R. Martin, author of the A Song Of Ice and Fire Series.
- Michael Crichton, author of the Jurassic Park Series.
Clive Barker: F.A.Q
When was Clive Barker Born? How old is Clive Barker?
Clive Barker was born on October 5th, 1952. Clive Barker is currently 72 years old.
Where was Clive Barker Born?
Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England and is English.
What awards has Clive Barker won?
Clive Barker has won the following awards: Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bram Stoker Awards (2012).
What book awards has Clive Barker won?
What was the first book Clive Barker wrote?
The first book written by Clive Barker was Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament, published in 1984.
What was the most recent book Clive Barker wrote?
His most recently released work was Clive Barker's the Body Book on December 26th, 2018.
Will there be any more books by Clive Barker?
Clive Barker does not have any upcoming books with a set publication date within the next few months at this time.
How many books has Clive Barker written?
Clive Barker has written 69 books across 34 series, excluding contributions to anthologies.
- 2 books in the Book of the Art Series
- 3 books in the Imajica Series
- 3 books in the Abarat Series
- 6 books in the Books of Blood Series
- 1 book in the Galilee Series
- 5 books in the Clive Barker's Hellraiser (2011) Series
- 3 books in the Clive Barker's Next Testament Series
- 4 books in the Clive Barker's Book of the Damned Series
- 7 Standalone Novels
- 16 Short Stories/Novellas
- 11 Short Story Collections
- 2 Graphic Novels
- 6 Non-Fiction
- 1 P. Craig Russell Graphic Novels
- 1 Roger Corman Graphic Novels