Peter S. Beagle

Peter Soyer Beagle (born April 20 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. He is also a talented guitarist and folk singer. He wrote his first novel, "A Fine and Private Place," when he was only 19 years old. Today he is best known as the author of "The Last Unicorn," which routinely polls as one of the top ten fantasy novels of all time, and at least two of his other books ("A Fine and Private Place" and "I See By My Outfit") are considered modern classics.

He wrote the teleplay for episode 71 of the television series "," titled "Sarek." He wrote the screenplay for the 1978 Ralph Bakshi-animated version of "The Lord of the Rings," the film which first inspired a teenaged Peter Jackson to read J.R.R. Tolkien, and he wrote an introduction page for the American edition of "The Lord of the Rings" in the early 1970s.

His work as a screenwriter interrupted his early career direction as a novelist, magazine nonfiction author, and short-story writer. But in the mid-'90s he returned to prose fiction of all lengths, and has produced new works at a steady pace since.

In addition to his own body of work, he is heir to the literary estates of science fiction author Edgar Pangborn, Edgar's sister and sometime collaborator Mary, and their mother Georgia Wood Pangborn. Since 2003 he has been working to bring the best of these three authors' fiction back into print.

In 2005 he finally published a coda to "The Last Unicorn", a novelette entitled "Two Hearts," and began work on a full-novel sequel. In 2006, "Two Hearts" won the prestigious Hugo Award for Best Novelette and in 2007 it won the Nebula Award in the same category. The story was also nominated as a short fiction finalist for the World Fantasy Award. In 2006, Beagle won the Inkpot Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science Fiction and Fantasy. In 2007, Beagle won the inaugural WSFA Small Press Award for "El Regalo," published in "The Line Between" (Tachyon Publications).

Peter S. Beagle now lives in Oakland, California.

Dispute with Granada Media

Peter S. Beagle's book "The Last Unicorn" was made into an animated film in 1982, based on a screenplay written by Beagle himself. In 1979 Peter had a contract with ITC Entertainment which entitled Peter to 5% of the net profits in the animated property and 5% of the gross revenues from any film-related merchandising from the animated film. Since 1999 this film has been controlled by a British company, Granada Media International (a subsidiary of ITV plc). Peter S. Beagle is now involved in a financial dispute with Granada Media over nonpayment of contractually-due profit and merchandising shares. The total amount due might total as much as several hundred thousand dollars.

Books

* "A Fine and Private Place," 1960 (novel)
* "I See By My Outfit: Cross-Country by Scooter, an Adventure," 1965 (nonfiction)
* "The Last Unicorn", 1968 (novel)
* "The California Feeling," 1969 (with photographer Michael Bry, nonfiction)
* "Lila the Werewolf," 1974 (chapbook edition of previously-published novelette)
* "American Denim," 1975 (nonfiction art book)
* "The Lady and Her Tiger," 1976 (with Pat Derby, nonfiction)
* "The Fantasy Worlds of Peter S. Beagle," 1978 (omnibus collection including "A Fine and Private Place," "The Last Unicorn," "Come Lady Death," and "Lila the Werewolf")
* "The Garden of Earthly Delights," 1982 (nonfiction art book)
* "The Folk of the Air," 1986 (novel, currently being rewritten and expanded for new release)
* "The Innkeeper's Song," 1993 (novel)
* "In the Presence of the Elephants," 1995 (nonfiction photo book)
* "Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn," 1995 (co-editor, original story anthology, split into two volumes when reprinted in paperback: "Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn" in 1998 and "Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn 2" in 1999)
* "The Unicorn Sonata," 1996 (young adult novel, currently being rewritten and expanded into a 4-book series)
* "Giant Bones," 1997 (collection of original stories set in the world of "The Innkeeper's Song")
* "The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances," 1997 (collection of fiction and nonfiction essays)
* "The Magician of Karakosk and Other Stories," 1999 (foreign edition title for "Giant Bones" collection)
* "Tamsin," 1999 (novel)
* "A Dance for Emilia," 2000 (hardcover giftbook edition of novella)
* "The Line Between," 2006 (story collection)
* "Your Friendly Neighborhood Magician: Songs and Early Poems," 2006 (limited edition chapbook collection of song lyrics and poetry)
* "The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version," 2007 (1000-copy limited collector's edition for Subterranean Press)
* "Strange Roads," 2008 (3-story chapbook collaboration with Lisa Snellings-Clark for Dreamhaven Books)

Audiobooks

* "The Last Unicorn," 1990 (severely abridged, cassette only, read by Peter)
* "A Fine and Private Place," 2002 (unabridged CD & cassette, read by Peter)
* "Giant Bones," 2002 (unabridged CD & cassette, read by Peter)
* "Tamsin," 2002 (unabridged CD & cassette, read by Peter)
* "The Last Unicorn," 2005 (unabridged CD & download, read by Peter, with original music by Jeff Slingluff)

Produced screenplays

* "The Dove", 1974
* "The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened", 1977
* "The Lord of the Rings", 1978
* "The Last Unicorn", 1982
* "Sarek" (for ""), 1990
* "A Whale of a Tale" (pilot episode for TV series version of The Little Mermaid), 1992
* "Camelot", 1996
* "A Tale of Egypt", 1996

Upcoming books

* "Two Hearts," 2008 (limited chapbook edition of Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novelette sequel to "The Last Unicorn")
* "Writing Sarek," 2008 (Star Trek nonfiction with annotated "Sarek" teleplay) [cite web | url = http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue456/interview.html | title = Peter S. Beagle goes back to his fine and private place to continue the saga of The Last Unicorn | last = Hennessey-DeRose | first = Cristopher | publisher = Science Fiction Weekly | accessdate = 2006-07-20 ]
* "Sméagol, Déagol, and Beagle: Essays From the Headwaters of My Voice," 2008 (nonfiction essay collection)
* "Summerlong," 2008 (magical realist novel set in modern-day Seattle)
* "The First Last Unicorn and Other Beginnings," 2008 (story collection with additional essay material)
* "Three Faces of The Lady," 2008 (collection centered on "Come Lady Death")
* "I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons," 2008 (YA novel)
* "We Never Talk About My Brother," 2008 (short fiction collection for Tachyon Publications)
* "Sweet Lightning," 2009 (1950s baseball fantasy novel)

References

External links

* [http://www.peterbeagle.com Official Peter Beagle website]
* [http://www.peterbeagle.com/index2.shtml Unofficially Peter S. Beagle] - to be superseded by the site above when that is fully ready
* [http://www.conlanpress.com Conlan Press, Peter's affiliated American publisher for books, audiobooks, and signed editions]
* [http://www.conlanpress.com/youcanhelp/ Conlan Press champions Beagle's fight for his royalties]
* [http://www.conlanpress.com/html/fans_speak.html Peter S. Beagle's fans speak out in support of his legal fight]
* [http://greenmanreview.com/oneoffs/peterbeagle.html Green Man Review Special Peter S. Beagle issue] - massive review of all Peter's works, plus articles, audio, insider info, and poetry
* [http://swindlemagazine.com/issueicons/peter-s-beagle/ SWINDLE Magazine Interview with Peter S. Beagle]