John Gwynne is the author of epic fantasy series The Faithful and the Fallen, Of Blood and Bone and most recently, The Bloodsworn Saga. Before becoming a writer, he studied and lectured at Brighton University. He’s played double bass in a rock ‘n’ roll band, packed soap in a soap factory and dug ditches for a landscaping crew.
He is married with four children, five goats, five sheep, three dogs, two horses and four ducks and lives in East Sussex, where he is part of a Viking re-enactment group. When not writing or running around after his wife and her crazy animals he can be found standing in a shield wall with his three sons about him.
His animals think he is their slave.
Malice, his debut novel, was published by Pan Macmillan in 2012 and went on to win the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Debut of 2012. It was a truly wonderful moment for John, as David Gemmell was a hero of his and one of the reasons he writes.
The following three books in the series - Valour, Ruin and Wrath, were all shortlisted for the David Gemmell Legend Award for Best Fantasy Novels of 2014, 2015 and 2016, with Wrath winning the 2017 BookNest Awards for Best Traditionally Published Novel.
His second series, of Blood and Bone, is set in the Banished Lands, the same world as the first series. Book 1, A Time of Dread, begins 130 years after the events of the first series. A Time of Courage, book 3 of Of Blood and Bone, made the Spiegel Bestseller's List in Germany.
His latest trilogy is set in an entirely new world. The Bloodsworn Saga is inspired by Norse mythology, Beowulf and Ragnarök. We follow a grim world of mercenary bands, monsters, and fallen gods. The Shadow of the Gods won the 2021 Stabby Award for Best Novel of 2021. The second instalment, The Hunger of the Gods, won the publicly voted FanFiAddict Award for Best Traditional Book of 2022. The third instalment, The Fury of the Gods, was an instant New York Times Bestseller
John is represented by Julie Crisp.