'True luminary' Christopher Priest dies aged 80

Science Fiction author Christopher Priest has died of cancer, aged 80, working until his final days on a biography of J G Ballard. The trade has paid tribute to the "humour, mischief and intelligence" of the multi-award winning novelist, journalist and critic whose work spanned half a century.

The 80-year-old died on Friday (2nd February) following a diagnosis of small-cell carcinoma in the summer of 2023.

Priest was the author of 18 novels, including the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and World Fantasy Award-winning The Prestige (Simon & Schuster (UK) in 1995 which was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film of the same name, directed by Christopher Nolan. He was published by several major publishers over his half-century career, across both fiction and non-fiction.

Born in rural Cheshire, England, his first novel Indoctrinaire was published in 1970 by Faber. He was named among the inaugural Granta Best of Young British Novelists list in 1983, alongside Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, Pat Barker and Martin Amis.

His books have been translated into over 20 languages around the world. He has won many awards in the UK and abroad: as well as The Prestige he won the Arthur C Clarke Award in 2003, the Kurd Lasswitz Award (Germany), the Eurocon Award (Yugoslavia), the Ditmar Award (Australia), and Le Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire (France). In 2001 he was awarded the Prix Utopia (France) for lifetime achievement.

His most recent novel, Airside, is published by Gollancz. Up until the final days before his death, he was working on his latest book, a biography of J G Ballard, entitled The Illuminated Man, to be published by Bloomsbury.

He is survived by his wife, the novelist and critic Nina Allan, and his children, Simon and Elizabeth.

Priest’s literary agent Max Edwards said: “Christopher Priest was a true luminary. Like his near-contemporary J G Ballard, a biography of whom he was writing in his final months, he achieved the rare distinction of being lauded in both the literary and speculative fiction worlds. For over half a century he gave us an imagination as brilliant as his prose. The SF scene in Britain in particular is populated by his friends and those he has mentored, and will be the smaller for his passing.”

Marcus Gipps, Christopher’s longtime editor at Gollancz said of the writer: “Gollancz and Orion are devastated to have lost Chris, whose extraordinary novels we have had the joy of publishing since 2011. The remarkable output of his latter years stands alongside the best fiction of any genre, and to be home to the groundbreaking titles of his earlier career as well is an honour. 

"On a personal level it was always wonderful to see Chris, a mainstay of the British SF scene, and talk with him about writing, the genre, the state of the world and much more besides. He was always interesting, interested, and happy to share his experience with others. His books will stand the test of time, and it has been one of the highlights of my career to be his editor and publisher. All of our love goes to Nina and his wider family.”

Tomasz Hoskins, Christopher’s editor at Bloomsbury, said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to work with such an outstanding man as Christopher Priest – I will cherish our discussions about J G Ballard, his sense of humour and mischief, and his intelligence. 

"His was a unique mind, and his legacy is a generation of intelligent science fiction writers inspired by his work and that of his contemporaries. Our thoughts at Bloomsbury are with his wife Nina, and his family.”

For all enquiries, contact Edwards on medwards@aevitascreative.com.