Robert Rankin

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Robert Rankin
Born	(1949-07-27) 27 July 1949 (age 62) Parsons Green, London, UK
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	British
Period	1981-present
Genres	Fantasy, Fiction

Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British humorous novelist. Born in Parsons Green, London, he started writing in the late 1970s, and first entered the bestsellers lists with Snuff Fiction in 1999, by which time his previous eighteen books had sold around one million copies.^[1][2] His books are a mix of science fiction, fantasy, the occult, urban legends, running gags, metafiction, steampunk and outrageous characters. According to the (largely fictional) biography printed in some Corgi editions of his books, Rankin refers to his style as 'Far Fetched Fiction' in the hope that bookshops will let him have a section to himself. Many of Rankin's books are bestsellers.

Most of Rankin's books are set in Brentford, a suburb of London where the author grew up, and which, in his novels, is usually infested with alien conspiracies and/or ancient evil.

In addition to his novels, Rankin held a position as the Writer in Residence of Brentford's Watermans Arts Centre during the 1980s,^[3] and organised a regular poetry event there which he claims was the largest in Britain.^{[citation needed]} He also has performed on stage with a variety of bands.

Named after Rankin's fixation with the vegetable, there is a fan club called The Order of the Golden Sprout who maintain a web site (see external links below) and arrange events, many around Brentford.^[4] In 2009 he was created the first Fellow of The Victorian Steampunk Society in recognition of his unique contribution to the genre. He lives in Brighton with his wife.

Bibliography

• The Antipope (1981) (see also The Brentford Trilogy)
• The Brentford Triangle (1982) (see also The Brentford Trilogy)
• East of Ealing (1984) (see also The Brentford Trilogy)
• The Sprouts of Wrath (1984) (see also The Brentford Trilogy)
• Armageddon: The Musical (1988) (Armageddon Series)
• They Came and Ate Us (Armageddon II: The B Movie) (1991) (Armageddon Series)
• The Suburban Book of the Dead (Armageddon III: The Remake) (1992) (Armageddon Series)
• The Book of Ultimate Truths (1993) (Cornelius Murphy Series)
• Raiders of the Lost Car Park (1994) (Cornelius Murphy Series)
• The Greatest Show Off Earth (1994)
• The Most Amazing Man Who Ever Lived (1995) (Cornelius Murphy Series)
• The Garden of Unearthly Delights (1995)
• A Dog Called Demolition (1996)
• Nostradamus Ate My Hamster (1996)
• Sprout Mask Replica (1997)
• The Brentford Chainstore Massacre (1997) (see also The Brentford Trilogy)
• The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag (1998)
• Apocalypso (1998)
• Snuff Fiction (1999)
• Sex and Drugs and Sausage Rolls (1999) (see also The Brentford Trilogy)
• Waiting for Godalming (2000)
• Web Site Story (2001)
• Fandom of the Operator (2001)
• The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse (2002)
• The Witches of Chiswick (2003)
• Knees Up Mother Earth (2004) (see also The Brentford Trilogy)
• The Brightonomicon (2005) (see also The Brentford Trilogy)
• The Toyminator (2006)
• The Da-da-de-da-da Code (2007)
• Necrophenia (2008)
• Retromancer (2009)
• The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions (2010)
• The Mechanical Messiah and Other Marvels of the Modern Age (2011)
• The Educated Ape and Other Wonders of the Worlds (2012)

Anthologies containing stories by Robert Rankin

• The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy (1998) ^[5]

Short stories

• The Boscombe Walters Story (1996) ^[5]

Illustrated works

• The Bumper Book of Ficts Neil Gardner, illustrated by Robert Rankin (2010)
• EMPIRES written and illustrated by Robert Rankin (2011)

Awards

• British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (1997) for The Brentford Chainstore Massacre
• SFX Best Novel Award Winner (2003) for The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse
• British Fantasy Society Best Novel nominee (2006) for The Brightonomicon
• Coventry Inspiration Book Awards (2007) Lost Worlds: for The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse
• The Hub Best Comedy (Audio) Award for "The Brightonomicon - Audio Series"
• Fellow of The Victorian Steampunk Society (2009)

Other media

Unlike his contemporary Terry Pratchett, Rankin has not been embraced by other media to any particular level of success. However, this changed in 2008 when The Brightonomicon was adapted into a 13 part full-cast audio drama by Hokus Bloke Productions and BBC Audiobooks starring Andy Serkis, David Warner, Jason Isaacs, Rupert Degas, Mark Wing-Davey, Martin Jarvis and Sarah Douglas. Initially released as a 7 CD boxset and as a digital download, the series has now been re-edited for radio transmission, and Robert's first ever radio series aired on BBC7 from 23 August to 15 November 2008. Rankin has also had his novel The Antipope dramatised for audio, and has also read unabridged versions of many of his novels as audiobooks. He also currently writes a free, full colour webcomic called Robert Rankin's Empires for Beyond Reality Media in New Zealand.

• The Brightonomicon - audio drama & radio series (BBC7)
• The Antipope - audio drama & audiobook
• The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse - audiobook
• The Toyminator - audiobook
• The Fandom of the Operator - audiobook
• Nostradamus Ate My Hamster - audiobook

Art and illustration

Rankin studied at Ealing School of Art, where he was a contemporary of Freddie Mercury and Alan Lee. He worked for Playboy magazine and illustrated a book about The Beatles before his portfolio was stolen and he abandoned the idea of working as a professional illustrator.^[6] However he created many of the sculptures which feature on his book covers, many of which were on display at The Collection, a gallery in Lincoln during September 2010.^[7] Some of these works were previously exhibited in Waterstones, Brighton, and at Gunnersbury Park Museum in 2007-8.^[8] In 2009 Rankin was commissioned by his publisher to provide a series of new illustrations for his back catalogue of books (from The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse to the present), he also created new internal illustrations for The Brightonomicon, Retromancer and The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions. A cartoon by Rankin "The Robot and the Elongated Author" was published in Issue 13 of Murky Depths, and 2010 also saw the publication of his first illustrated book, written by Neil Gardner: "The Bumper Book of Ficts", which was launched on 18 September 2010 in Brentford.^[9] A limited hard-back edition of "Empires" is due to be launched in the UK mid-2012.

References

1. ^ James Shields (1970-01-01). "Robert Rankin Interview". Sproutlore. http://www.sproutlore.com/sproutloreinterview.php. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
2. ^ Australian dollar (2006-07-25). "The Witches of Chiswick (Gollancz S.F.), Robert Rankin". Fishpond.com.au. http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Witches-of-Chiswick-Robert-Rankin/9780575075450. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
3. ^ Watermans | About :: Our Approach History^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "Order of the Golden Sprout". Thegoldensprout.com. 2012-01-21. http://www.thegoldensprout.com/. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Robert Rankin". Fantasticfiction.co.uk. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/robert-rankin/. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
6. ^ Bizarre Magazine, September 2010
7. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "Robert Rankin, The Brentford Triangle". Hounslow Chronicle. 2008-06-10. http://www.hounslowchronicle.co.uk/west-london-lifestyle/whats-on-london/arts-exhibitions-london/2008/06/10/robert-rankin-the-brentford-triangle-109642-21050391/. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 
9. ^ "Robert Rankin". Ja-jp.facebook.com. http://ja-jp.facebook.com/robertrankin?filter=1. Retrieved 2012-02-21. 

External links

• Order of the Golden Sprout - The new Official Robert Rankin Fanclub
• Robert Rankin author info
• Robert Rankin Hallucinated (1999 interview article)
• FantasticFiction.co.uk,Authors R, Robert Rankin
• Rankin Bibliography and Biography
• Robert Rankin at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database