About John Matthews

> Interview with John Matthews

John Matthews is an historian, folklorist and author. He has been a full time writer since 1980 and has produced over ninety books on the Arthurian Legends and Grail Studies, as well as short stories and a volume of poetry. He has devoted much of the past thirty years to the study of Arthurian Traditions and myth in general. His best known and most widely read works are ‘Pirates’ (Carlton/Atheneum), No 1 children’s book on the New York Times Review best-seller list for 22 weeks in 2006, ‘The Grail, Quest for Eternal Life’ (Thames & Hudson, 1981) ‘The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom’ (Element, 1994) and ‘The Winter Solstice’ (Quest Books, 1999) which won the Benjamin Franklin Award for that year. His book ‘Celtic Warrior Chiefs’ was a New York Public Library recommended title for young people.

John has been involved in a number of media projects, as an advisor and contributor, including an animated Arthurian TV series, a film about the magical defence of Britain during the 2nd World War, and The Real Merlin for Cannel 4 UK. In 2003 he was the historical advisor to the Jerry Bruckheimer movie King Arthur, and has made appearances on both History Channel and Discovery Channel specials on Arthur and the Holy Grail.

Much in demand as a speaker both in Europe and the USA, he has taught at (among others) the Temenos Academy in London, St Hilda's College, Oxford, and at the New York Open Centre, The Omega Centre, and the University of Seattle in Washington. He has also worked in collaboration with the Joseph Campbell Foundation and Lorian Association, with whom he continues to retain contact. Despite other commitments he manages to find time to continue his studies and is working on several new projects, including a series of Graphic novels on King Arthur and a top-secret project about faeries. He has just sold his first movie script and is currently developing several others He is married to the writer Caitlín Matthews. Their son, Emrys, recently published his own first book, The Teen Oracle. The Matthews live in Oxford, England.

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