Occupation Author | Nationality American-British | |
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Period Past, Present and Future Genre Adult and Children's Fiction and Non-fiction; Travel, Fantasy, Science Fiction; Poetry Subject folklore, theology/philosophy, environment/ecology Books Jane Eyre: The Graphic Novel : Quick Text Version, Take the Kids: Ireland | ||
Amy Corzine is an American fiction and non-fiction writer and poet. Her first book was a Cadogan travel guide to Ireland for families in which she included stories she wrote based on Irish folktales. After that, Watkins Publishing commissioned her for 'The Secret Life of the Universe: The Quest for the Soul of Science'. Then Classical Comics asked her to adapt Charlotte Brontë's 'Jane Eyre' into graphic novel form.
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Early life
Amy Corzine was born in South Carolina but spent most of her younger days in Fort Worth, Texas. Mythology, fairy tales, music and poetry interested her from the beginning and she spent much of her youth writing poems and playlets and working in local theatre.
Education
After a year studying Drama at The University of Texas (UT Austin), Amy Corzine sought expansion by studying Irish culture and literature in Ireland and travelling in Europe, but later returned to complete a BA in English Literature. In 1985 she gained an MA in Creative Writing from Antioch University's British Studies Centre in London, which included study at University College Dublin's Irish Folklore Department and Yeats Summer School in Ireland.
She also developed performing and teaching skills, notably through the Waldorf Institute in New York and the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Career
Early in her working life in Texas, she began writing and editing professionally, as much as she could. Eventually she went to London to become a teacher in an independent primary school. Her plan was to develop her storytelling skills while nurturing the imaginations and resilience of the children under her tutelage. Then she moved on to hold a number of jobs in the UK, from reading scripts for the film industry and editing books to being a PR executive and writing consultant.
She has made appearances at a range of venues, often sharing her poetry.
Apart from reviewing others' books – including 'A Poet's Love Song to Nature' – she has written about the experience of reworking a classic novel for publication as a graphic novel for reluctant readers – an endeavour that was described as a fabulous job.
Books
Travel Guide
Graphic Novel
Non-fiction
Work with Walden Writers
Amy Corzine set up the Walden Writers co-operative with local author Martyn Everett in 2008 to promote the work of its members and organise literary events. Out of that grew a literary magazine and, in recent years, a writers' workshop, which meets monthly. Other members of Walden Writers include travel writer and novelist Jane Wilson-Howarth; children's authors Rosemary Hayes, Penny Speller, Victor Watson (author); biographer Clare Mulley; historians Martyn Everett, Lizzie Sanders, Jeremy Collingwood and Jacqueline Cooper; non-fiction author Gabrielle Palmer and novelists Saumya Balsari, Carol Frazer, Rik Gammack, Barry Kaufmann and JoJo Moyes.