Wednesday, June 03, 2009

Fantasy writer David Eddings dies

Bestselling fantasy author David Eddings, who wrote The Belgariad and The Malloreon series, has died aged 77.

Jane Johnson, publishing director at Eddings' UK publisher HarperCollins, paid tribute to the author. HarperCollins was his publisher from 1990 until 2006, when his last title, The Elder Gods, was released.

She said: 'The Voyager team and I were immensely sad to hear the news. The arrival of a new Eddings novel used to be a grand event for the whole division. In the 90s, each one was guaranteed a Number One position on the Sunday Times hardback bestseller list, selling 100,000 copies apiece.