Piers Anthony

2 universes Last reviewed 2026-08-30

Piers Anthony, born Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob on August 6, 1934, in Oxford, England, was raised by Quaker pacifist parents who eventually settled in Vermont. He graduated from Goddard College in Vermont in 1956, where he met his future wife, Carol Marble. After college he worked briefly as a handyman before serving in the United States Army from 1957 to 1959, becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1958. He taught for a time at Admiral Farragut Academy before pursuing writing full-time, supported financially by his wife until his first sale. Anthony is best known for the long-running Xanth series, a comedic fantasy saga set in a magical realm, which was ranked No. 99 in NPR's 2011 readers' poll of the best science fiction and fantasy books. He pursued a distinctive personal goal of publishing a book beginning with every letter of the alphabet, from Anthonology to Zombie Lover, and many of his novels appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. His honors include the 2003 "Friend of EPIC" award for service to electronic publishing and special recognition from Preditors and Editors for service to writers. A vegetarian and agnostic leaning toward atheism, Anthony relocated from Florida to California in 2023.

Universe(s)

Books

• A Spell for Chameleon (1977) · Xanth Core Canon
• Castle Roogna (1979) · Xanth Core Canon
• The Source of Magic (1979) · Xanth Core Canon
• Centaur Aisle (1981) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Night Mare (1982) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Ogre, Ogre (1982) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Dragon on a Pedestal (1983) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• On a Pale Horse (1983) · Incarnations of Immortality Core Canon
• Bearing an Hourglass (1984) · Incarnations of Immortality Core Canon
• Crewel Lye: A Caustic Yarn (1984) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• With a Tangled Skein (1985) · Incarnations of Immortality Core Canon
• Golem in the Gears (1986) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Wielding a Red Sword (1986) · Incarnations of Immortality Core Canon
• Being a Green Mother (1987) · Incarnations of Immortality Core Canon
• Vale of the Vole (1987) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• For Love of Evil (1988) · Incarnations of Immortality Core Canon
• Heaven Cent (1988) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Man from Mundania (1989) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• And Eternity (1990) · Incarnations of Immortality Core Canon
• Isle of View (1990) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Question Quest (1991) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• The Color of Her Panties (1992) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Demons Don't Dream (1993) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Harpy Thyme (1993) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Geis of the Gargoyle (1994) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Roc and a Hard Place (1995) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Yon Ill Wind (1996) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Faun & Games (1997) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Zombie Lover (1998) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Xone of Contention (1999) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• The Dastard (2000) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Swell Foop (2001) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Up in a Heaval (2002) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Cube Route (2003) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Currant Events (2004) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Pet Peeve (2005) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Stork Naked (2006) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Air Apparent (2007) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Under a Velvet Cloak (2007) · Incarnations of Immortality Expanded Canon
• Two to the Fifth (2008) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Jumper Cable (2009) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Knot Gneiss (2010) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Well-Tempered Clavicle (2011) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Luck of the Draw (2012) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Board Stiff (2013) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Esrever Doom (2013) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Five Portraits (2014) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Isis Orb (2016) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Ghost Writer in the Sky (2017) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Fire Sail (2019) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Jest Right (2020) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• A Tryst of Fate (2021) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Skeleton Key (2021) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Six Crystal Princesses (2022) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Apoca Lips (2023) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Three Novel Nymphs (2025) · Xanth Expanded Canon
• Knicklepede Knight (2026) · Xanth Expanded Canon

Aggregate across all universes

These are separate, unrelated universes; the totals below are plain sums of already-published per-universe facts, never a blended or averaged score across them. See each universe's own figures above.

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 10 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 0 (None recorded)

← All authors