Apr 12, 2006 - Site Downtime - Some of you may have noticed problems with the I-CON site over the past few days. We have been having hardware issues with our server, which have now been resolved. All site functionality should now be fully restored... if you notice any issues, please email webmaster@iconsf.org. Thank you.

Mar 22, 2006 - Important Travel Update! - The Suffolk County Half Marathon will be taking place this Sunday, resulting in closures on Nichols Road between the Long Island Expressway and Rt. 347. Please use these directions to get to the convention on Sunday.

Mar 22, 2006 - New I-CON Community - ICON Science Fiction, Inc. is proud to announce its new project, community.iconsf.org. Designed to encourage community involvement and the open sharing of ideas and information, community.iconsf.org is our new hub for everyone who is interested in Science Fiction, Fact, and Fantasy (and Gaming, Anime, and everything else you might see at I-CON - and likely a whole lot more!). We encourage you all to stop in, take a look, and speak your mind - this site was created to allow you to immerse yourself further in the things that matter to you (and us).

Mar 22, 2006 - Indie Film Schedule - In addition to the main schedule and gaming schedule linked from our home page, the Indie Film schedule is now online. Also, an HTML (webpage) version of the schedule is coming soon, we thank everyone for their patience.

Mar 21, 2006 - Schedule Coming Soon Posted! - We know that many of you were anxiously awaiting the schedule for I-CON. Well, it's here! Go to the site index and check it out to see everything what I-CON 25 has in store for you!

News Archive

Website: http://www.terrybrooks.net

Terry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same park that would eventually become the setting for his bestselling Word & Void trilogy. He went to college and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and he received his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.

A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, westerns, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's writing career forever, because within the pages of Tolkien's great work he found all the elements combined in one genre that would allow him to release onto paper his own ideas about life, love, and the wonder that fills the world.

With that new found knowledge, he wrote and published The Sword of Shannara in 1977, the grand result from years of trying to retain some form of sanity while studying law at Washington & Lee University. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.

On the spare time he could afford from his law practice Terry wrote The Elfstones of Shannara, which followed in 1982 and once again brought us an epic novel of wonder and adventure in the eagerly awaited sequel to The Sword of Shannara. The Wishsong of Shannara, published in 1985, finished the remarkable trilogy.

After publishing his first three Shannara novels, Terry knew that writing was not only his life's ambition but that he could make a living with it as well. Even though he was hesitant, he quit his practice of law to pursue a full-time writing career. He moved to Seattle and began writing Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold!, which began a bestselling new series for him in 1986. After two more Landover novels, The Black Unicorn and Wizard At Large, Terry wrote The Heritage of Shannara, a four-book series returning to the very heart that made him such a success. The publication of The Talismans of Shannara in 1993 concluded that storyline.

One of the idiosyncrasies about Terry is he can't write in one series for long; he needs, as a creative writer, to take time off from a project which inevitably allows him to explore new mythos and ideas that he is constantly thinking about. In essence, he recharges himself this way so when he comes back to a series it is meaningful storytelling. Rather than start a new Shannara novel after he finished The Heritage of Shannara series, he began writing two more Landover books - The Tangle Box & Witches' Brew.

Once done with the Landover books, and another foray into the Shannara series with the release of First King of Shannara, Terry decided to create something new. Since the beginning of The Heritage of Shannara series in 1990, Terry had been thinking of a new series; a dark, contemporary fantasy set in a town similar to the Illinois hometown he grew up in. The ideas for this new series grew, expanded, and grew some more over the next several years while he wrote other novels, and in September 1997 Terry released Running With the Demon, his darkest most complex masterwork yet. The story of Nest Freemark and John Ross continued in A Knight of the Word and Angel Fire East in what has been tentatively titled The Word & Void trilogy.

In the midst of writing The Word & Void trilogy, George Lucas, the esteemed creator of Star Wars, personally asked Terry if he would write the novelization to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Being a Star Wars fan Terry agreed easily and soon found himself travelling to Skywalker Ranch to discuss the project with Lucas, and a month before the theatrical release of the movie the book was published with great success.

At the moment Terry has returned once again to the Shannara series with two new trilogies titled respectively The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara and High Druid of Shannara. Book One of The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara takes place 130 years after the events of The Talismans of Shannara, where Walker Boh is still a Druid and is trying to do something to reform the Druid Council. Antrax and Morgawr finished up the series. Not tired of Shannara, Terry has continued to write three more books that take place 20 years after the events in Morgawr, the first of which is titled Jarka Ruus. Tanequil is the second book, and book three, Straken, is also published and in bookstores.

Terry Brooks lives with his wife Judine in the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and on the road meeting his fans.

To read a more comprehensive biography of Terry Brooks, read his memoir/writing book titled Sometimes the Magic Works.