Russell Kirkpatrick

Russell Kirkpatrick (born 1961, Christchurch, New Zealand) is a geography lecturer and a novelist. He holds a PhD in geography from the University of Canterbury, and lectured at the University of Waikato in Hamilton until 2014. He is currently living and writing in Australia. He has worked on seven atlas projects, including the New Zealand Historical Atlas (1998) and authored the Contemporary Atlas of New Zealand (1999/2004). He also wrote and was photographer for a book about New Zealand Waterfalls - Walk to Waterfalls (2011).
He has written two well received fantasy trilogies, Fire of Heaven and Husk. Across the Face of the World was the biggest selling debut fantasy in the United States in 2008.

Kirkpatrick has won three Sir Julius Vogel Awards (New Zealand science fiction and fantasy awards) for Best Novel - Adult, for Path of Revenge in 2008, Dark Heart in 2009 and Beyond the Wall of Time in 2010.