Diana J. Gabaldon, born on January 11, 1952, is an American author and television writer. She is most famous for her book series called Outlander. Her books combine several types of stories, including historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure, and science fiction or fantasy. A television version of the Outlander books first aired on Starz in 2014.

Early life and education

Gabaldon was born on January 11, 1952, in Williams, Arizona, United States. She is the daughter of Jacqueline Sykes and Tony Gabaldon, who was born in 1930 and died in 1998. Tony Gabaldon served as an Arizona state senator from Flagstaff for sixteen years and later worked as a supervisor in Coconino County. Her father had Mexican ancestry, and her mother had English ancestry.

Gabaldon grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona. She earned a bachelor's degree in zoology from Northern Arizona University between 1970 and 1973. She also earned a master's degree in marine biology from the University of California, San Diego, at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography between 1973 and 1975. Finally, she received a PhD in behavioral ecology from Northern Arizona University between 1975 and 1978.

Career

Diana Gabaldon started her writing career at Gold Key Comics. She sent a letter that said, "I've been reading your comics for the last 25 years, and they've been getting worse and worse. I'm not sure if I could do better myself, but I'd like to try." Editor Del Connell gave her a sample script and bought her second submission.

Gabaldon was the founding editor of Science Software Quarterly in 1984 while working at the Center for Environmental Studies at Arizona State University. During the 1980s, she wrote software reviews, technical articles, and popular-science pieces for computer publications, including a review of Full Impact. She also wrote Disney comics. She taught at Arizona State University for 12 years, focusing on scientific computation, before leaving to write full-time.

In 1988, Gabaldon decided to write a novel for practice, not intending to share it with anyone. As a research professor, she chose to write a historical novel because it seemed easier to research and write. She had no background in history and no specific time period in mind at first. She saw a rerun of a Doctor Who episode called "The War Games," which featured a Scottish companion named Jamie McCrimmon from around 1745. This character inspired her main male character, James Fraser, and the novel's setting in mid-18th century Scotland. Gabaldon wanted "an Englishwoman to play off all these kilted Scotsmen," but her female character "took over the story and began telling it herself, making smart-ass modern remarks about everything."

To explain the character's modern behavior, Gabaldon used time travel. She researched the novel "the old-fashioned way, by herself, through books" because the internet did not exist at the time. Later, she posted an excerpt of her novel on the CompuServe Literary Forum, where author John E. Stith introduced her to literary agent Perry Knowlton. Knowlton represented her based on an unfinished first novel, tentatively titled Cross Stitch. Her first book deal was for a trilogy: the first novel and two unwritten sequels. Her U.S. publishers changed the first book's title to Outlander, but the title remained Cross Stitch in the UK. Gabaldon said her British publishers liked Cross Stitch, a play on "a stitch in time," but the American publisher wanted a more "adventurous" title. After finishing her second book, Gabaldon left her faculty position at Arizona State University to write full-time.

As of 2021, the Outlander series includes nine published novels. The ninth book, Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, was released on November 23, 2021. Gabaldon also wrote The Exile (an Outlander graphic novel) in 2010. The Lord John series includes additional books in the Outlander series, focusing on a secondary character from the original series. In September 2021, Gabaldon announced she was working on the tenth Outlander book. In May 2025, she said the book would be the final novel in the main series and would be titled A Blessing for a Warrior Going Out.

Personal life

Gabaldon lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband, Doug Watkins. They have three adult children together. Her son, Sam Sykes, is also a fantasy writer. Gabaldon is a Roman Catholic and considers herself a Libertarian.

Published works

The Outlander series follows Claire Randall, a nurse from the 20th century, who travels back in time to 18th-century Scotland. There, she experiences adventures and a romantic relationship with James Fraser. The books are set in Scotland, France, the West Indies, England, and North America. They combine different types of stories, such as historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure, and science fiction or fantasy.

Books in the series include:
– Outlander (1991) (called Cross Stitch in the UK and Australia)
– Dragonfly in Amber (1992)
– Voyager (1993)
– Drums of Autumn (1996)
– The Fiery Cross (2001)
– A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005)
– An Echo in the Bone (2009)
– Written in My Own Heart's Blood (2014)
– Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (2021)

Short stories and novellas include:
– "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" (2010), later collected in A Trail of Fire (2012) and Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
– The Space Between (2013), a novella in The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination, later collected in A Trail of Fire (2012) and Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
– Virgins (2013), a novella in Dangerous Women, later collected in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
– "Past Prologue" (2017), a short story co-written with Steve Berry, published in MatchUp and connecting the Outlander series with Berry's Cotton Malone series.
– A Fugitive Green (2017), a novella in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.

Other works include:
– The Outlandish Companion (1999), a guide to the Outlander series, later updated as The Outlandish Companion (Volume One) (2015).
– The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel (2010).
– The Outlandish Companion (Volume Two) (2015).
– "Vengeance Is Mine" (2016), an episode of Outlander season 2.
– "Journeycake" (2020), an episode of Outlander season 5.
– "Ye Dinna Get Used to It" (2024), an episode of Outlander season 7.
– "Braemar" (2025) and "Something Borrowed" (2025), episodes of Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1.

The Lord John series includes books and shorter works about Lord John Grey, a character from the Outlander series. These stories take place between 1756 and 1761, during the events of Voyager. They are mostly historical mysteries and focus on fewer storylines than the main Outlander books.

Books in the Lord John series include:
– Lord John and the Private Matter (2003)
– Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007)
– The Scottish Prisoner (2011)

Novellas and collections include:
– Lord John and the Hellfire Club (1998), first published in Past Poisons.
– Lord John and the Succubus (2003), first published in Legends II.
– Lord John and the Haunted Soldier (2007), published in Lord John and the Hand of Devils.
– Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007), a collection of three novellas.
– The Custom of the Army (2010), published in Warriors and later collected in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
– Lord John and the Plague of Zombies (2011), published in Down These Strange Streets and later collected in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall (2017).
– Besieged (2017), published in Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.

Other works include:
– Naked Came the Phoenix (2001), a collaboration with twelve other authors.
– "Humane Killer" (2009), a short story co-written with Sam Sykes, published in The Dragon Book: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy.
– "Dirty Scottsdale" (2009), a short crime story published in Phoenix Noir.

Professor Gabaldon’s research includes:
– Factors involved in nest site selection by piñon jays (1979), a thesis from Northern Arizona University.
– "Nest Desertion by the Piñon Jay" (1979), published in The Auk.
– "Observation of a Possible Alternate Mode of Feeding in a Porcellanid Crab" (1979), published in Crustaceana.
– "Growth Energetics of Nestling Northern Gannets" (1984), published in The Auk.
– "Exploratory observations on microhabitat selection within the intertidal zone by the Chinese mudskipper fish" (1985), published in Marine Biology.

Adaptations

The Outlander series is available in audiobook formats. The full version is read by Davina Porter, while the shorter version is read by Geraldine James. Some books in the Lord John series are also available as audiobooks, read by Jeff Woodman.

A television version of Outlander first aired on Starz in the United States on August 9, 2014. Diana Gabaldon appeared briefly in the August 2014 episode titled "The Gathering" as Iona MacTavish. She is paid to help with the show and wrote the script for the 2016 season 2 episode titled "Vengeance Is Mine."

In 2010, Gabaldon rewrote the first part of Outlander as a graphic novel called The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel, illustrated by Hoang Nguyen. That same year, a collection of 14 songs based on Outlander was released under the title Outlander: The Musical.

Reception and awards

Diana Gabaldon's book Outlander won the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Romance in 1991. Her novel A Breath of Snow and Ashes (2005) first appeared at number one on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List and received the Quill Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror. In 2007, The Montreal Gazette reported that Gabaldon's books are popular in 24 countries and 19 languages, and that she keeps writing best-selling books. By 2012, her novels had been published in 27 countries and 24 languages. She has since received many awards for her writing and her work in the UK, including the National Trust for Scotland's "Great Scot" award, which is rarely given to someone who is not from Scotland. She also received the St. Andrew's Society of Los Angeles & Southern California's "Robert Burns Lifetime Achievement Award." Gabaldon continues to be honored worldwide for her work.

Gabaldon's book Lord John and the Private Matter reached number eight on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List in 2003. In 2007, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade first appeared at number one on the same list, and the collection The Hand of Devils reached number 24. The book The Scottish Prisoner first appeared at number six on The New York Times E-Book Fiction Best-Seller List in 2011. The novella A Plague of Zombies was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for Best Short Mystery Story in the same year. Publishers Weekly noted that Gabaldon's writing is clear and elegant, and that she brings a lot of joy to her stories, even for readers who are not familiar with her work or the historical time period she writes about.