Joël Champetier

French Canadian science fiction and fantasy author

Joël Champetier (30 November 1957 – 30 May 2015) was a French Canadian science fiction and fantasy author.

Born in La Corne, Quebec (Abitibi Témiscamingue district), Champetier became a full time writer after working in electrochemistry. Champetier's first published work, Le chemin des fleurs, appeared in Quebec science fiction and fantasy magazine Solaris in 1981. After publishing many stories in various magazines and collections, some of which would be translated to English, Champetier first youth novel, La mer au fond du monde, was published in 1990. La taupe et le dragon, Champetier's first adult science fiction novel, was published in 1991. This would be translated into English and published in the United States in 1999 by Tor Books as "The Dragon's Eye". Champetier has also been published in France, such as a collection of stories through Orion, and his fantasy novel Les sources de la magie was published by Bragelonne in 2005. Champetier also grew in status among the community of Quebec science fiction and fantasy writers. In 1983, Champetier helped organise the Boréal Congress, an annual Quebec science fiction conference and would serve on the conference's board of directors in 1984, and again from 1989 to 1999, becoming vice president from 1994 to 1999. In 1987, Champetier became a literary critic in the publication L'année de la science fiction et du fantastique québécois (Quebec Science Fiction and Fantasy Annual). At Solaris magazine, Champetier became a member of the editorial committee, becoming literary director from 1990 to 1994, co ordinator from 1992 to 1996 during which the magazine won three Prix Aurora Awards. In 1995, Champetier worked with Yves Meynard on the anthology Escales sur Solaris for the magazine's anniversary. In 1996, Champetier was honoured at the Salon du livre de l'Abitibi Témiscaminque, for which he had been previously in charge of programming in 1991. In 2001, he was Guest of Honour at the World Fantasy Convention. Champetier's works, primarily represented by the novels La mémoire du lac, La peau blanche and L'aile du papillon, were often compared to the style of Stephen King by various editors. Champetier's 1997 novel La peau blanche was adapted into a 2004 film by Daniel Roby which was released in English as White Skin.

Champetier died after a struggle with cancer, aged 57, on 30 May 2015, living in Saint Séverin de Proulxville and was the managing editor of Solaris.