Author Biographies
This is an ongoing project. Please be patient with me and if YOU are a Sci-fi/Fantasy author, feel free to send me your information via the "Contact" page.
Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Aaronovitch was born in London in 1964 and had the kind of dull routine childhood that drives a man to drink or to science fiction. He is a screenwriter, with early notable success on BBC television’s legendary Doctor Who, for which he wrote some episodes now widely regarded as classics, and which even he is quite fond of. He has also penned several groundbreaking TV tie-in novels. After a decade of such work, he decided it was time to show the world what he could really do and embarked on his first serious original novel. The result is Midnight Riot, the debut adventure of Peter Grant. Find more information at Aaronovitch's website: http://www.the-folly.com/
Saladin Ahmed
Saladin Ahmed was born in Detroit and raised in a working-class, Arab American enclave in Dearborn, MI. He holds a BA in American Culture from the University of Michigan, an MFA in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College, and an MA in English from Rutgers. His poetry has received several fellowships, and he has taught writing at universities and colleges for over ten years. His short stories have been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell awards, and have appeared in Year’s Best Fantasy and numerous other magazines, anthologies, and podcasts, as well as being translated into five foreign languages. He is represented by Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON is his first novel.
Saladin lives near Detroit with his wife and twin children. Visit his website at http://www.saladinahmed.com/wordpress/
Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie is the author of twenty-two books, including The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, winner of the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, War Dances, winner of the 2010 PEN Faulkner Award, and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, a PEN Hemingway Special Citation winner. He is also the winner of the 2001 PEN Malamud Award for Excellence in the Art of the Short Story. Smoke Signals, the film he wrote and co-produced, won the Audience Award and Filmmakers' Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. He lives with his family in Seattle, Washington. His official website is at http://www.fallsapart.com/
Elizabeth Amisu
Elizabeth picked up a pen in the summer of 2003 and has never put it down. She was a winner in the Southend Literary Festvial in 2010 and the MigMag.co.uk Short Story competition in January 2012. From an early age she travelled the globe with her parents, and the cultures she has experienced form the inspiration for her novels. When Elizabeth is not lecturing Film and English, she can be found writing film reviews, scripts and most prolifically, novels. If she were at the Sacerdos Institute she would definitely be in Sathin order because it is so mysterious. She would not be Elite though, since literary endurance is not a supernatural gift. She maintains a blog at http://www.elizawriter.tumblr.com
Ben Aaronovitch was born in London in 1964 and had the kind of dull routine childhood that drives a man to drink or to science fiction. He is a screenwriter, with early notable success on BBC television’s legendary Doctor Who, for which he wrote some episodes now widely regarded as classics, and which even he is quite fond of. He has also penned several groundbreaking TV tie-in novels. After a decade of such work, he decided it was time to show the world what he could really do and embarked on his first serious original novel. The result is Midnight Riot, the debut adventure of Peter Grant. Find more information at Aaronovitch's website: http://www.the-folly.com/
Saladin Ahmed
Saladin Ahmed was born in Detroit and raised in a working-class, Arab American enclave in Dearborn, MI. He holds a BA in American Culture from the University of Michigan, an MFA in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College, and an MA in English from Rutgers. His poetry has received several fellowships, and he has taught writing at universities and colleges for over ten years. His short stories have been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell awards, and have appeared in Year’s Best Fantasy and numerous other magazines, anthologies, and podcasts, as well as being translated into five foreign languages. He is represented by Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON is his first novel.
Saladin lives near Detroit with his wife and twin children. Visit his website at http://www.saladinahmed.com/wordpress/
Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie is the author of twenty-two books, including The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, winner of the 2007 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, War Dances, winner of the 2010 PEN Faulkner Award, and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, a PEN Hemingway Special Citation winner. He is also the winner of the 2001 PEN Malamud Award for Excellence in the Art of the Short Story. Smoke Signals, the film he wrote and co-produced, won the Audience Award and Filmmakers' Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. He lives with his family in Seattle, Washington. His official website is at http://www.fallsapart.com/
Elizabeth Amisu
Elizabeth picked up a pen in the summer of 2003 and has never put it down. She was a winner in the Southend Literary Festvial in 2010 and the MigMag.co.uk Short Story competition in January 2012. From an early age she travelled the globe with her parents, and the cultures she has experienced form the inspiration for her novels. When Elizabeth is not lecturing Film and English, she can be found writing film reviews, scripts and most prolifically, novels. If she were at the Sacerdos Institute she would definitely be in Sathin order because it is so mysterious. She would not be Elite though, since literary endurance is not a supernatural gift. She maintains a blog at http://www.elizawriter.tumblr.com
Balogun Ojetade
Balogun is the author of the bestselling Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within (non-fiction), Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman (Steampunk), Once Upon A Time In Afrika, and the feature film, “A Single Link”. He is also slated to direct and produce two feature films in 2012 for which he is the co-writer: "Rite of Passage", a dark fantasy story set during slavery and Reconstruction, and "Grandmere's Secret", a tale of supernatural suspense.
As Director of the Atlanta Writers' Circle, Balogun has travelled throughout the United States and abroad, teaching the craft of writing and performing his dynamic poetry and short fiction.
Balogun is Master Instructor of the Afrikan Martial Arts Institute and Technical Director of Martial Ministries of America, a non-profit organization that serves at-risk youth. He is also a traditional African priest, actor, and conflict resolution specialist, who works and lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife, his seven daughters, and his son. He can be reached at www.chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Afrikan.Martial.Arts.
As Director of the Atlanta Writers' Circle, Balogun has travelled throughout the United States and abroad, teaching the craft of writing and performing his dynamic poetry and short fiction.
Balogun is Master Instructor of the Afrikan Martial Arts Institute and Technical Director of Martial Ministries of America, a non-profit organization that serves at-risk youth. He is also a traditional African priest, actor, and conflict resolution specialist, who works and lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife, his seven daughters, and his son. He can be reached at www.chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Afrikan.Martial.Arts.
Clare Bell
Born in England in 1952, I moved to the US with my family in 1957. I worked in oceanography, electrical engineering, test equipment design and mechanical engineering before I wrote my first book, Ratha's Creature (Atheneum-Argo Margaret K .McElderry 1983) , the story of a prehistoric wildcat who learns to tame fire. Since then I have continued to write fantasy and science fiction for children and adults. I continue to be fascinated by big cats, as showcased in Tomorrow's Sphinx (cheetahs in Tutanhkmen's Eygypt) and Jaguar Princess (were-jaguars in Aztec and Olmec Mexico).
My stories tend to show sociological themes as well, exploring the changes that are brought about in culture through technology. I also enjoy creating plausible and workable alien critters ( the aronan fliers in People of the Sky). The central theme of my fiction is evolution, having been influenced early by the works of C.S. Lewis, Olaf Stapledon , and Arthur C. Clarke.
I have degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering, biology and chemistry and have continued working in technical areas in addition to writing fiction. I became involved in building and designing electric vehicles and spent a year in Norway working on a production EV. I have also participated in electric vehicle racing in the Arizona Public Service Company-sponsored Solar and Electrics competitions, held from 1991 to 1998. My electric Porsche 914, known by her racing number, 13, was a well-known competitor in these races. I was also involved with the Women's Electric Racing and Educational Team (WE'RE-IT) when we raced the Porsche and our converted race-Rabbit, #6 Hop-along.
After moving to a remote site in California's coastal mountains, I and my partner put together our own solar and wind systems and experimented with a power-generating waterwheel. A naturalized citizen of the US, I now live with my partner-become-husband, Chuck Piper, in the hills west of Patterson, California.
John Bellairs (1966-1992)
http://www.bellairsia.com/the_work/index.html
John Claude Bemis
John Claude Bemis is the author of The Clockwork Dark, a steampunk-fantasy-adventure trilogy that takes place in a mythical America. The first book is The Nine Pound Hammer (Random House, 2009), followed by The Wolf Tree (2010) and The White City (2011). John is a songwriter, musician, and elementary school teacher who lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina with his wife and daughter. His website address is: http://johnclaudebemis.com/biography/.
Steph Bennion
Steph Bennion is a writer, musician and reluctant civil servant in Westminster, born and bred in the Black Country but now living in south London, England. Her science-fiction stories are written as a reaction to the dearth of alternative heroes amidst bookshelves swamped by tales of the supernatural. For every aspiring vampire or wizard, the world needs an astrophysicist, an engineer, or at the very least someone who can make the trains run on time. Bennion's website is located at http://www.wyrdstar.co.uk/index.html.
Marilyn Bradford
Marilyn Bradford learned the art of storytelling at an early age. She would sit in the evening, listening to her mother tell the most fascinating stories. She didn't realize one day, from her imagination, stories would spring forth, and she too would become the storyteller. In 1991, Marilyn self-published a booklet of prose entitled Sayings by Me. Her writing skills were enhanced by Beginners Writing, an extension course taken at UCLA. She is a playwright and producer of one-act plays entitled Farewell Old House, Ruthie, The Bar, and Bobby Shadrack. Beauteous Black and the Mystic Forest is Marilyn's first published book of fairy tales. In 1996, Marilyn was honored as one of the "100 Most Inspirational Black Women" in Los Angeles.
Patricia Briggs
(Note: This biography is a bit tongue-in-cheek!)
Patty is a prevarication professional. She lies for a living, telling whoppers and fibs so outrageous that people pay her to fib some more. Her only concession to honesty is that she tells people she's lying to them. And that is what separates a fiction author from a politician.
Patty was born in Butte, Montana, back in 1965. If you're good at math, you'll have deduced that she's currently twenty-nine. In fact, she's been twenty-nine for a while and has no intention of getting any older. Fiction authors don't obey the laws of space and time, they invent them. Don't argue, or she'll make up a dragon right behind you . . .
Patty writes writes traditional and urban fantasy, mostly novels. In her stories, there really ARE things that go bump in the night, magic is real, and sometimes the good guys actually win. Her first book, Masques, was published back in 1993, and she's produced roughly one book each year since then. She loves to play with her imaginary friends, and meeting with readers who know her imaginary friends is a treat. Her biggest complaint with writing is that she has far more ideas for stories than time to write them. Meet her at her website http://www.hurog.com/
David Brin
David Brin is a scientist, public speaker and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages. Brin's Uplift universe explores a future when humans genetically engineer higher animals like dolphins to become equal members of our civilization. These include Sundiver, the award-winning Startide Rising, The Uplift War, Brightness Reef, Infinity's Shore and Heaven's Reach. He also recently tied up the loose ends left behind by the late Isaac Asimov. Foundation's Triumph brings to a grand finale Asimov's famed Foundation Universe.
Brin serves on advisory committees dealing with subjects as diverse as national defense and homeland security, astronomy and space exploration, SETI and nanotechnology, future/prediction and philanthropy. As a public speaker, Brin shares unique insights -- serious and humorous -- about ways that changing technology may affect our future lives. He appears frequently on TV, including several episodes of "The Universe" and History Channel's "Life After People." He also was a regular cast member on "The ArciTECHS."
Brin's scientific work covers an eclectic range of topics, from astronautics, astronomy, and optics to alternative dispute resolution and the role of neoteny in human evolution. His Ph.D in Physics from UCSD - the University of California at San Diego (the lab of nobelist Hannes Alfven) - followed a masters in optics and an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Caltech. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Space Institute. His technical patents directly confront some of the faults of old-fashioned screen-based interaction, aiming to improve the way human beings converse online.
Brin lives in San Diego County with his wife and three children. You can read more about Brin, his career, and his many novels at http://www.davidbrin.com/
Francis Marion Busby (1921-2005)
Busby began writing short fiction in 1957 and novels in the 1970s. He was a co-winner of the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine for he and his wife’s fanzine “Cry of the Nameless” in 1960. Most of his books are not recommended for a young teen due to mature themes, including sex and violence.
Octavia Butler (1947-2006)
Octavia Estelle Butler, often referred to as the “grand dame of science fiction,” was born in Pasadena, California on June 22, 1947. She received an Associate of Arts degree in 1968 from Pasadena Community College, and also attended California State University in Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles. During 1969 and 1970, she studied at the Screenwriter’s Guild Open Door Program and the Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop, where she took a class with science fiction master Harlan Ellison (who later became her mentor), and which led to Butler selling her first science fiction stories.
Butler’s first story, “Crossover,” was published in the 1971 Clarion anthology. Patternmaster, her first novel and the first title of her five-volume Patternist series, was published in 1976, followed by Mind of My Mind in 1977. Others in the series include Survivor (1978), Wild Seed (1980), which won the James Tiptree Award, and Clay’s Ark (1984). With the publication of Kindred in 1979, Butler was able to support herself writing full time. She won the Hugo Award in 1984 for her short story, “Speech Sounds,” and in 1985, Butler’s novelette “Bloodchild” won a Hugo Award, a Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and an award for best novelette from Science Fiction Chronicle.
Other books by Octavia E. Butler include the Xenogenesis trilogy: Dawn (1987), Adulthood Rites (1988) and Imago (1989), and a short story collection, Bloodchild and Other Stories (1995). Parable of the Sower (1993), the first of her Earthseed series, was a finalist for the Nebula Award as well as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. The book’s sequel, Parable of the Talents (1998), won a Nebula Award. In 1995 Butler was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellowship.
Sadly, Butler passed away in 2006 after a fall at her home. For more information about Butler and her ground-breaking science fiction career and novels, go to her official website at http://octaviabutler.org/
Elizabeth Camali
A Southern Californian native, Elizabeth Camali has been a speculative fiction enthusiast the moment she picked up her first book. Pocky, donuts and mini cheese snacks are the fuel to her creativity. In her free time, she enjoys watching online videos and drawing. Trash is her debut novel.
C.J. Cherryh
From Cherryh's website: I write full time; I travel; I try out things. The list includes, present and past tense: fencing, riding, archery, firearms, ancient weapons, donkeys, elephants, camels, butterflies, frogs, wasps, turtles, bees, ants, falconry, exotic swamp plants and tropicals, lizards, wilderness survival, fishing, sailing, street and ice skating, mechanics, carpentry, wiring, painting (canvas), painting (house), painting (interior), sculpture, aquariums both fresh and salt, needlepoint, bird breeding, furntiture refinishing, video games, archaeology, Roman, Greek civ, Crete, Celts, and caves.
I've traveled from New York to Istanbul and Troy; outrun a dog pack at Thebes, and seen Columbia lift on her first flight. I've fallen down a muddy chute in a Cretan cave, nearly drowned in the Illinois River, broken an arm, been kicked and tossed by horses, fended off an amorous merchant in a Turkish tent bazaar, fought a prairie fire, slept on deck in the Adriatic, and driven Picadilly Circus at rush hour. I've waded in two oceans and four of the seven seas, I've seen Halley's Comet from Australia's far coast, and I want to visit the Amazon, the Serengeti, and see the Erebus volcano in Antarctica. I've seen the Northern Lights and experienced tornadoes and a small earthquake. I choose to live downwind of five active volcanoes, (one of which has just waked up) and directly atop the evidence of world-class cataclysms: lava flow and Ice Age flood. I love snow and cold, and with my good friend Jane Fancher, I took up figure skating at 61. I took silver (to her gold) in my first small competion six months later. We practice the sport daily, and we both have ambitions to compete in adult Nationals...if I can ever get my outside back edges steady.
I see this planet as part of the whole universe: I'm stuck on it a while, and until I get the chance to get off it --- (I want to do a flyby of Mars and take a look at Nix Olympica and the Vallis Marinaris, personally; and I want to see Titan and Saturn's rings and the Red Spot on Jupiter) --- I don't plan to neglect where I am either, and I'm keeping a constantly updated list of wonders this planet has to see. http://www.cherryh.com/index.html
J. Conrad
J. Conrad is an independent writer of young adult fantasy. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, she now lives in Cedar Park, Texas, with her husband John Michael. For more information and excerpts from her first novel, please follow her on Twitter @j_a_conrad and visit her website, http://jconradfantasy.com.
M.D. Cooper
Michael Cooper has been writing since the day he closed Return of the King and wanted more. He's written a lot of fantasy that he never tried to get published, but one day decided to try his hand at science fiction, of which he has published one book (Outsystem) and is working on the sequel, A Path in the Darkness.
Michael is a software engineer at a company which builds sites and services around the open-source CMS named Drupal and enjoys the creativity involved in building web applications. When not writing stories or code Michael is spending time with his wife and daughter, or doing carpentry--a hobby which he has been growing over the years.
His other interests include astronomy, cars and racing, blacksmithing, movies, and just about any creative work one can do. You can read more about Outsystem and the characters at http://www.theintrepidsaga.com/.
Born in England in 1952, I moved to the US with my family in 1957. I worked in oceanography, electrical engineering, test equipment design and mechanical engineering before I wrote my first book, Ratha's Creature (Atheneum-Argo Margaret K .McElderry 1983) , the story of a prehistoric wildcat who learns to tame fire. Since then I have continued to write fantasy and science fiction for children and adults. I continue to be fascinated by big cats, as showcased in Tomorrow's Sphinx (cheetahs in Tutanhkmen's Eygypt) and Jaguar Princess (were-jaguars in Aztec and Olmec Mexico).
My stories tend to show sociological themes as well, exploring the changes that are brought about in culture through technology. I also enjoy creating plausible and workable alien critters ( the aronan fliers in People of the Sky). The central theme of my fiction is evolution, having been influenced early by the works of C.S. Lewis, Olaf Stapledon , and Arthur C. Clarke.
I have degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering, biology and chemistry and have continued working in technical areas in addition to writing fiction. I became involved in building and designing electric vehicles and spent a year in Norway working on a production EV. I have also participated in electric vehicle racing in the Arizona Public Service Company-sponsored Solar and Electrics competitions, held from 1991 to 1998. My electric Porsche 914, known by her racing number, 13, was a well-known competitor in these races. I was also involved with the Women's Electric Racing and Educational Team (WE'RE-IT) when we raced the Porsche and our converted race-Rabbit, #6 Hop-along.
After moving to a remote site in California's coastal mountains, I and my partner put together our own solar and wind systems and experimented with a power-generating waterwheel. A naturalized citizen of the US, I now live with my partner-become-husband, Chuck Piper, in the hills west of Patterson, California.
John Bellairs (1966-1992)
http://www.bellairsia.com/the_work/index.html
John Claude Bemis
John Claude Bemis is the author of The Clockwork Dark, a steampunk-fantasy-adventure trilogy that takes place in a mythical America. The first book is The Nine Pound Hammer (Random House, 2009), followed by The Wolf Tree (2010) and The White City (2011). John is a songwriter, musician, and elementary school teacher who lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina with his wife and daughter. His website address is: http://johnclaudebemis.com/biography/.
Steph Bennion
Steph Bennion is a writer, musician and reluctant civil servant in Westminster, born and bred in the Black Country but now living in south London, England. Her science-fiction stories are written as a reaction to the dearth of alternative heroes amidst bookshelves swamped by tales of the supernatural. For every aspiring vampire or wizard, the world needs an astrophysicist, an engineer, or at the very least someone who can make the trains run on time. Bennion's website is located at http://www.wyrdstar.co.uk/index.html.
Marilyn Bradford
Marilyn Bradford learned the art of storytelling at an early age. She would sit in the evening, listening to her mother tell the most fascinating stories. She didn't realize one day, from her imagination, stories would spring forth, and she too would become the storyteller. In 1991, Marilyn self-published a booklet of prose entitled Sayings by Me. Her writing skills were enhanced by Beginners Writing, an extension course taken at UCLA. She is a playwright and producer of one-act plays entitled Farewell Old House, Ruthie, The Bar, and Bobby Shadrack. Beauteous Black and the Mystic Forest is Marilyn's first published book of fairy tales. In 1996, Marilyn was honored as one of the "100 Most Inspirational Black Women" in Los Angeles.
Patricia Briggs
(Note: This biography is a bit tongue-in-cheek!)
Patty is a prevarication professional. She lies for a living, telling whoppers and fibs so outrageous that people pay her to fib some more. Her only concession to honesty is that she tells people she's lying to them. And that is what separates a fiction author from a politician.
Patty was born in Butte, Montana, back in 1965. If you're good at math, you'll have deduced that she's currently twenty-nine. In fact, she's been twenty-nine for a while and has no intention of getting any older. Fiction authors don't obey the laws of space and time, they invent them. Don't argue, or she'll make up a dragon right behind you . . .
Patty writes writes traditional and urban fantasy, mostly novels. In her stories, there really ARE things that go bump in the night, magic is real, and sometimes the good guys actually win. Her first book, Masques, was published back in 1993, and she's produced roughly one book each year since then. She loves to play with her imaginary friends, and meeting with readers who know her imaginary friends is a treat. Her biggest complaint with writing is that she has far more ideas for stories than time to write them. Meet her at her website http://www.hurog.com/
David Brin
David Brin is a scientist, public speaker and world-known author. His novels have been New York Times Bestsellers, winning multiple Hugo, Nebula and other awards. At least a dozen have been translated into more than twenty languages. Brin's Uplift universe explores a future when humans genetically engineer higher animals like dolphins to become equal members of our civilization. These include Sundiver, the award-winning Startide Rising, The Uplift War, Brightness Reef, Infinity's Shore and Heaven's Reach. He also recently tied up the loose ends left behind by the late Isaac Asimov. Foundation's Triumph brings to a grand finale Asimov's famed Foundation Universe.
Brin serves on advisory committees dealing with subjects as diverse as national defense and homeland security, astronomy and space exploration, SETI and nanotechnology, future/prediction and philanthropy. As a public speaker, Brin shares unique insights -- serious and humorous -- about ways that changing technology may affect our future lives. He appears frequently on TV, including several episodes of "The Universe" and History Channel's "Life After People." He also was a regular cast member on "The ArciTECHS."
Brin's scientific work covers an eclectic range of topics, from astronautics, astronomy, and optics to alternative dispute resolution and the role of neoteny in human evolution. His Ph.D in Physics from UCSD - the University of California at San Diego (the lab of nobelist Hannes Alfven) - followed a masters in optics and an undergraduate degree in astrophysics from Caltech. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the California Space Institute. His technical patents directly confront some of the faults of old-fashioned screen-based interaction, aiming to improve the way human beings converse online.
Brin lives in San Diego County with his wife and three children. You can read more about Brin, his career, and his many novels at http://www.davidbrin.com/
Francis Marion Busby (1921-2005)
Busby began writing short fiction in 1957 and novels in the 1970s. He was a co-winner of the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine for he and his wife’s fanzine “Cry of the Nameless” in 1960. Most of his books are not recommended for a young teen due to mature themes, including sex and violence.
Octavia Butler (1947-2006)
Octavia Estelle Butler, often referred to as the “grand dame of science fiction,” was born in Pasadena, California on June 22, 1947. She received an Associate of Arts degree in 1968 from Pasadena Community College, and also attended California State University in Los Angeles and the University of California, Los Angeles. During 1969 and 1970, she studied at the Screenwriter’s Guild Open Door Program and the Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop, where she took a class with science fiction master Harlan Ellison (who later became her mentor), and which led to Butler selling her first science fiction stories.
Butler’s first story, “Crossover,” was published in the 1971 Clarion anthology. Patternmaster, her first novel and the first title of her five-volume Patternist series, was published in 1976, followed by Mind of My Mind in 1977. Others in the series include Survivor (1978), Wild Seed (1980), which won the James Tiptree Award, and Clay’s Ark (1984). With the publication of Kindred in 1979, Butler was able to support herself writing full time. She won the Hugo Award in 1984 for her short story, “Speech Sounds,” and in 1985, Butler’s novelette “Bloodchild” won a Hugo Award, a Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and an award for best novelette from Science Fiction Chronicle.
Other books by Octavia E. Butler include the Xenogenesis trilogy: Dawn (1987), Adulthood Rites (1988) and Imago (1989), and a short story collection, Bloodchild and Other Stories (1995). Parable of the Sower (1993), the first of her Earthseed series, was a finalist for the Nebula Award as well as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. The book’s sequel, Parable of the Talents (1998), won a Nebula Award. In 1995 Butler was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellowship.
Sadly, Butler passed away in 2006 after a fall at her home. For more information about Butler and her ground-breaking science fiction career and novels, go to her official website at http://octaviabutler.org/
Elizabeth Camali
A Southern Californian native, Elizabeth Camali has been a speculative fiction enthusiast the moment she picked up her first book. Pocky, donuts and mini cheese snacks are the fuel to her creativity. In her free time, she enjoys watching online videos and drawing. Trash is her debut novel.
C.J. Cherryh
From Cherryh's website: I write full time; I travel; I try out things. The list includes, present and past tense: fencing, riding, archery, firearms, ancient weapons, donkeys, elephants, camels, butterflies, frogs, wasps, turtles, bees, ants, falconry, exotic swamp plants and tropicals, lizards, wilderness survival, fishing, sailing, street and ice skating, mechanics, carpentry, wiring, painting (canvas), painting (house), painting (interior), sculpture, aquariums both fresh and salt, needlepoint, bird breeding, furntiture refinishing, video games, archaeology, Roman, Greek civ, Crete, Celts, and caves.
I've traveled from New York to Istanbul and Troy; outrun a dog pack at Thebes, and seen Columbia lift on her first flight. I've fallen down a muddy chute in a Cretan cave, nearly drowned in the Illinois River, broken an arm, been kicked and tossed by horses, fended off an amorous merchant in a Turkish tent bazaar, fought a prairie fire, slept on deck in the Adriatic, and driven Picadilly Circus at rush hour. I've waded in two oceans and four of the seven seas, I've seen Halley's Comet from Australia's far coast, and I want to visit the Amazon, the Serengeti, and see the Erebus volcano in Antarctica. I've seen the Northern Lights and experienced tornadoes and a small earthquake. I choose to live downwind of five active volcanoes, (one of which has just waked up) and directly atop the evidence of world-class cataclysms: lava flow and Ice Age flood. I love snow and cold, and with my good friend Jane Fancher, I took up figure skating at 61. I took silver (to her gold) in my first small competion six months later. We practice the sport daily, and we both have ambitions to compete in adult Nationals...if I can ever get my outside back edges steady.
I see this planet as part of the whole universe: I'm stuck on it a while, and until I get the chance to get off it --- (I want to do a flyby of Mars and take a look at Nix Olympica and the Vallis Marinaris, personally; and I want to see Titan and Saturn's rings and the Red Spot on Jupiter) --- I don't plan to neglect where I am either, and I'm keeping a constantly updated list of wonders this planet has to see. http://www.cherryh.com/index.html
J. Conrad
J. Conrad is an independent writer of young adult fantasy. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, she now lives in Cedar Park, Texas, with her husband John Michael. For more information and excerpts from her first novel, please follow her on Twitter @j_a_conrad and visit her website, http://jconradfantasy.com.
M.D. Cooper
Michael Cooper has been writing since the day he closed Return of the King and wanted more. He's written a lot of fantasy that he never tried to get published, but one day decided to try his hand at science fiction, of which he has published one book (Outsystem) and is working on the sequel, A Path in the Darkness.
Michael is a software engineer at a company which builds sites and services around the open-source CMS named Drupal and enjoys the creativity involved in building web applications. When not writing stories or code Michael is spending time with his wife and daughter, or doing carpentry--a hobby which he has been growing over the years.
His other interests include astronomy, cars and racing, blacksmithing, movies, and just about any creative work one can do. You can read more about Outsystem and the characters at http://www.theintrepidsaga.com/.
Bruce C. Davis
Award-winning author, Bruce C. Davis, is a general and trauma surgeon in the Phoenix area. After fourteen years in the Navy, including duty on Guam and with the Marines, he settled in Mesa, Arizona. Writing has been a passion that he has pursued for many years. He has had short stories appear in several electronic and small press magazines. That Which is Human is his first novel, which won an award as the best new eBook of 2009. When not working or writing, he has been known to try his hand at woodworking, sailing, and computer gaming (World of Warcraft was once a serious addiction). Visit Davis at his website http://thatwhichishuman.com/.
L.M. Davis
L. M. Davis has been writing fantasy fiction since the third grade. The first short story that she wrote was about a vampire family that returned to their ancient home on one night each year Halloween to feast on its inhabitants. Davis has penned many fantasy stories about werewolves, mermaids, gods and goddesses, several of which have been published in various literary magazines, including Saracen. Ms. Davis has several degrees in English, including a Ph. D. from Emory University. She teaches courses in American, African American, and Native American literature. Born in the south and raised in the north, she currently lives in Atlanta and is contemplating getting a cat. It will probably be black. Interlopers: A Shifters Novel is her first book. Visit her official website at http://www.shiftersnovelseries.com/index.html.
L.M. Davis
L. M. Davis has been writing fantasy fiction since the third grade. The first short story that she wrote was about a vampire family that returned to their ancient home on one night each year Halloween to feast on its inhabitants. Davis has penned many fantasy stories about werewolves, mermaids, gods and goddesses, several of which have been published in various literary magazines, including Saracen. Ms. Davis has several degrees in English, including a Ph. D. from Emory University. She teaches courses in American, African American, and Native American literature. Born in the south and raised in the north, she currently lives in Atlanta and is contemplating getting a cat. It will probably be black. Interlopers: A Shifters Novel is her first book. Visit her official website at http://www.shiftersnovelseries.com/index.html.
Milton J. Davis
In 2005 Milton Davis decided to gather hundred of pages of unfinished manuscripts and pursue a lifelong dream of completing a novel. He fulfilled that dream in 2008 with the release of Meji Book One through his own company, MVmedia. Since that time Davis has released four more novels; Meji Book Two, Changa's Safari, Changa's Safari Volume Two, and A Debt To Pay. Each book had been well received by sword and sorcery fans throughout the world.
Milton Davis has also been credited in leading the revival of Sword and Soul, a heroic fiction subgenre created by Charles R.Saunders, author of Imaro and Dossouye. Davis and Saunders combined talents to release Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology, in 2011 to excellent reviews. Davis currently resides in the Metro Atlanta with his wife and children. He continues to work as a chemist while finally enjoying his passion for writing. His website includes his blog: http://www.mvmediaatl.com/Wagadu/
Milton Davis has also been credited in leading the revival of Sword and Soul, a heroic fiction subgenre created by Charles R.Saunders, author of Imaro and Dossouye. Davis and Saunders combined talents to release Griots: A Sword and Soul Anthology, in 2011 to excellent reviews. Davis currently resides in the Metro Atlanta with his wife and children. He continues to work as a chemist while finally enjoying his passion for writing. His website includes his blog: http://www.mvmediaatl.com/Wagadu/
Samuel R. Delany
Samuel Ray Delany, Jr. (born April 1, 1942), also known as "Chip", is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society. His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein Intersection (winners of the Nebula Award for 1966 and 1967 respectively), Nova, Dhalgren, and the Return to Nevèrÿon series. After winning four Nebula awards and two Hugo awards over the course of his career, Delany was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2002. Between 1988 and 1999 he was a professor of comparative literature at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Between 1999 and 2000 he was a professor of English at SUNY Buffalo. Since January 2001 he has been a professor of English and Creative Writing at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he is Director of the Graduate Creative Writing Program.
Tricia Drammeh
Tricia Drammeh is a wife and a mother of four children. Although she currently lives in Missouri, she has called many places home, including Georgia, Ohio, and California. She's worked in retail, customer service, sales, and accounting, but writing has always been her dream career. When she isn't writing, she enjoys reading, drinking vast amounts of coffee, and spending time with her family and the multitude of animals who have taken over her home. Tricia is currently working on her sixth novel. Drammeh's website is located at http://www.triciadrammeh.com/
Nancy Farmer
Nancy Farmer has written three Newbery Honor Books: The Ear the Eye and the Arm; A Girl Named Disaster; and The House of the Scorpion, which, in 2002, also won the National Book Award. Other books include Do You Know Me, The Warm Place, the Trolls trilogy and three picture books for young children. She grew up on the Arizona-Mexico border and lives with her family in Arizona.
Eugie Foster
Eugie Foster calls home a mildly haunted, fey-infested house in metro Atlanta that she shares with her husband, Matthew. After receiving her Master of Arts degree in Developmental Psychology, she retired from academia to pen flights of fancy. She also edits legislation for the Georgia General Assembly, which from time to time she suspects is another venture into flights of fancy.
Eugie received the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novelette for "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast," the 2011 Drabblecast People's Choice Award for Best Story for "The Wish of the Demon Achtromagk," and the 2012 eFestival of Words Best Short Story Collection Award for Mortal Clay, Stone Heart and Other Stories in Shades of Black and White. She has also been a finalist for the Hugo, BSFA, and Washington Science Fiction Association awards. Her fiction has been translated into eight languages, and her publication credits number over 150. Her short story collection, Returning My Sister's Face and Other Far Easter Tales of Whimsy and Malice was published in 2009 and has been used as a textbook at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of California-Davis.
Visit her online at www.EugieFoster.com
David Macinnis Gill
David Macinnis Gill is the author of Soul Enchilada and Black Hole Sun, both from Greenwillow Books. His short stories have appeared in several magazines, including The Crescent Review and Writer’s Forum. His critical biography of young adult author Graham Salisbury, Graham Salisbury: Island Boy, was published by Scarecrow Press. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English/creative writing and a doctorate in education, both from the University of Tennessee. He is the Past President of ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents) and an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His nonfiction, book reviews, essays, and academic work have appeared in a variety of publications, including The English Journal, Teacher-Librarian, and many others.
Gill’s teaching career began in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was a high school teacher at Brainerd High School and briefly at the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. He later joined the English Department at Ohio University as an assistant professor. Currently, he is an associate professor of English education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He now lives on the Carolina coast with his family, plus fourteen fish, two rescued dogs, and a nocturnal marsupial. Visit Gill at his website: http://davidmacinnisgill.com/
Alison Goodman
Alison lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, Ron, and their Machiavellian Jack Russell Terrier, Xander. She was a D.J. O'Hearn Memorial Fellow at Melbourne University, holds a Master of Arts, and has taught creative writing at postgraduate level. Alison is currently working on a new fiction series, and professionally mentors a small number of writers on their book-length projects. EON won the 2008 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and recently it was listed as a 2010 American Library Association Best Young Adult Book, a James Tiptree Jr. Award Honour Book and a C.B.C.A Notable Book. Alison's first novel was Singing The Dogstar Blues, a science-fiction comedy thriller, which won an Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel, and was listed as a C.B.C..A. Notable Book and an A.L.A. Best Young Adult book of 2004. It has recently been re-jacketed and re-released in Australia. Her second novel, Killing the Rabbit, is a crime/thriller for adults published in the U.S. by Bantam Books and shortlisted for the Davitt Award. Her website is http://www.alisongoodman.com.au/index.html.
Virginia Hamilton (1934-2002)
From Panterian Tales: "Like Samuel Delany, Virginia Hamilton was a prolific writer. Zeely, her first novel about two children who encounter a Watusi queen on their uncle’s farm, was published in 1967. During her life time, she would publish more than 40 books in various genres for the children, middle grade, and Y. A. audiences. She received numerous honors for her writing throughout her career, including the Coretta Scott King Award, the Edgar Allan Poe Award and a MacArthur Genius Grant (impressive)." To read more of L.M. Davis' blog post about Virginia Hamilton, please click here. You can also access Virginia Hamilton's official website at http://www.virginiahamilton.com/
A.J. Harper
AJ Harper lives in the Bay Area. Night Biters is his first horror novel. He's currently completing 2 novels. A sequel to Night Biters and a Sizzling story of Friendship and Haters. He can be reached through his website http://urbanhorror.com/index.html
Samuel Ray Delany, Jr. (born April 1, 1942), also known as "Chip", is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society. His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein Intersection (winners of the Nebula Award for 1966 and 1967 respectively), Nova, Dhalgren, and the Return to Nevèrÿon series. After winning four Nebula awards and two Hugo awards over the course of his career, Delany was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2002. Between 1988 and 1999 he was a professor of comparative literature at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Between 1999 and 2000 he was a professor of English at SUNY Buffalo. Since January 2001 he has been a professor of English and Creative Writing at Temple University in Philadelphia, where he is Director of the Graduate Creative Writing Program.
Tricia Drammeh
Tricia Drammeh is a wife and a mother of four children. Although she currently lives in Missouri, she has called many places home, including Georgia, Ohio, and California. She's worked in retail, customer service, sales, and accounting, but writing has always been her dream career. When she isn't writing, she enjoys reading, drinking vast amounts of coffee, and spending time with her family and the multitude of animals who have taken over her home. Tricia is currently working on her sixth novel. Drammeh's website is located at http://www.triciadrammeh.com/
Nancy Farmer
Nancy Farmer has written three Newbery Honor Books: The Ear the Eye and the Arm; A Girl Named Disaster; and The House of the Scorpion, which, in 2002, also won the National Book Award. Other books include Do You Know Me, The Warm Place, the Trolls trilogy and three picture books for young children. She grew up on the Arizona-Mexico border and lives with her family in Arizona.
Eugie Foster
Eugie Foster calls home a mildly haunted, fey-infested house in metro Atlanta that she shares with her husband, Matthew. After receiving her Master of Arts degree in Developmental Psychology, she retired from academia to pen flights of fancy. She also edits legislation for the Georgia General Assembly, which from time to time she suspects is another venture into flights of fancy.
Eugie received the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novelette for "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast," the 2011 Drabblecast People's Choice Award for Best Story for "The Wish of the Demon Achtromagk," and the 2012 eFestival of Words Best Short Story Collection Award for Mortal Clay, Stone Heart and Other Stories in Shades of Black and White. She has also been a finalist for the Hugo, BSFA, and Washington Science Fiction Association awards. Her fiction has been translated into eight languages, and her publication credits number over 150. Her short story collection, Returning My Sister's Face and Other Far Easter Tales of Whimsy and Malice was published in 2009 and has been used as a textbook at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of California-Davis.
Visit her online at www.EugieFoster.com
David Macinnis Gill
David Macinnis Gill is the author of Soul Enchilada and Black Hole Sun, both from Greenwillow Books. His short stories have appeared in several magazines, including The Crescent Review and Writer’s Forum. His critical biography of young adult author Graham Salisbury, Graham Salisbury: Island Boy, was published by Scarecrow Press. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English/creative writing and a doctorate in education, both from the University of Tennessee. He is the Past President of ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents) and an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His nonfiction, book reviews, essays, and academic work have appeared in a variety of publications, including The English Journal, Teacher-Librarian, and many others.
Gill’s teaching career began in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was a high school teacher at Brainerd High School and briefly at the Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences. He later joined the English Department at Ohio University as an assistant professor. Currently, he is an associate professor of English education at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He now lives on the Carolina coast with his family, plus fourteen fish, two rescued dogs, and a nocturnal marsupial. Visit Gill at his website: http://davidmacinnisgill.com/
Alison Goodman
Alison lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, Ron, and their Machiavellian Jack Russell Terrier, Xander. She was a D.J. O'Hearn Memorial Fellow at Melbourne University, holds a Master of Arts, and has taught creative writing at postgraduate level. Alison is currently working on a new fiction series, and professionally mentors a small number of writers on their book-length projects. EON won the 2008 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel, and recently it was listed as a 2010 American Library Association Best Young Adult Book, a James Tiptree Jr. Award Honour Book and a C.B.C.A Notable Book. Alison's first novel was Singing The Dogstar Blues, a science-fiction comedy thriller, which won an Aurealis Award for Best Young Adult Novel, and was listed as a C.B.C..A. Notable Book and an A.L.A. Best Young Adult book of 2004. It has recently been re-jacketed and re-released in Australia. Her second novel, Killing the Rabbit, is a crime/thriller for adults published in the U.S. by Bantam Books and shortlisted for the Davitt Award. Her website is http://www.alisongoodman.com.au/index.html.
Virginia Hamilton (1934-2002)
From Panterian Tales: "Like Samuel Delany, Virginia Hamilton was a prolific writer. Zeely, her first novel about two children who encounter a Watusi queen on their uncle’s farm, was published in 1967. During her life time, she would publish more than 40 books in various genres for the children, middle grade, and Y. A. audiences. She received numerous honors for her writing throughout her career, including the Coretta Scott King Award, the Edgar Allan Poe Award and a MacArthur Genius Grant (impressive)." To read more of L.M. Davis' blog post about Virginia Hamilton, please click here. You can also access Virginia Hamilton's official website at http://www.virginiahamilton.com/
A.J. Harper
AJ Harper lives in the Bay Area. Night Biters is his first horror novel. He's currently completing 2 novels. A sequel to Night Biters and a Sizzling story of Friendship and Haters. He can be reached through his website http://urbanhorror.com/index.html
William Hayashi
William Hayashi's diverse life experiences produced the first volume of a trilogy combining traits from the speculative fiction of Michael Crichton to the surprising plot twists of Robert Ludlum.
Hayashi is a life-long member of the Information Technologies industry. He began as a programmer in the early 1970s and has had his own business consulting firm for over 25 years.
Hayashi's writing talents also encompass award-winning screenplays. His first screenplay won Best Script in Chicago's 2009 leg of the International 48 Hour Film Project.
Hayashi's website address is http://www.thedarksidetrilogy.com/
Hayashi is a life-long member of the Information Technologies industry. He began as a programmer in the early 1970s and has had his own business consulting firm for over 25 years.
Hayashi's writing talents also encompass award-winning screenplays. His first screenplay won Best Script in Chicago's 2009 leg of the International 48 Hour Film Project.
Hayashi's website address is http://www.thedarksidetrilogy.com/
Robert Heinlein (1907-1988)
While most of Heinlein’s later novels are not appropriate for a young teen, his classic teen/young adult stories are coming-of-age tales set in a changing world. He was a master of the classic action-packed, adventure Sci-Fi novel. Despite the cover art, several of his books featured non-White main characters. Heinlein was often subtle in his references to his characters' race/ethnicities, so read carefully and remember the era when he was writing! Publishers wouldn't go for a non-White main character, so he wrote the character anyway, without being obvious. For more FAQs, go to the Heinlein society webpage at http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/faqworks.html.
While most of Heinlein’s later novels are not appropriate for a young teen, his classic teen/young adult stories are coming-of-age tales set in a changing world. He was a master of the classic action-packed, adventure Sci-Fi novel. Despite the cover art, several of his books featured non-White main characters. Heinlein was often subtle in his references to his characters' race/ethnicities, so read carefully and remember the era when he was writing! Publishers wouldn't go for a non-White main character, so he wrote the character anyway, without being obvious. For more FAQs, go to the Heinlein society webpage at http://www.heinleinsociety.org/rah/faqworks.html.
K.R. Hulsey
From the Smashwords bio: "I have an interesting heritage of Hispanic, Welsh, and Native American, but I was raised to be a strong American woman. Period. I am a wife, a mother of 3 and I work a part time job. Writing is what I do to stay sane and remind myself that I still deserve ME time.
"I started to write after a childhood episode prompted my school to suggest to my mother that I should see a psychiatrist. After a few trips, the man realized I had an overactive imagination, a short attention span, and I was in desperate need of an outlet. He suggested I start creating things with my hands, to use my imagination in my coloring, in my school art projects, even in the way I played. I didn't write at first, my spelling and grammar is still bad enough to give editors a stroke. Yet, as I got older and the school art projects faded into nothingness, I began to do poetry.
"I won't bore you with my difficulties as a child, everyone has them, and I've seen plenty worse. But my writing was pretty dark in the beginning. I started the Demona series during my Freshman year in High school, setting it aside and restarting a million times. When I hit college, I was inspired by life and new friends to finally finish book one. I sent it to DAW. Six months later I got a rejection -- but all I saw was my entire manuscript, stark white and pages completely untouched. I took some gasoline to that copy. I started again and sent it off to TOR. Ditto results. I gave up.
"About the time my son was born, six years ago, I was reading a book and couldn't believe that such trash could possibly be published. I looked at the company, and it was DAW. I was disgusted. Even more so when I found out the book was published due to an inside connection -- it said so right on the inside cover. It was a dedication thanking her cousin's friend for his help. I decided I didn't want the big corporations to publish my book anymore. Sure they had great writers and great books, but why would I want anything to do with big business that you can only break into if you have the right connections? The Mafia had the right connections and look how well that went.
"So here I am. I always hope that everyone who reads the story, enjoys it, of course I can't make everyone happy but I can still hope. And frankly, no matter how bad it is, it's a whole lot better than that tripe I paid $15.00 for."
"I started to write after a childhood episode prompted my school to suggest to my mother that I should see a psychiatrist. After a few trips, the man realized I had an overactive imagination, a short attention span, and I was in desperate need of an outlet. He suggested I start creating things with my hands, to use my imagination in my coloring, in my school art projects, even in the way I played. I didn't write at first, my spelling and grammar is still bad enough to give editors a stroke. Yet, as I got older and the school art projects faded into nothingness, I began to do poetry.
"I won't bore you with my difficulties as a child, everyone has them, and I've seen plenty worse. But my writing was pretty dark in the beginning. I started the Demona series during my Freshman year in High school, setting it aside and restarting a million times. When I hit college, I was inspired by life and new friends to finally finish book one. I sent it to DAW. Six months later I got a rejection -- but all I saw was my entire manuscript, stark white and pages completely untouched. I took some gasoline to that copy. I started again and sent it off to TOR. Ditto results. I gave up.
"About the time my son was born, six years ago, I was reading a book and couldn't believe that such trash could possibly be published. I looked at the company, and it was DAW. I was disgusted. Even more so when I found out the book was published due to an inside connection -- it said so right on the inside cover. It was a dedication thanking her cousin's friend for his help. I decided I didn't want the big corporations to publish my book anymore. Sure they had great writers and great books, but why would I want anything to do with big business that you can only break into if you have the right connections? The Mafia had the right connections and look how well that went.
"So here I am. I always hope that everyone who reads the story, enjoys it, of course I can't make everyone happy but I can still hope. And frankly, no matter how bad it is, it's a whole lot better than that tripe I paid $15.00 for."
Edna Iturralde
Edna Iturralde is an Ecuadorian author who has published 33 titles over the past three decades. Iturralde also founded, directed, and wrote the Environmental Magazine "The Comet" for eleven years, from 1982 to 1991. She also collaborated on a weekly story for Panorama magazine of the newspaper El Comercio of Quito. Nominated again in 2012 for the ALMA award from Sweden -- the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children's and juvenile fiction -- Iturralde continues to receive the recognition she deserves for her work. Her books are cherished across Latin America by three generations of children and adolescents. The official Edna Iturralde website is located at www.ednaiturralde.com/.
Alaya Dawn Johnson
Alaya (pronounced ah-lie-ah) lives, writes, cooks and (perhaps most importantly) eats in New York City. Her literary loves are all forms of speculative fiction, historical fiction, and the occasional highbrow novel. Her culinary loves are all kinds of ethnic food, particularly South Indian, which she feels must be close to ambrosia. She graduated from Columbia University in 2004 with a BA in East Asian Languages and Cultures, and has lived and traveled extensively in Japan. (And you can email her at: alaya [a t] alayadawnjohnson [d o t] com)
Daniel Heath Justice
Daniel Heath Justice is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and was raised on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in that part of the Mouache Ute territory now known as Victor, Colorado. He teaches Indigenous North American literature and Aboriginal studies at the University of Toronto. Justice is the author of the renowned fantasy trilogy The Way of Thorn and Thunder, all published by Kegedonce Press. He is also the author of Our Fire Survives the Storm: A Cherokee Literary History published in December 2005 by the University of Minnesota Press. http://www.danielheathjustice.com/creativeworks.html
Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee is originally from the small town of Sturgis, Saskatchewan in Canada. He struck out for a career in radio right out of high school. It was on those long overnight shifts that he began to work on his writing "urge" when there wasn't really a whole lot to do. He found that he really enjoyed putting his imagination down on paper and kept working at it while at home during his days off. One idea always turned into another and before he knew it, several short stories were done! He thought of taking it one step further and proceeded to give writing a novel a go! The process turned out to be long and tiring at times, but at the same time quite enjoyable! He found himself writing certain passages, taking a day off and then coming back to it and adding further to the developing story. Before he knew it, his first draft of a novel was done! He always had an interest in science fiction and fantasy with J.R.R. Tolkien and Terry Brooks being a couple of his favourite authors. It was from them that he found the inspiration to create his own work and attempt to keep anyone who would read his material hooked as they had hooked him. Visit Lee at his website http://www.kevinleeauthor.ca.
Ursula LeGuin
Ursula Kroeber was born in 1929 in Berkeley, California, where she grew up. Her parents were the anthropologist Alfred Kroeber and the writer Theodora Kroeber, author of Ishi. She went to Radcliffe College and did graduate work at Columbia University. She married Charles A. Le Guin, a historian, in Paris in 1953; they have lived in Portland, Oregon, since 1958, and have three children and four grandchildren.
Ursula K. Le Guin writes both poetry and prose, and in various modes including realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, young children's books, books for young adults, screenplays, essays, verbal texts for musicians, and voicetexts. She has published seven books of poetry, twenty-two novels, over a hundred short stories (collected in eleven volumes), four collections of essays, twelve books for children, and four volumes of translation. Few American writers have done work of such high quality in so many forms. Most of Le Guin's major titles have remained continuously in print, some for over forty years. Her best known fantasy works, the six Books of Earthsea, have sold millions of copies in America and England, and have been translated into sixteen languages. Her first major work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness, is considered epoch-making in the field for its radical investigation of gender roles and its moral and literary complexity. Her novels The Dispossessed and Always Coming Home redefine the scope and style of utopian fiction, while the realistic stories of a small Oregon beach town in Searoad show her permanent sympathy with the ordinary griefs of ordinary people. Among her books for children, the Catwings series has become a particular favorite. Her version of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, a translation she worked on for forty years, has received high praise.
Three of Le Guin's books have been finalists for the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and among the many honors her writing has received are a National Book Award, five Hugo Awards, five Nebula Awards, SFWA's Grand Master, the Kafka Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Howard Vursell Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the L.A. Times Robert Kirsch Award, the PEN/Malamud Award, the Margaret A. Edwards Award, etc.
Le Guin has taken the risk of writing seriously and with rigorous artistic control in forms some consider sub-literary. Critical reception of her work has rewarded her courage with considerable generosity. Harold Bloom includes her among his list of classic American writers. Grace Paley, Carolyn Kizer, Gary Snyder, and John Updike have praised her work. Many critical and academic studies of Le Guin's work have been written, including books by Elisabeth Cummins, James Bittner, B.J. Bucknall, J. De Bolt, B. Selinger, K.R. Wayne, D.R. White, an early bibliography by Elizabeth Cummins Cogell and a continuation of the bibliography by David S. Bratman.
Le Guin leads an intensely private life, with sporadic forays into political activism and steady participation in the literary community of her city. Having taught writing workshops from Vermont to Australia, she is now retired from teaching. She limits her public appearances mostly to the West Coast. Recent publications include the Annals of the Western Shore: Gifts, (Harcourt 2004, paperback edition 2006); Voices (Harcourt, September 2006), and Powers, (Harcourt, September 2007); Lavinia (Harcourt, April 2008), Cheek by Jowl, The Wild Girls, Out Here. For more information, go to Le Guin's website at http://www.ursulakleguin.com.
Marie Lu
Marie Lu is the art director at Online Alchemy, a video game company, and also owns the business and brand Fuzz Academy. She lives in Los Angeles, California. Visit her official website at http://www.marielu.org
Carolyn Marsden
Carolyn Marsden grew up in Mexico City and Southern California. Although she wrote for adults for many years, she began to write for children after the birth of her daughters. She attended Vermont College and earned an MFA in Writing for Children. Her first book, The Gold-Threaded Dress, published by Candlewick, was a Booklist Top Ten Youth Novel of 2002. Her second novel, Silk Umbrellas, was a Texas Bluebonnet nominee and Booklist Top Ten Art Novel of 2003. Since then, Marsden has published several more award-winning middle grade chapter books with Candlewick and Viking, almost all with multicultural themes. The Buddha's Diamonds was a Southern California Booksellers Association finalist and a Booklist Top Ten Religion Novel of 2008. Sahwira: An African Friendship, is set in what is now Zimbabwe. Take Me With You was a Booklist Top Ten Historical Novel of 2010 and a Booklist Top Ten Religious Novel of 2010. Marsden's latest book, Starfields (Candlewick 2011), touches on the 2012 prophesy. Her next book, The White Zone, is set in contemporary Iraq and will be released by Carolrhoda in February 2012. Marsden lives with her Thai husband and their two daughters.
Guadalupe Garcia McCall
I was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. My family immigrated to the United States when I was six years old. I grew up in Eagle Pass, a small, border town in South Texas. Eagle Pass is the setting of my debut novel in verse, Under the Mesquite, released in the fall of 2011 from Lee & Low Books. After high school, I went off to Alpine, in West Texas, to study to become a teacher. I have a BA in Theatre Arts and English from Sul Ross State University. There, I met my husband, Jim. We have three grown sons, James, Steven, and Jason. We've lived in Somerset for several years now. We love living the simple life in the country, where I get to be close to what I love, nature.
Walter Dean Myers
An extremely popular author among teens and young adults, Myers is a New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author who has garnered much respect and admiration for his fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for young people. Winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award, he is considered one of the preeminent writers for children. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his family.
Ciella Naden
Ciella Naden is author Cynthia P. Willow's 13-year-old daughter. She wrote Cat Tales and Whiskers as a home-school assignment. She battles dyslexia, but believes that with God, ALL things are possible. She also holds a high-green belt in karate, competes in air pistol competitions with the local 4-H, and runs her own crochet business. She loves Jesus and plans to write more stories about Ash in which he will be demon hunting.
Howard Night
Howard Night is 39 years old, born and raised in Philadelphia. After an imperfect college career and an imperfect stint in the Air Force he began writing primarily Urban Fantasy with very IMPERFECT protagonists. Night loves setting his characters in multi-layered worlds much like Philly; not quite metropolis, not quite urban-township. The Serpent Cult is his first novel.
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven was born on April 30, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, and spent his childhood in Beverly Hills, "excluding two years (ages six to eight) in Washington, D.C., serving his country." In 1956 he entered the California Institute of Technology, only to flunk out a year-and-a-half later after discovering a bookstore jammed with used science-fiction magazines. Larry finally graduated with a B. A. in mathematics (and a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Kansas, in 1962, and completed one year of graduate work in mathematics at UCLA before dropping out to write. He made his first sale, "The Coldest Place," in 1964 for $25.
Niven's love of science drove him to write stories on the cutting edge of scientific discovery throughout his career. Neutron stars were a newly-described phenomenon when Niven first wrote about them in 1966, and the modern-day theories of "dark matter" inspired him to write "The Missing Mass" in 2000. ("Neutron Star" netted him his first of five Hugo awards, and "The Missing Mass" earned an award from Locus, continuing his streak into the 21st century.) In between, he wrote stories about quantum black holes (following a talk with Steven Hawking), solar flares, and the "real" reason Saturn's rings appeared twisted in Voyager I's imagery.
Niven was awarded the Skylark Award in 1973 (Officially the "Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction"), given annually by the New England Science Fiction Association, for significant contribution to SF in the spirit of the writer E.E. "Doc" Smith. In 2005 he and Jerry Pournelle were given the Robert A. Heinlein Award, which was established in 2003 by the Heinlein Society to honor outstanding published works in hard science fiction or technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space. His awards also include the Nebula Award for Ringworld, five Hugo Awards, four Locus Awards, two Ditmars (an Australian award for Best International Science Fiction), the Prometheus Award and the Seiun Award (from Japan). For more information on Niven and his career, visit the official website at http://www.larryniven.net
Andre Norton (1912-2005)
Andre Norton is my all-time favorite author. Her books and characters were the love of my teen years and continues to the present day. She was probably one of the first popular science fiction authors to portray Native American and Black characters not only as the protagonists in her stories, but also in a positive and culturally sensitive manner. Her characters were well-drawn portrayals of young men and women placed in difficult situations, on Earth, out in the depths of space or on different planets, facing their own battles against societies, the bad guys and sometimes bigotry and racism. Norton’s books were written pre-Civil Rights era through to the present and the authors contracted to continue her series books are following in her footsteps. Norton is well-known as the Grand Dame of Sci-fi and Fantasy among fans of the genre. Visit Andre Norton's website at http://www.andre-norton.org/ (RDJ)
Kodai Okuda
A former New Englander, Okuda currently resides in Colorful Colorado. Fresh out of high school, he served in the USAF at the end of the Cold War Era as a Thermo-Nuclear Weapon Specialist. After completing his military service, he moved to Colorado and apprenticed to become a gunsmith. He worked in the trade for nearly a decade and gained considerable knowledge of ballistics and the skill necessary to use firearms. Being a "jack-of-all-trades", Okuda has a wide variety of experiences and knowledge to draw upon, which allows him to produce rich and detailed worlds of SF, horror, and fantasy. Currently, Okuda is a small business owner and now an Indie Published author with the publication of his first science fiction novel, The Stygian Conspiracy.
Nnedi Okorfor
Nnedi Okorafor is a novelist of Nigerian descent known for weaving African culture into creative evocative settings and memorable characters. In a profile of Nnedi's work titled "Weapons of Mass Creation", The New York Times called Nnedi's imagination "stunning". Her novels include Zahrah the Windseeker (winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature), The Shadow Speaker (winner of the CBS Parallax Award) and Long Juju Man (winner of the Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa). Her latest novel, Who Fears Death (DAW Books, 2010), is a dark, gritty magical realist narrative that evenly combines African literature and fantasy/science fiction into a powerful story of genocide and of the woman who reshapes her world. Nnedi holds a PhD in English and currently is a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University. Visit Nnedi at http://www.nnedi.com.
Justin Scott Parr
At 14 years old, I ventured with my middle-school class to Washington, D.C., where the capital city's monuments, museums, and rich history sparked my desire to explore the world. Eighteen years later, I embarked on a journey to fulfill a lifelong goal that most people only dream of. After quitting my job with a Fortune 500 company, I grabbed my passport and spent the next six months backpacking across 11 Latin-American countries. I chronicled my voyage through photos and a travel blog. And upon returning home, I shared tales of magnificent adventures with my 8-year-old cousin, Destiny. The third grader was enthralled with my vivid stories.
Destiny's curiosity about the cultural, historical, and educational aspects of my trip--and her countless "what-ifs"--ultimately led to the creation of the popular book series featuring 12-year-old Sage Carrington. I'm an adventurer at heart and impart my love of "the journey" into every Sage Carrington tale.
James Pasch
James Pasch was born in 1966 in Tacoma to a military family. The military life allowed him to travel the world at an early age, living and experiencing many other cultures. Pasch's mother, born and raised in Ireland, has been the greatest friend and influence in his life (although he says he doesn't tell her enough). Ireland has always been a large influence on Pasch's life, especially as the son of an Irish woman proud of her heritage. It isn't surprising to those around him that this story takes place in an ancient Ireland that never was. The town names, people, places, creatures and some of the legends in this book reflect places and events he grew up with as a kid living in Ireland, twisted into a mesh of Irish mythology.
Steven Allan Pease (1957-)
Steven enjoyed reading as a child with mystery & adventure series like The Hardy Boys, Radio Boys and Tom Swift. It was during middle grade he discovered science-fiction with Andre Norton's Starman's Son. Liking the story, he could not read enough of her other books. A grandfather suggested he try the Horatio Hornblower book series by C.S. Forester, he loved it. Hooked on reading, his taste in book genres jumped all over: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical, Western... One thing that Steven discovered is that he preferred to read multiple-volume book series, not short stories.
The Adventures of Rocky book series project is intended for the middle grade reader, and he believes in writing a "Clean Read".
Please visit the Rocky FB page and say hello!
Rocky Series FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AdventuresOfRocky
Author FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/StevenAllanPease
Twitter: @StevenAPease
Michel Prince
Michel Prince is an author who graduated with a bachelor degree in History and Political Science. Her novel Chrysalis is the first in a "cross-over" series following the demon plagued Ellie Chisholm. Michel writes young adult and adult paranormal romance as well as contemporary romance.
With characters yelling "It's my turn damn it!!!" She tries to explain to them that alas, she can only type a hundred and twenty words a minute and they will have wait their turn. She knows eventually they find their way out of her head and to her fingertips and she looks forward to sharing them with you. When Michel can suppress the voices in her head she can be found at a scouting event or cheering for her son in a variety of sports. She would like to thank her family for always being in her corner and especially her husband for supporting her every dream and never letting her give up.
Michel is a member of RWA Pro and lives in the Midwest with her husband, son, and cat. Her website is located at http://www.michelprincebooks.com/index.html
Esther Ruiz
Born in 1988, Esther Ruiz became a finalist of the Latino Screenplay Competition with the script "El Show de la Realidad" in 2007 ("The Life Show"); from 2007 until 2009 she was a weekly columnist for a local newspaper in Mexico called "Zocalo" with the column titled "De Todo". She has written several scripts, short stories and essays.
Her latest work is a novel called Project Titans, about three guys and two girls who discover that they have supernatural abilities and the obligation of protecting the world with them. Currently available on Amazon, it is available in both English and Spanish Kindle editions.
Charles R. Saunders
The creator of the sword and sorcery genre known as "Sword and Soul", based on African history and mythology. Winner of the Best Pulp Novel of 2011, Saunders continues to create new worlds in Sword and Soul fantasy and now in the hard-boiled mystery/pulp fiction genre. Check out his website at http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/
Lynnette Spratley
Based in the South, Spratley is an experienced writer that's stepped off into the world of fiction, specifically Science Fiction. Her first novel is Memory's Child.
Eva Swan
Eva Swan (pen name of Erzebet Yellowboy, head of Papaveria Press) - In the wooded garden behind my grandmother’s house I developed a deep appreciation of the ancient earth and the things that remain of seasons past. My art is a means of communicating the understanding I’ve gained through the observation of and participation in the natural cycles of the land. It was in old stories of the wood, of wolves and witches and princes who turn into frogs that I found a desire to tell my own tales.
I am the founder of Papaveria Press and co-founder, with my partner, of Hadean Press, both imprints of Circle Six. I manage the fairy tale journal Cabinet des Fées and co-edit the monthly webzine, Jabberwocky. You can learn more about me by following my blog, I Saw the Angel.
S. Andrew Swann
S. Andrew Swann is the pen name of Steven Swiniarski. He’s married and lives in the Greater Cleveland area where he has lived all of his adult life. He has a background in mechanical engineering and — besides writing — works as a Database Manager for one of the largest private child services agencies in the Cleveland area. He has published 19 novels over the past 15 years with four more coming over the next two years. His website is http://www.sandrewswann.com/
Robert Tabb
Born in California, Tabb was raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, but returned to the U.S. in his teens. He's been living in Arizona since. An internet gamer, Tabb loves Sci-Fi and Fantasy. He's also a big supporter of local business and organizations. Tabb was inspired to write after reading R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf series. Spirit Lance is his debut book. You can contact Tabb through his blog at http://themindofamiddleagedone.wordpress.com/
Drew Hayden Taylor
Drew Hayden Taylor (born 1 July 1962) is a Canadian playwright, author and journalist. Born in Curve Lake, Ontario, Taylor is part Ojibwa and part Caucasian. About his background Taylor says: "I plan to start my own nation. Because I am half Ojibway half Caucasian, we will be called the occasions."
Taylor writes predominantly about First Nations culture, and has also been a frequent contributor to various magazines including This Magazine. His writing includes plays, short stories, essays, newspaper columns and film and television work. In 2004 he was appointed to the Ontario Ministry of Culture Advisory Committee. As well as his writing, Taylor has been the artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts, and has taught at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre. He co-created the series "Mixed Blessings" for APTN in 2007, and has been a writer for "The Beachcombers", "Street Legal" and "North of 60." Taylor is currently the writer-in-residence at the University of Western Ontario. His official website is located at http://www.drewhaydentaylor.com/
Dom Testa
A radio show host since 1977, Dom Testa is currently a co-host of the popular “Dom and Jane Show” on Mix 100 in Denver, Colorado. A strong advocate of literacy programs for children, he regularly visits Colorado schools. Testa began the Big Brain Club to encourage students to overcome the peer pressure that often prevents them from achieving their true potential. His debute novel, The Comet's Curse, won an international grand prize from Writer's Digest Magazine and an EVVY Award for Best Young Adult Book. The Galahad series has grown to six books, published by Tor Teen. For more information about Testa, the Galahad series, the Mindbender books, and the Big Brain Club, visit his website at www.domtesta.com.
Sheree Renée Thomas
A native of Memphis, a Cave Canem Fellow and a New York Foundation of the Arts Fellow, Thomas' short stories, poetry, and articles have appeared in various publications, including storySouth, Callaloo, Colorlines, Essence Magazine, Upscale, VIBE, Obsidian III, Harpur Palate, The Washington Post Book World, Meridians, African Voices, Drumvoices Revue, Black Renaissance /Renaissance Noire as well as in several anthologies, including Mojo: Conjure Stories, Hurricane Blues, Role Call, Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, The Ringing Ear, MYTHIC 2, Southern Revival, Bronx Biannual, and So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy.
A mother of two daughters and a teaching artist, Sheree is the editor of two anthologies (Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora and Dark Matter: Reading the Bones, winner of the 2001 and 2005 World Fantasy Award) and of SCARAB, a limited, signed artist edition of the Coptic-bound anthology. SHOTGUN LULLABIES: Stories & Poems, is the first collection of her work.
Rob Thurman
Rob, short for Robyn (yes, he is really a she) Thurman lives in Indiana, land of rolling hills and cows, deer, and wild turkeys. Many, many turkeys. She is also the author of the Cal Leandros Series: Nightlife, Moonshine, Madhouse, and Deathwish; has a story in the anthology Wolfsbane and Mistletoe; and is the author of Trick of the Light, the first book in the Trickster series.
Besides wild, ravenous turkeys, she has a dog (if you don’t have a dog, how do you live?)—one hundred pounds of Siberian husky. He looks like a wolf, has paws the size of a person’s hand, ice blue eyes, teeth out of a Godzilla movies, and the ferocious habit of hiding under the kitchen table and peeing on himself when strangers come by. Fortunately, she has another dog that is a little more invested in keeping the food source alive. By the way, the dogs were adopted from shelters. They were fully grown, already housetrained, and grateful as hell. Think about it next time you’re looking for a Rover or Fluffy.
For updates, teasers, deleted scenes, and various other extras, visit Rob Thurman's website at http://www.robthurman.net/ and her LiveJournal.
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who helped pioneer the science-fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Journey to the Center of the Earth (written in 1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869-1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised. Consequently he is often referred to as the "Father of science fiction", along with H. G. Wells. Verne is the second most translated author of all time, only behind Agatha Christie, with 4162 translations, according to Index Translationum. Some of his works have been made into films.
Vernor Vinge
Vernor Steffen Vinge (born October 2, 1944, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.) is a retired San Diego State University (SDSU) Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels and novellas A Fire Upon the Deep (1992), A Deepness in the Sky (1999), Rainbows End (2006), Fast Times at Fairmont High (2002) and The Cookie Monster (2004), as well as for his 1984 novel The Peace War and his 1993 essay "The Coming Technological Singularity", in which he argues that the creation of superhuman artificial intelligence will mark the point at which "the human era will be ended," such that no current models of reality are sufficient to predict beyond it.
Jacqueline West
A two-time Pushcart nominee for poetry, Jacqueline West lives amid the bluffs of Red Wing, Minnesota, with her husband and her dog, a Springer Spaniel mix named Brom Bones. Her book The Shadows won the 2010 Cybils Award for Fantasy & Science Fiction. The sequel, Spellbound, was nominated for a Minnesota Book Award in January 2012.
J. Dharma & Deanna Windham
Dharma and Deanna have written two series of books together. While not their first book to be written, I, Nemo is the first to be published and is eagerly awaited by the steampunk community. I, Nemo will soon be followed by the second book in the series, Raise The Nautilus. Their first series, The Kleopatra Chronicles, a fantasy-fiction novel with their signature steampunk elements, is eagerly awaited later this year. They live in South Orange County, CA, with their royal cat, Contessa.
Gene Luen Yang
Gene Luen Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. In 1997, he received the Xeric Grant for Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, his first comics work as an adult. He has since written and drawn a number of titles. His 2006 book American Born Chinese was the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award. It also won an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album - New. A short story from The Eternal Smile, his 2009 collaboration with Derek Kirk Kim, won an Eisner Award as well. His books Prime Baby and Level Up (with illustrator Thien Pham) were also nominated for Eisner Awards. Gene currently writes the graphic novel continuation of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Laurence Yep
Laurence Yep has been fascinated with tales of sibling rivalry from the day he was born. His older brother, Tom, chose his name Laurence - after a saint who died a particularly gruesome death. Laurence has been trying to get even ever since. Laurence Yep now lives in Pacific Grove, California, with his wife. One of children's literature's most respected authors, his award-winning titles include Newbery Honor Books Dragonwings and Dragon's Gate.
Edna Iturralde is an Ecuadorian author who has published 33 titles over the past three decades. Iturralde also founded, directed, and wrote the Environmental Magazine "The Comet" for eleven years, from 1982 to 1991. She also collaborated on a weekly story for Panorama magazine of the newspaper El Comercio of Quito. Nominated again in 2012 for the ALMA award from Sweden -- the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children's and juvenile fiction -- Iturralde continues to receive the recognition she deserves for her work. Her books are cherished across Latin America by three generations of children and adolescents. The official Edna Iturralde website is located at www.ednaiturralde.com/.
Alaya Dawn Johnson
Alaya (pronounced ah-lie-ah) lives, writes, cooks and (perhaps most importantly) eats in New York City. Her literary loves are all forms of speculative fiction, historical fiction, and the occasional highbrow novel. Her culinary loves are all kinds of ethnic food, particularly South Indian, which she feels must be close to ambrosia. She graduated from Columbia University in 2004 with a BA in East Asian Languages and Cultures, and has lived and traveled extensively in Japan. (And you can email her at: alaya [a t] alayadawnjohnson [d o t] com)
Daniel Heath Justice
Daniel Heath Justice is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and was raised on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in that part of the Mouache Ute territory now known as Victor, Colorado. He teaches Indigenous North American literature and Aboriginal studies at the University of Toronto. Justice is the author of the renowned fantasy trilogy The Way of Thorn and Thunder, all published by Kegedonce Press. He is also the author of Our Fire Survives the Storm: A Cherokee Literary History published in December 2005 by the University of Minnesota Press. http://www.danielheathjustice.com/creativeworks.html
Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee is originally from the small town of Sturgis, Saskatchewan in Canada. He struck out for a career in radio right out of high school. It was on those long overnight shifts that he began to work on his writing "urge" when there wasn't really a whole lot to do. He found that he really enjoyed putting his imagination down on paper and kept working at it while at home during his days off. One idea always turned into another and before he knew it, several short stories were done! He thought of taking it one step further and proceeded to give writing a novel a go! The process turned out to be long and tiring at times, but at the same time quite enjoyable! He found himself writing certain passages, taking a day off and then coming back to it and adding further to the developing story. Before he knew it, his first draft of a novel was done! He always had an interest in science fiction and fantasy with J.R.R. Tolkien and Terry Brooks being a couple of his favourite authors. It was from them that he found the inspiration to create his own work and attempt to keep anyone who would read his material hooked as they had hooked him. Visit Lee at his website http://www.kevinleeauthor.ca.
Ursula LeGuin
Ursula Kroeber was born in 1929 in Berkeley, California, where she grew up. Her parents were the anthropologist Alfred Kroeber and the writer Theodora Kroeber, author of Ishi. She went to Radcliffe College and did graduate work at Columbia University. She married Charles A. Le Guin, a historian, in Paris in 1953; they have lived in Portland, Oregon, since 1958, and have three children and four grandchildren.
Ursula K. Le Guin writes both poetry and prose, and in various modes including realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, young children's books, books for young adults, screenplays, essays, verbal texts for musicians, and voicetexts. She has published seven books of poetry, twenty-two novels, over a hundred short stories (collected in eleven volumes), four collections of essays, twelve books for children, and four volumes of translation. Few American writers have done work of such high quality in so many forms. Most of Le Guin's major titles have remained continuously in print, some for over forty years. Her best known fantasy works, the six Books of Earthsea, have sold millions of copies in America and England, and have been translated into sixteen languages. Her first major work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness, is considered epoch-making in the field for its radical investigation of gender roles and its moral and literary complexity. Her novels The Dispossessed and Always Coming Home redefine the scope and style of utopian fiction, while the realistic stories of a small Oregon beach town in Searoad show her permanent sympathy with the ordinary griefs of ordinary people. Among her books for children, the Catwings series has become a particular favorite. Her version of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, a translation she worked on for forty years, has received high praise.
Three of Le Guin's books have been finalists for the American Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and among the many honors her writing has received are a National Book Award, five Hugo Awards, five Nebula Awards, SFWA's Grand Master, the Kafka Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Howard Vursell Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the L.A. Times Robert Kirsch Award, the PEN/Malamud Award, the Margaret A. Edwards Award, etc.
Le Guin has taken the risk of writing seriously and with rigorous artistic control in forms some consider sub-literary. Critical reception of her work has rewarded her courage with considerable generosity. Harold Bloom includes her among his list of classic American writers. Grace Paley, Carolyn Kizer, Gary Snyder, and John Updike have praised her work. Many critical and academic studies of Le Guin's work have been written, including books by Elisabeth Cummins, James Bittner, B.J. Bucknall, J. De Bolt, B. Selinger, K.R. Wayne, D.R. White, an early bibliography by Elizabeth Cummins Cogell and a continuation of the bibliography by David S. Bratman.
Le Guin leads an intensely private life, with sporadic forays into political activism and steady participation in the literary community of her city. Having taught writing workshops from Vermont to Australia, she is now retired from teaching. She limits her public appearances mostly to the West Coast. Recent publications include the Annals of the Western Shore: Gifts, (Harcourt 2004, paperback edition 2006); Voices (Harcourt, September 2006), and Powers, (Harcourt, September 2007); Lavinia (Harcourt, April 2008), Cheek by Jowl, The Wild Girls, Out Here. For more information, go to Le Guin's website at http://www.ursulakleguin.com.
Marie Lu
Marie Lu is the art director at Online Alchemy, a video game company, and also owns the business and brand Fuzz Academy. She lives in Los Angeles, California. Visit her official website at http://www.marielu.org
Carolyn Marsden
Carolyn Marsden grew up in Mexico City and Southern California. Although she wrote for adults for many years, she began to write for children after the birth of her daughters. She attended Vermont College and earned an MFA in Writing for Children. Her first book, The Gold-Threaded Dress, published by Candlewick, was a Booklist Top Ten Youth Novel of 2002. Her second novel, Silk Umbrellas, was a Texas Bluebonnet nominee and Booklist Top Ten Art Novel of 2003. Since then, Marsden has published several more award-winning middle grade chapter books with Candlewick and Viking, almost all with multicultural themes. The Buddha's Diamonds was a Southern California Booksellers Association finalist and a Booklist Top Ten Religion Novel of 2008. Sahwira: An African Friendship, is set in what is now Zimbabwe. Take Me With You was a Booklist Top Ten Historical Novel of 2010 and a Booklist Top Ten Religious Novel of 2010. Marsden's latest book, Starfields (Candlewick 2011), touches on the 2012 prophesy. Her next book, The White Zone, is set in contemporary Iraq and will be released by Carolrhoda in February 2012. Marsden lives with her Thai husband and their two daughters.
Guadalupe Garcia McCall
I was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. My family immigrated to the United States when I was six years old. I grew up in Eagle Pass, a small, border town in South Texas. Eagle Pass is the setting of my debut novel in verse, Under the Mesquite, released in the fall of 2011 from Lee & Low Books. After high school, I went off to Alpine, in West Texas, to study to become a teacher. I have a BA in Theatre Arts and English from Sul Ross State University. There, I met my husband, Jim. We have three grown sons, James, Steven, and Jason. We've lived in Somerset for several years now. We love living the simple life in the country, where I get to be close to what I love, nature.
Walter Dean Myers
An extremely popular author among teens and young adults, Myers is a New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author who has garnered much respect and admiration for his fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for young people. Winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award, he is considered one of the preeminent writers for children. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his family.
Ciella Naden
Ciella Naden is author Cynthia P. Willow's 13-year-old daughter. She wrote Cat Tales and Whiskers as a home-school assignment. She battles dyslexia, but believes that with God, ALL things are possible. She also holds a high-green belt in karate, competes in air pistol competitions with the local 4-H, and runs her own crochet business. She loves Jesus and plans to write more stories about Ash in which he will be demon hunting.
Howard Night
Howard Night is 39 years old, born and raised in Philadelphia. After an imperfect college career and an imperfect stint in the Air Force he began writing primarily Urban Fantasy with very IMPERFECT protagonists. Night loves setting his characters in multi-layered worlds much like Philly; not quite metropolis, not quite urban-township. The Serpent Cult is his first novel.
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven was born on April 30, 1938, in Los Angeles, California, and spent his childhood in Beverly Hills, "excluding two years (ages six to eight) in Washington, D.C., serving his country." In 1956 he entered the California Institute of Technology, only to flunk out a year-and-a-half later after discovering a bookstore jammed with used science-fiction magazines. Larry finally graduated with a B. A. in mathematics (and a minor in psychology) from Washburn University, Kansas, in 1962, and completed one year of graduate work in mathematics at UCLA before dropping out to write. He made his first sale, "The Coldest Place," in 1964 for $25.
Niven's love of science drove him to write stories on the cutting edge of scientific discovery throughout his career. Neutron stars were a newly-described phenomenon when Niven first wrote about them in 1966, and the modern-day theories of "dark matter" inspired him to write "The Missing Mass" in 2000. ("Neutron Star" netted him his first of five Hugo awards, and "The Missing Mass" earned an award from Locus, continuing his streak into the 21st century.) In between, he wrote stories about quantum black holes (following a talk with Steven Hawking), solar flares, and the "real" reason Saturn's rings appeared twisted in Voyager I's imagery.
Niven was awarded the Skylark Award in 1973 (Officially the "Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction"), given annually by the New England Science Fiction Association, for significant contribution to SF in the spirit of the writer E.E. "Doc" Smith. In 2005 he and Jerry Pournelle were given the Robert A. Heinlein Award, which was established in 2003 by the Heinlein Society to honor outstanding published works in hard science fiction or technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space. His awards also include the Nebula Award for Ringworld, five Hugo Awards, four Locus Awards, two Ditmars (an Australian award for Best International Science Fiction), the Prometheus Award and the Seiun Award (from Japan). For more information on Niven and his career, visit the official website at http://www.larryniven.net
Andre Norton (1912-2005)
Andre Norton is my all-time favorite author. Her books and characters were the love of my teen years and continues to the present day. She was probably one of the first popular science fiction authors to portray Native American and Black characters not only as the protagonists in her stories, but also in a positive and culturally sensitive manner. Her characters were well-drawn portrayals of young men and women placed in difficult situations, on Earth, out in the depths of space or on different planets, facing their own battles against societies, the bad guys and sometimes bigotry and racism. Norton’s books were written pre-Civil Rights era through to the present and the authors contracted to continue her series books are following in her footsteps. Norton is well-known as the Grand Dame of Sci-fi and Fantasy among fans of the genre. Visit Andre Norton's website at http://www.andre-norton.org/ (RDJ)
Kodai Okuda
A former New Englander, Okuda currently resides in Colorful Colorado. Fresh out of high school, he served in the USAF at the end of the Cold War Era as a Thermo-Nuclear Weapon Specialist. After completing his military service, he moved to Colorado and apprenticed to become a gunsmith. He worked in the trade for nearly a decade and gained considerable knowledge of ballistics and the skill necessary to use firearms. Being a "jack-of-all-trades", Okuda has a wide variety of experiences and knowledge to draw upon, which allows him to produce rich and detailed worlds of SF, horror, and fantasy. Currently, Okuda is a small business owner and now an Indie Published author with the publication of his first science fiction novel, The Stygian Conspiracy.
Nnedi Okorfor
Nnedi Okorafor is a novelist of Nigerian descent known for weaving African culture into creative evocative settings and memorable characters. In a profile of Nnedi's work titled "Weapons of Mass Creation", The New York Times called Nnedi's imagination "stunning". Her novels include Zahrah the Windseeker (winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature), The Shadow Speaker (winner of the CBS Parallax Award) and Long Juju Man (winner of the Macmillan Writer's Prize for Africa). Her latest novel, Who Fears Death (DAW Books, 2010), is a dark, gritty magical realist narrative that evenly combines African literature and fantasy/science fiction into a powerful story of genocide and of the woman who reshapes her world. Nnedi holds a PhD in English and currently is a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University. Visit Nnedi at http://www.nnedi.com.
Justin Scott Parr
At 14 years old, I ventured with my middle-school class to Washington, D.C., where the capital city's monuments, museums, and rich history sparked my desire to explore the world. Eighteen years later, I embarked on a journey to fulfill a lifelong goal that most people only dream of. After quitting my job with a Fortune 500 company, I grabbed my passport and spent the next six months backpacking across 11 Latin-American countries. I chronicled my voyage through photos and a travel blog. And upon returning home, I shared tales of magnificent adventures with my 8-year-old cousin, Destiny. The third grader was enthralled with my vivid stories.
Destiny's curiosity about the cultural, historical, and educational aspects of my trip--and her countless "what-ifs"--ultimately led to the creation of the popular book series featuring 12-year-old Sage Carrington. I'm an adventurer at heart and impart my love of "the journey" into every Sage Carrington tale.
James Pasch
James Pasch was born in 1966 in Tacoma to a military family. The military life allowed him to travel the world at an early age, living and experiencing many other cultures. Pasch's mother, born and raised in Ireland, has been the greatest friend and influence in his life (although he says he doesn't tell her enough). Ireland has always been a large influence on Pasch's life, especially as the son of an Irish woman proud of her heritage. It isn't surprising to those around him that this story takes place in an ancient Ireland that never was. The town names, people, places, creatures and some of the legends in this book reflect places and events he grew up with as a kid living in Ireland, twisted into a mesh of Irish mythology.
Steven Allan Pease (1957-)
Steven enjoyed reading as a child with mystery & adventure series like The Hardy Boys, Radio Boys and Tom Swift. It was during middle grade he discovered science-fiction with Andre Norton's Starman's Son. Liking the story, he could not read enough of her other books. A grandfather suggested he try the Horatio Hornblower book series by C.S. Forester, he loved it. Hooked on reading, his taste in book genres jumped all over: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical, Western... One thing that Steven discovered is that he preferred to read multiple-volume book series, not short stories.
The Adventures of Rocky book series project is intended for the middle grade reader, and he believes in writing a "Clean Read".
Please visit the Rocky FB page and say hello!
Rocky Series FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AdventuresOfRocky
Author FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/StevenAllanPease
Twitter: @StevenAPease
Michel Prince
Michel Prince is an author who graduated with a bachelor degree in History and Political Science. Her novel Chrysalis is the first in a "cross-over" series following the demon plagued Ellie Chisholm. Michel writes young adult and adult paranormal romance as well as contemporary romance.
With characters yelling "It's my turn damn it!!!" She tries to explain to them that alas, she can only type a hundred and twenty words a minute and they will have wait their turn. She knows eventually they find their way out of her head and to her fingertips and she looks forward to sharing them with you. When Michel can suppress the voices in her head she can be found at a scouting event or cheering for her son in a variety of sports. She would like to thank her family for always being in her corner and especially her husband for supporting her every dream and never letting her give up.
Michel is a member of RWA Pro and lives in the Midwest with her husband, son, and cat. Her website is located at http://www.michelprincebooks.com/index.html
Esther Ruiz
Born in 1988, Esther Ruiz became a finalist of the Latino Screenplay Competition with the script "El Show de la Realidad" in 2007 ("The Life Show"); from 2007 until 2009 she was a weekly columnist for a local newspaper in Mexico called "Zocalo" with the column titled "De Todo". She has written several scripts, short stories and essays.
Her latest work is a novel called Project Titans, about three guys and two girls who discover that they have supernatural abilities and the obligation of protecting the world with them. Currently available on Amazon, it is available in both English and Spanish Kindle editions.
Charles R. Saunders
The creator of the sword and sorcery genre known as "Sword and Soul", based on African history and mythology. Winner of the Best Pulp Novel of 2011, Saunders continues to create new worlds in Sword and Soul fantasy and now in the hard-boiled mystery/pulp fiction genre. Check out his website at http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com/
Lynnette Spratley
Based in the South, Spratley is an experienced writer that's stepped off into the world of fiction, specifically Science Fiction. Her first novel is Memory's Child.
Eva Swan
Eva Swan (pen name of Erzebet Yellowboy, head of Papaveria Press) - In the wooded garden behind my grandmother’s house I developed a deep appreciation of the ancient earth and the things that remain of seasons past. My art is a means of communicating the understanding I’ve gained through the observation of and participation in the natural cycles of the land. It was in old stories of the wood, of wolves and witches and princes who turn into frogs that I found a desire to tell my own tales.
I am the founder of Papaveria Press and co-founder, with my partner, of Hadean Press, both imprints of Circle Six. I manage the fairy tale journal Cabinet des Fées and co-edit the monthly webzine, Jabberwocky. You can learn more about me by following my blog, I Saw the Angel.
S. Andrew Swann
S. Andrew Swann is the pen name of Steven Swiniarski. He’s married and lives in the Greater Cleveland area where he has lived all of his adult life. He has a background in mechanical engineering and — besides writing — works as a Database Manager for one of the largest private child services agencies in the Cleveland area. He has published 19 novels over the past 15 years with four more coming over the next two years. His website is http://www.sandrewswann.com/
Robert Tabb
Born in California, Tabb was raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, but returned to the U.S. in his teens. He's been living in Arizona since. An internet gamer, Tabb loves Sci-Fi and Fantasy. He's also a big supporter of local business and organizations. Tabb was inspired to write after reading R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf series. Spirit Lance is his debut book. You can contact Tabb through his blog at http://themindofamiddleagedone.wordpress.com/
Drew Hayden Taylor
Drew Hayden Taylor (born 1 July 1962) is a Canadian playwright, author and journalist. Born in Curve Lake, Ontario, Taylor is part Ojibwa and part Caucasian. About his background Taylor says: "I plan to start my own nation. Because I am half Ojibway half Caucasian, we will be called the occasions."
Taylor writes predominantly about First Nations culture, and has also been a frequent contributor to various magazines including This Magazine. His writing includes plays, short stories, essays, newspaper columns and film and television work. In 2004 he was appointed to the Ontario Ministry of Culture Advisory Committee. As well as his writing, Taylor has been the artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts, and has taught at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre. He co-created the series "Mixed Blessings" for APTN in 2007, and has been a writer for "The Beachcombers", "Street Legal" and "North of 60." Taylor is currently the writer-in-residence at the University of Western Ontario. His official website is located at http://www.drewhaydentaylor.com/
Dom Testa
A radio show host since 1977, Dom Testa is currently a co-host of the popular “Dom and Jane Show” on Mix 100 in Denver, Colorado. A strong advocate of literacy programs for children, he regularly visits Colorado schools. Testa began the Big Brain Club to encourage students to overcome the peer pressure that often prevents them from achieving their true potential. His debute novel, The Comet's Curse, won an international grand prize from Writer's Digest Magazine and an EVVY Award for Best Young Adult Book. The Galahad series has grown to six books, published by Tor Teen. For more information about Testa, the Galahad series, the Mindbender books, and the Big Brain Club, visit his website at www.domtesta.com.
Sheree Renée Thomas
A native of Memphis, a Cave Canem Fellow and a New York Foundation of the Arts Fellow, Thomas' short stories, poetry, and articles have appeared in various publications, including storySouth, Callaloo, Colorlines, Essence Magazine, Upscale, VIBE, Obsidian III, Harpur Palate, The Washington Post Book World, Meridians, African Voices, Drumvoices Revue, Black Renaissance /Renaissance Noire as well as in several anthologies, including Mojo: Conjure Stories, Hurricane Blues, Role Call, Bum Rush the Page: A Def Poetry Jam, The Ringing Ear, MYTHIC 2, Southern Revival, Bronx Biannual, and So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction and Fantasy.
A mother of two daughters and a teaching artist, Sheree is the editor of two anthologies (Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora and Dark Matter: Reading the Bones, winner of the 2001 and 2005 World Fantasy Award) and of SCARAB, a limited, signed artist edition of the Coptic-bound anthology. SHOTGUN LULLABIES: Stories & Poems, is the first collection of her work.
Rob Thurman
Rob, short for Robyn (yes, he is really a she) Thurman lives in Indiana, land of rolling hills and cows, deer, and wild turkeys. Many, many turkeys. She is also the author of the Cal Leandros Series: Nightlife, Moonshine, Madhouse, and Deathwish; has a story in the anthology Wolfsbane and Mistletoe; and is the author of Trick of the Light, the first book in the Trickster series.
Besides wild, ravenous turkeys, she has a dog (if you don’t have a dog, how do you live?)—one hundred pounds of Siberian husky. He looks like a wolf, has paws the size of a person’s hand, ice blue eyes, teeth out of a Godzilla movies, and the ferocious habit of hiding under the kitchen table and peeing on himself when strangers come by. Fortunately, she has another dog that is a little more invested in keeping the food source alive. By the way, the dogs were adopted from shelters. They were fully grown, already housetrained, and grateful as hell. Think about it next time you’re looking for a Rover or Fluffy.
For updates, teasers, deleted scenes, and various other extras, visit Rob Thurman's website at http://www.robthurman.net/ and her LiveJournal.
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who helped pioneer the science-fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Journey to the Center of the Earth (written in 1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1869-1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised. Consequently he is often referred to as the "Father of science fiction", along with H. G. Wells. Verne is the second most translated author of all time, only behind Agatha Christie, with 4162 translations, according to Index Translationum. Some of his works have been made into films.
Vernor Vinge
Vernor Steffen Vinge (born October 2, 1944, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.) is a retired San Diego State University (SDSU) Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels and novellas A Fire Upon the Deep (1992), A Deepness in the Sky (1999), Rainbows End (2006), Fast Times at Fairmont High (2002) and The Cookie Monster (2004), as well as for his 1984 novel The Peace War and his 1993 essay "The Coming Technological Singularity", in which he argues that the creation of superhuman artificial intelligence will mark the point at which "the human era will be ended," such that no current models of reality are sufficient to predict beyond it.
Jacqueline West
A two-time Pushcart nominee for poetry, Jacqueline West lives amid the bluffs of Red Wing, Minnesota, with her husband and her dog, a Springer Spaniel mix named Brom Bones. Her book The Shadows won the 2010 Cybils Award for Fantasy & Science Fiction. The sequel, Spellbound, was nominated for a Minnesota Book Award in January 2012.
J. Dharma & Deanna Windham
Dharma and Deanna have written two series of books together. While not their first book to be written, I, Nemo is the first to be published and is eagerly awaited by the steampunk community. I, Nemo will soon be followed by the second book in the series, Raise The Nautilus. Their first series, The Kleopatra Chronicles, a fantasy-fiction novel with their signature steampunk elements, is eagerly awaited later this year. They live in South Orange County, CA, with their royal cat, Contessa.
Gene Luen Yang
Gene Luen Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. In 1997, he received the Xeric Grant for Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, his first comics work as an adult. He has since written and drawn a number of titles. His 2006 book American Born Chinese was the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award. It also won an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album - New. A short story from The Eternal Smile, his 2009 collaboration with Derek Kirk Kim, won an Eisner Award as well. His books Prime Baby and Level Up (with illustrator Thien Pham) were also nominated for Eisner Awards. Gene currently writes the graphic novel continuation of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Laurence Yep
Laurence Yep has been fascinated with tales of sibling rivalry from the day he was born. His older brother, Tom, chose his name Laurence - after a saint who died a particularly gruesome death. Laurence has been trying to get even ever since. Laurence Yep now lives in Pacific Grove, California, with his wife. One of children's literature's most respected authors, his award-winning titles include Newbery Honor Books Dragonwings and Dragon's Gate.
