R. B. Lemberg (born Rose Lemberg, September 27, 1976) is an author, poet, and editor of

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

. Their work has been distributed in publications such as ''Lightspeed'', ''

Strange Horizons ''Strange Horizons'' is an online magazine, online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and non-fiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in S ...

'', ''

Beneath Ceaseless Skies ''Beneath Ceaseless Skies'' (''BCS'') is a fantasy adventure online magazine published in the United States by Firkin Press. History ''Beneath Ceaseless Skies'' first issue was released on October 9, 2008 featuring stories by Chris Willrich an ...

'', and ''

Uncanny Magazine ''Uncanny Magazine'' is an American science fiction magazine, science fiction and Fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy online magazine founded by publishing editors Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas. History First issued in 2014, the pu ...

'', and stories have been featured in anthologies such as ''Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology'' and ''Transcendent 3: The Year's Best Transgender Speculative Fiction 2017'' . Lemberg is

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

bigender Non-binary or genderqueer gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is differ ...

, and autistic. Many of Lemberg's stories and poems are situated in ''Birdverse'', an LGBTQIA+-focused

secondary world A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the Continuity (fiction), internally consistent fictional Setting (narrative), setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly as ...

. Their debut ''Birdverse'' novella '' The Four Profound Weaves'' was published by

Tachyon A tachyon () or tachyonic particle is a hypothetical particle that always travels Faster-than-light, faster than light. Physicists posit that faster-than-light particles cannot exist because they are inconsistent with the known Scientific law#L ...

in 2020 and was a finalist for the 2021 World Fantasy,

Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Mathematics and science * Locus (mathematics), the set of points satisfying a particular condition, often forming a curve * Root locus analysis, a diagram visualizing the position of r ...

, and Ignyte awards for Best Novella and was on the Honor List for the

Otherwise Award The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science ...

. Their first ''Birdverse'' novel, '' The Unbalancing'' was published by

in 2022, was a finalist for the

Award. Their second novella, ''The Yoke of Stars'', was published by Tachyon in 2024, and is a finalist for the 2025

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

. Lemberg's work has also been a finalist for the

, Crawford, and other awards. Their ''Birdverse'' short fiction collection ''Geometries of Belonging: Stories & Poems From the Birdverse'' was published by

Fairwood Press Fairwood Press is an American small-press publishing company, specializing in speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. It was founded by Patrick and Honna Swenson and is currently located in Kent, Washington. The company has published work ...

in late 2022, and include a previously unpublished story, "Where Your Quince Trees Grow".

Biography

Lemberg was born in

L'viv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

on September 27, 1976. They lived in Russia and Israel before emigrating to the United States for graduate school at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. In their academic life, Lemberg is a professor of

sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive, scientific study of how language is shaped by, and used differently within, any given society. The field largely looks at how a language changes between distinct social groups, as well as how it varies unde ...

working on immigrant discourse, identity, and gender. Lemberg lives in Lawrence,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, with their spouse, Bogi Takács (who is also queer,

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

, and Eastern European Jewish) and their child.

Career

Lemberg is the founding editor of ''Stone Telling'', a magazine of

speculative poetry Speculative poetry is a genre of poetry that focusses on fantastic, science fictional and mythological themes. It is also known as science fiction poetry or fantastic poetry. It is distinguished from other poetic genres by being categorized by it ...

that debuted in 2010 and was named for the main characters in

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin ( ; Kroeber; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author. She is best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the ''Earthsea'' fantas ...

's novel ''

Always Coming Home ''Always Coming Home'' is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. It is in parts narrative, pseudo-textbook and pseudo-anthropologist's record. It describes the life and society of the Kesh people, a cultural group ...

''. In 2012, they collected and edited ''Here, We Cross (An Anthology of Queer and Genderfluid Poetry from Stone Telling 1–7)'' from the works published in the early issues of ''Stone Telling'', and edited ''The Moment of Change: An Anthology of Feminist Speculative Poetry''. In 2016, they edited the short fiction anthology ''An Alphabet of Embers: An Anthology of Unclassifiables'', which focused on short fiction works that defied classification by genre. In 2021, as a tribute following the passing of

in 2018, Lemberg, and co-editor Lisa Bradley, edited ''Climbing Lightly Through Forests: A Poetry Anthology Honoring Ursula K. Le Guin''. Lemberg's poetry has been published in ''

'', ''Goblin Fruit'', ''

'', ''Fireside Magazine'', ''

Apex Magazine ''Apex Magazine'', also previously known as ''Apex Digest'', is an American Horror fiction magazine, horror and science fiction magazine. This subscription webzine, ''Apex Magazine'', contains short fiction, reviews, and interviews. It has been ...

'' and many others. Their poetry has won the ''

'' Readers' Poll multiple times: "In the Third Cycle" in 2011, "Between the Mountain and the Moon" in 2012, and "Ranra's Unbalancing" in 2015. Their poem, "I will show you a single treasure from the treasures of Shah Niya", came in third place for the 2014

Rhysling Award __NOTOC__ The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best speculative poetry, science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. The award name was dubbed by Andrew Joron in reference to a character in a science fiction story: the bl ...

in the Long Poem category. Their debut poetry collection, ''Marginalia to Stone Bird'' was shortlisted for the 2017

Crawford Award The IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award (short: Crawford Award) is a literary award given to a writer whose first fantasy book was published during the preceding calendar year. It's one of several awards presented by the International Associat ...

and was a finalist for the 2017 and 2018 Elgin Awards. Their poetry memoir, ''Everything Thaws'', which recalls Lemberg's early life in the Soviet Union and their migrations to Israel and the United States, was published in 2023 by Ben Yehuda Press. Lemberg was awarded the 2020 Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellowship, sponsored by the University of Oregon Libraries Special Collections and University Archives, which gave them access to many of Le Guin's archives. On Lemberg's website, they revealed that their project for the Fellowship, for which the archival research was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, was primarily focused on Le Guin's poetry, which they previously discussed in their essay “The Poetry of Ursula K. Le Guin: A Retrospective” and appeared in ''Climbing Lightly Through Forests: A Poetry Anthology Honoring Ursula K. Le Guin''. During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Lemberg translated works by Ukrainian poets for ''Chytomo'', ''Springhouse Journal'', and National Translation Month's ''Ukrainian Poetry in Translation Special Feature - Part II''. Lemberg's short fiction has been published in ''Lightspeed'', ''

'', ''

'', ''Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology'', ''

'', ''

Daily Science Fiction ''Daily Science Fiction'' was an American online science fiction magazine originally founded in September 2010 and edited by Jonathan Laden and Michele Barasso. New stories were published each weekday. On 11 August 2022 the magazine announced it ...

'', ''Transcendent 3: The Year's Best Transgender Speculative Fiction 2017'', and others. Many of these stories are situated in their LGBTQIA+-focused

, ''Birdverse''. Their ''Birdverse'' novelette, "Grandmother-nai-Laylit's Cloth of Winds", was a finalist for the 2015

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

Finalist for Best Novelette and on the long list for the 2015 Tiptree Award. In 2020, their ''Birdverse'' novella, '' The Four Profound Weaves'', was published by

to critical and reader acclaim, including a starred review and selection as a weekly pick by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' and a starred review from ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

''. '' The Four Profound Weaves'' was a finalist for the 2021

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. Originally a poll ...

, and Ignyte Award for Best Novella, and was on the Honor List for the

. Lemberg's debut ''Birdverse'' novel, '' The Unbalancing'', an expansion of the story of their poem "Ranra's Unbalancing", was published by

in 2022 with positive reviews from ''

'' and ''

''. Their ''Birdverse'' collection, ''Geometries of Belonging: Stories & Poems from the Birdverse'', received a starred review from ''

'' ahead of its release from

in late 2022, and notes the inclusion of a new story in the collection, "Where Your Quince Trees Grow", which follows descendants of the main characters from '' The Unbalancing''.

Awards and nominations

Selected bibliography

Novels

''Birdverse''

* * *

Short fiction

Collections

''Birdverse'' stories

Other short fiction

Poetry

Collections

* ''Everything Thaws'' - Ben Yehuda Press, 2023 * ''Marginalia to Stone Bird'' –

Aqueduct Press Aqueduct Press is a publisher based in Seattle, Washington, United States, that publishes material featuring a feminist viewpoint. History Aqueduct Press was founded in 2004 by L. Timmel Duchamp. The company has focused on publishing speculat ...

, 2016

''Birdverse'' poems

Editor

* ''Climbing Lightly Through Forests: A Poetry Anthology Honoring Ursula K. Le Guin'' (with Lisa Bradley) -

, 2021. * ''An Alphabet of Embers: An Anthology of Unclassifiables'' – Stone Bird Press, 2016 * ''Here, We Cross (An Anthology of Queer and Genderfluid Poetry from Stone Telling 1–7)'' – Stone Bird Press, 2012. * ''The Moment of Change: An Anthology of Feminist Speculative Poetry'' -

, 2012. * ''Stone Telling'' magazine, 2010–2016

Non-fiction

* "Sergeant Bothari and Disability Representation in the Early Vorkosiverse", ''

'', 2018 * "The Uses and Limitations of the Folklorist's Toolkit for Fiction", ''

'', 2015 * "Encouraging Diversity: An Editor's Perspective", ''

'', 2015 * "Not Only a Hero's Journey", with Shweta Narayan, ''Stone Telling'', 2011 * "Silence to Speech", ''Stone Telling'', 2010

Notes

References

External links

* *
R. B. Lemberg's Patreon

Interviews

My Favorite Bit: R. B. Lemberg Talks About ''The Four Profound Weaves''
Alyshondra Meacham, MaryRobinetteKowal.com
Noticing Language: An Interview with Rose Lemberg
Julia Rios, ''

'', 2013
R. B. Lemberg talks The Birdverse, Identity and Government
Dominic Walsh, SciFiPulse, 2021
R. B. Lemberg: A Different Adventure
''Locus'', 2021
Interview with R. B. Lemberg (''The Unbalancing'')
The Fantasy Hive, 2022
Author Interview: Queer Norms and Sexualities in R. B. Lemberg's Birdverse
Jaymee Goh, ''

'', 8 September 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lemberg, R. B. 1976 births Living people 21st-century American non-fiction writers Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish American poets American science fiction writers Transgender Jews University of California, Berkeley alumni Israeli emigrants to the United States American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American LGBTQ poets 21st-century American Jews Ukrainian emigrants to the United States Ukrainian science fiction writers 21st-century American LGBTQ people American queer writers Transgender non-binary people Autistic writers American writers with disabilities LGBTQ writers with disabilities American transgender writers American non-binary writers American queer artists Queer poets Non-binary science fiction writers Autistic LGBTQ people American autistic people Transgender people with disabilities Ukrainian LGBTQ people

Biography

Career

Awards and nominations

Selected bibliography

Novels

''Birdverse''

Short fiction

Collections

''Birdverse'' stories

Other short fiction

Poetry

Collections

''Birdverse'' poems

Editor

Non-fiction

Notes

See also

References

External links

Interviews