Ian McDonald (born 1960) is a British science fiction novelist, living in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. His themes include

nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal ...

postcyberpunk Since the advent of the cyberpunk genre, a number of derivatives of cyberpunk have become recognized in their own right as distinct subgenres in speculative fiction, especially in science fiction. Rather than necessarily sharing the digitally a ...

settings, and the impact of rapid social and technological change on non-Western societies.

Early life

Ian McDonald was born in 1960, in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, to a Scottish father and Irish mother. He moved to Belfast when he was five and has lived there ever since. He lived through the whole of the '

Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

' (1968–1999), and his sensibility has been permanently shaped by coming to understand Northern Ireland as a post-colonial society imposed on an older culture.

Career

McDonald sold his first story to a local Belfast magazine when he was 22, and in 1987 became a full-time writer. He has also worked in TV consultancy within Northern Ireland, contributing scripts to the Northern Irish

Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...

production of '' Sesame Tree''. McDonald's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

was ''

Desolation Road ''Desolation Road'' is a 1988 science fiction novel written by Ian McDonald. It was McDonald's first published novel. The plot takes place on a far future Mars in a town that develops around an oasis in the terraformed Martian desert. McDonald ...

'' (1988), which takes place on a far future

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

in a town that develops around an oasis in the terraformed Martian desert. He published a sequel, '' Ares Express'', in 2001. Published between 1995 and 2000, the novels ''

Chaga The Chaga or Chagga (Swahili language: WaChaga) are Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous Africans and the third-largest ethnic group in Tanzania. They traditionally live on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro ...

'' (US title ''Evolution's Shore'') and ''

Kirinya List of works by or about the British author Ian McDonald. Novels ''Desolation Road'' series * ''Desolation Road'' (1988) * ''The Luncheonette of Lost Dreams'' (1992) (short story) * ''Ares Express'' (2001) ''Chaga'' saga * "Toward Kilimanjaro ...

'', with the novella ''Tendeléo's Story'', form the 'Chaga Saga', which chronicles the effects of an alien flora introduced to Earth, and also analyses the

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

crisis in Africa. The protagonist is

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

journalist Gaby McAslin, whose outsider's eye both observes the African landscape and sees what the "UN quarantine zone" is doing to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and Kenyans. Gaby's story, with that of her daughter, continues in ''Kirinya''. ''Tendeléo's Story'' is seen through the eyes of a young Kenyan girl who escapes to the UK, only to be deported back to Kenya as an unwanted alien. McDonald's ''

River of Gods ''River of Gods'' is a 2004 science fiction novel by British writer Ian McDonald. It depicts a futuristic India in 2047, a century after its independence from Britain, characterized both by ancient traditions and advanced technologies such as ...

'' (2004) is set in mid-21st-century India; it won the

BSFA award The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...

, and was nominated for a

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

and a Clarke Award. ''

Brasyl ''Brasyl'' is a 2007 novel by British author Ian McDonald. It was nominated for the 2008 Hugo Awards in the best novel category. In 2008 it was nominated for, and made the longlist of, the £50,000 Warwick Prize for Writing. It was also nomina ...

'' (2007) is set in the 18th and 21st centuries in

Lusophone Lusophones ( pt, Lusófonos) are peoples that speak Portuguese as a native or as common second language and nations where Portuguese features prominently in society. Comprising an estimated 270 million people spread across 10 sovereign countries ...

South America; it won the BSFA award, and was nominated for a Hugo Award and the Warwick Prize for Writing. McDonald began his ''Everness'' series of

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

novels in 2011 with ''

Planesrunner ''Planesrunner'' is a 2011 young adult science fiction novel by British author Ian McDonald, and the first installment of the ''Everness'' series. The book follows British teenager Everett Singh as he travels between alternate universes in sear ...

''. He said in a 2014 interview, "I didn't want to get stuck doing the same SF books over and over, successful though they may be. I didn't want to keep writing books about the developing economy of the year—India, Brazil. I could feel myself getting trapped in that." He has written two ''Everness'' sequels, '' Be My Enemy'' (2012), and '' Empress of the Sun'' (2014). McDonald published '' Luna: New Moon'', the first volume of a proposed science fiction duology, in 2015. It explores the dangerous intrigue that surrounds the five powerful families who control industry on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. McDonald said of the novel in August 2014, "I’m still writing about developing economies, it’s just that this one happens to be on the Moon." Before critics called the novel "''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of '' A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the fir ...

'' in space", McDonald himself dubbed it "''Game of Domes''" and "''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

'' in space". ''Luna'' was optioned for development as a television series before its release. The sequel, '' Luna: Wolf Moon'', was released in March 2017. A third novel, ''Luna: Moon Rising'', was released in March 2019. McDonald previously published the novelette "The Fifth Dragon", a prequel to ''Luna'' in the same setting, in the 2014 anthology '' Reach for Infinity''. McDonald's '' Time Was'', a

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

romance novella about two men, was released in April 2018.

Awards

Won

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. In addition to the p ...

– First Novel (1989): ''Desolation Road'' *

Philip K. Dick Award The Philip K. Dick Award is an American science fiction award given annually at Norwescon and sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005) the Philip K. Dick Trust. Named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, ...

– Best Collection (1991): ''King of Morning, Queen of Day'' *

British Science Fiction Association Award The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...

– Best Short Fiction (1992): ''Innocents'' * Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis (1999): ''Sacrifice of Fools'' *

Theodore Sturgeon Award The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction stor ...

(2001): ''Tendeléo's Story'' *

– Best Novel (2004): ''

'' *

Hugo Award for Best Novelette The Hugo Award for Best Novelette is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novelette award is available for works of fiction of ...

(2007): '' The Djinn's Wife'' * British Science Fiction Association Award – Best Novel (2007): ''

'' * John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (2011): ''

The Dervish House ''The Dervish House'' is a 2010 science fiction novel by British author Ian McDonald. The novel was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2011, and won the BSFA Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in the same year. It was a n ...

'' * British Science Fiction Association Award – Best Novel (2011): ''The Dervish House'' *

Gaylactic Spectrum Award The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are given to works of science fiction, fantasy and horror that explore LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) topics in a positive way. Established in 1998, the awards were initially presented by the Gaylact ...

– Best Novel (2016): '' Luna: New Moon''

Nominations

Nebula Award for Best Novelette The Nebula Award for Best Novelette is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to a science fiction or fantasy novelette. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novelette if it is between 7,50 ...

(1989): ''Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh'' Ian McDonald at Eurocon in Stockholm

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

– Best Novel (1990): ''Desolation Road'' * ''Locus'' Fantasy Award (1992): ''King of Morning, Queen of Day'' * Arthur C. Clarke Award – Best Novel (1993): ''Hearts, Hands, and Voices'' * British Science Fiction Award (1992): ''Hearts, Hands, and Voices'' *

World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

(1994) : ''Some Strange Desire'' * Philip K. Dick Award (1994) : ''Scissors Cut Paper Wrap Stone'' * British Science Fiction Association Award – Best Novel (1994) : ''Necroville'' * British Science Fiction Association Award – Best Novel (1995): ''Chaga'' * The John W. Campbell Memorial Award (1996): ''Chaga'' * Arthur C. Clarke Award – Best Novel (2005): ''

'' * Hugo Award – Best Novel (2005): ''

'' * Hugo Award – Best Novel (2008): ''

'' * Warwick Prize for Writing (2008/9) and reached prize longlist announced in November 2008: ''Brasyl'' * The John W. Campbell Memorial Award (2008): ''Brasyl'' * ''Locus'' SF Award (2008): ''Brasyl'' * Nebula Award (2008): ''Brasyl'' * Hugo Award – Best Novel (2011): ''

'' * ''Locus'' Award – Best Science Fiction Novel (2011): ''The Dervish House'' * Arthur C. Clarke Award – Best Novel (2011): ''The Dervish House'' * British Science Fiction Association Award – Best Novel (2015): '' Luna: New Moon'' * Philip K. Dick Award (2018): '' Time Was'' * ''Locus'' Award – Best Science Fiction Novel (2018): '' Luna: Wolf Moon'' * ''Locus'' Award – Best Science Fiction Novel (2020): '' Luna: Moon Rising''

Selected bibliography

''Desolation Road'' series

* ''

'' (1988) * '' Ares Express'' (2001)

''Chaga'' saga

* ''

'' (1995, US: ''Evolution's Shore'') * ''

'' (1997)

''India in 2047''

* ''

'' (2004) –

nominee, Clarke Award nominee, winner of the

* ''Cyberabad Days'' (2009) (collection)

''Everness'' series

* ''

'' (2011) * '' Be My Enemy'' (2012) * '' Empress of the Sun'' (2014)

''Luna'' series

* '' Luna: New Moon'' (2015) –

nominee, winner of the

* '' Luna: Wolf Moon'' (2017) * '' Luna: Moon Rising'' (2019) * ''The Menace from Farside'' (novella) (2019)

Other novels

* '' Out on Blue Six'' (1989) * ''King of Morning, Queen of Day'' (1991) * ''Hearts, Hands and Voices'' (1992, US: ''The Broken Land'') * ''Necroville'' (1994, US: ''Terminal Café'') * ''Sacrifice of Fools'' (1996) * ''

'' (2007) –

nominee, winner of the

, Nominated for the £50,000 Warwick Prize for Writing * ''

'' (2010) –

nominee, Clarke Award nominee, winner of the

* '' Time Was'' (2018)

Blog and online interviews

* * * * * *

References

External resources

*
Ian McDonald
at ''Fantastic Fiction'' {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Ian 1960 births Living people 20th-century British writers 20th-century writers from Northern Ireland 21st-century British writers 21st-century writers from Northern Ireland Hugo Award-winning writers Male novelists from Northern Ireland Science fiction writers from Northern Ireland Writers from Belfast Writers from Manchester