Catherynne M
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Catherynne Morgan Valente (born May 5, 1979) is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. For her
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 ...
novels she has won the annual James Tiptree, Jr. Award,
Andre Norton Award The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction (formerly the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy) is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) to the ...
, and Mythopoeic Award. Her short fiction has appeared in ''
Clarkesworld Magazine ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' is an American online fantasy and science fiction magazine edited by Neil Clarke. It released its first issue October 1, 2006, and has maintained a regular monthly schedule since, publishing fiction by authors such as ...
'', the anthologies '' Salon Fantastique'' and ''
Paper Cities ''Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy'' is a 2008 speculative fiction anthology edited by Ekaterina Sedia. Background ''Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy'' was first published in 2008 by Senses Five Press in trade paperback f ...
'', and numerous "Year's Best" volumes. Her critical work has appeared in the ''International Journal of the Humanities'' as well as other essay collections.


Career

Valente's 2009 book ''
Palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off in preparation for reuse in the form of another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid ski ...
'' won the Lambda Award for LGBT Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror. Her two-volume series ''
The Orphan's Tales ''The Orphan's Tales'' is a fantasy series by Catherynne M. Valente with illustrations by Michael Kaluta. The two novels of the series, ''In the Night Garden'' and ''In the Cities of Coin and Spice'', are in turn split into two books apiece. ...
'' won the 2008 Mythopoeic Award, and its first volume, ''The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden'', won the 2006
James Tiptree Jr. 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 ...
and was nominated for the 2007
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 ...
. In 2012, Valente won three
Locus Awards The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus (magazine), Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. O ...
: Best Novelette (''White Lines on a Green Field''), Best Novella (''Silently and Very Fast'') and Best YA Novel ('' The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making''). In 2011, her children's novel '' The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making'' debuted at #8 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Its sequel, ''The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There'', featured at #5 on ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' Best Fiction of 2012 list. In 2009, she donated her archive to the
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...
(SFWA) Collection in the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at
Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...
. She is a regular panelist on the podcast '' SF Squeecast''.


Multimedia and mythpunk

Valente tours with singer/songwriter S. J. Tucker, who has composed albums based on Valente's work. The pair perform reading concerts featuring dancers, aerial artists, art auctions featuring jewelry and paintings based on the novels, and other performances. Valente is active in the
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
movement of online artists, and her novel '' The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making'' was the first online, crowdfunded book to win a major literary award before traditional publication. In a 2006 blog post, Valente coined the term mythpunk as a joke for describing her own and other works of challenging folklore-based fantasy. Valente and other critics and writers have discussed mythpunk as a subgenre of
mythic fiction Mythic fiction is literature that draws from the tropes, themes, and symbolism of myth, legend, folklore, and fairy tales. It is usually set in the real world and deals with realistic issues, but a mythic atmosphere prevails; however, not all my ...
that starts in
folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
and
myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
and adds elements of
postmodernist Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...
literary techniques.


Selected works


Novels

*''The Labyrinth'' (2004) *''The Ice Puzzle'' (2004) *'' Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams'' (2005) *'' The Grass-Cutting Sword'' (2006) *''
Palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off in preparation for reuse in the form of another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid ski ...
'' (2009) *'' Deathless'' (2011) *''Radiance'' (2015) *''The Glass Town Game'' (McElderry, 2017). Illustrated by Rebecca Green *''
Space Opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...
'' (2018) *'' Mass Effect: Andromeda Annihilation'' (2018) *''Comfort Me with Apples'' (2021) *''Space Oddity'' (2024)


Novellas

*''Silently and Very Fast'' (2011) *'' Six-Gun Snow White'' (2013) *''Speak Easy'' (2015) *''
The Refrigerator Monologues ''The Refrigerator Monologues'' is a 2017 superhero fiction novel by Catherynne Valente, with art by Annie Wu, exploring the lives - and deaths - of superheroines, and of the girlfriends of superheroes; the title refers to " women in refrigera ...
'' (2017) *'' The Past Is Red'' (2021) ;The Orphan's Tales * '' The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden'' (vol. 1) (October 2006) ** ''Book of the Steppe'' ** ''Book of the Sea'' * '' The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice'' (vol. 2) (October 2007) ** ''Book of the Storm'' ** ''Book of the Scald'' ;A Dirge for Prester John Published by
Night Shade Books Night Shade Books is an American, San Francisco–based imprint, formerly an independent publishing company, that specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Among its publications have been the U.S. edition of Iain M. Banks' novel '' ...
: * '' The Habitation of the Blessed'' (2010) * ''The Folded World'' (2011) ;Fairyland Published by
Feiwel & Friends Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...
: *Prequel: ''The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While'' (2011) *'' The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making'' (2011) started out in 2009 as a crowdfunded middle-grade online novel (originally, a fictional children's book in ''
Palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off in preparation for reuse in the form of another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid ski ...
''). *''The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There'' (2012) *''The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two ''(2013) *''The Boy Who Lost Fairyland'' (2015) *''The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home'' (2016)


Fiction collections

*''This Is My Letter to the World: The Omikuji Project, Cycle One'' (2010) *''Ventriloquism'' (2010) *''Myths of Origin'', Omnibus collection containing ''The Labyrinth'', ''Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams'', ''The Grass-Cutting Sword'', and ''Under in the Mere'' (2011) *''The Melancholy of Mechagirl ''(2013) *''The Bread We Eat in Dreams'' (2013) *''The Future Is Blue'' (2018)


Poetry collections

*''Music of a Proto-Suicide'' (2004) *''Apocrypha'' (2005) *''Oracles: A Pilgrimage'' (2006) *''The Descent of Inanna'' (2006) *''A Guide to Folktales in Fragile Dialects'' (May 2008)


Short fiction

*"The Oracle Alone" ''Music of a Proto-Suicide'' (2004) *"Ghosts of Gunkanjima" '' Papaveria Press'' (2005) *"The Maiden-Tree" ''Cabinet des Fees'' (2005) *"Bones Like Black Sugar" '' Fantasy Magazine'' (2005) *"Psalm of the Second Body" ''PEN Book of Voices'' (2005) *"Ascent Is Not Allowed" ''The Minotaur in Pamplona'' (2005) *"Thread: A Triptych" ''Lone Star Stories'' (2006) *"Urchins, While Swimming" ''
Clarkesworld Magazine ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' is an American online fantasy and science fiction magazine edited by Neil Clarke. It released its first issue October 1, 2006, and has maintained a regular monthly schedule since, publishing fiction by authors such as ...
'' (2006) *"Milk and Apples" ''
Electric Velocipede ''Electric Velocipede'' was a small press speculative fiction fan magazine edited by John Klima. Published from 2001 to 2013, ''Electric Velocipede'' won the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 2009. History In 2000, editor John Klima was inspired ...
'' (2006) *"Temnaya and the House of Books" ''Mythic'' (2006) *"A Grey and Soundless Tide" '' Salon Fantastique'' (2006) *"A Dirge For Prester John" ''Interfictions'' (2007) *"The Ballad of the Sinister Mr. Mouth" ''Lone Star Stories'' (2007) *"La Serenissima" ''
Endicott Studio Endicott Studio (also known as the Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts) was a nonprofit organization, based in the United States and United Kingdom, that is dedicated to literary, visual, and performance arts inspired by myth, folklore, fairy tales, a ...
'' (2007) *"The Proslogium of the Great Lakes" ''Farrago's Wainscot'' (2007) *"A Buyer's Guide to Maps of Antarctica" ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' (2008) *"Tales of Beaty and Strangeness: City of Blind Delights" ''Clockwork Phoenix'' (2008) *"The Hanged Man" ''Farrago's Wainscot'' (2008) *"An Anthology of Urban Fantasy: Palimpsest" ''
Paper Cities ''Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy'' is a 2008 speculative fiction anthology edited by Ekaterina Sedia. Background ''Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy'' was first published in 2008 by Senses Five Press in trade paperback f ...
'', ed. Ekaterina Sedia (2008) *"The Harpooner at the Bottom of the World" ''Spectra Pulse'' (2008) *"Golubash, or, Wine-War-Blood-Elegy" ''Federations'' (2009) *"The Secret History of Mirrors" ''Clockwork Phoenix 2'' (2009) *"A Book of Villainous Tales:A Delicate Architecture" ''Troll's Eye View'' (2009) *"The Radiant Car Thy Sparrows Drew" ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' (2009) *"The Anachronist's Cookbook" ''Steampunk Tales'' (2009) *"A Between Books Anthology: Proverbs of Hell" ''The Stories in Between'' (2010) *"The Days of Flaming Motorcycles" ''Dark Faith'' (2010) *"Secretario" ''
Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, printe ...
'' (2010) *"Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time" ''Clarkesworld Magazine'' (2010) *"How to Become a Mars Overlord" '' Lightspeed'' (2010) *"15 Panels Depicting the Sadness of the Baku and the Jotai" ''Haunted Legends'' (2010) *"In the Future When All's Well" ''Teeth'' (2011) *"A Voice Like a Hole" ''Welcome to Bordertown'' (2011) *"The Wolves of Brooklyn" '' Fantasy Magazine'' (2011) *"The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While" ''Tor.com'' (2011) *"White Lines on a Green Field" ''
Subterranean Magazine Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Burton, Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to publishing novels, short stor ...
'' (2011)


Nonfiction

* Introduction to ''
Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The firs ...
(Illustrated)'' (2007) * "Regeneration X" in ''Chicks Dig Time Lords'' (2010) * ''Indistinguishable from Magic'' (2014)


Anthologies edited

*'' Nebula Awards Showcase 55'' (2021)


Awards


References


External links

*
BlogPatreon page2010 Interview on the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast2007 Interview with Jay Tomio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valente, Catherynne M. 1979 births Living people Postmodernists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American poets 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers American fantasy writers American science fiction writers American women poets American women science fiction and fantasy writers Lambda Literary Award winners Hugo Award–winning writers American women novelists Writers from Seattle Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Rhysling Award for Best Long Poem winners Novelists from Washington (state)