Geoffrey Charles Ryman (born 1951) is a Canadian writer of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

, slipstream and

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ...

Biography

Ryman was born in Canada and moved to the United States at age 11. He earned degrees in History and English at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

, then moved to England in 1973, where he has lived most of his life. He is gay. In addition to being an author, Ryman started a web design team for the UK government at the Central Office of Information in 1994. He also led the teams that designed the first official British Monarchy and 10 Downing Street websites, and worked on the UK government's flagship website www.direct.gov.uk.

Works

Ryman says he knew he was a writer "before ecould talk", with his first work published in his mother's newspaper column at six years of age. He is best known for his science fiction; however, his first novel was the fantasy ''

The Warrior Who Carried Life ''The Warrior Who Carried Life'' is a novel by Geoff Ryman published in 1985. Plot summary ''The Warrior Who Carried Life'' is a novel in which Cara learns witchcraft to get revenge on the Galu. Reception Dave Langford reviewed ''The Warrior Who ...

'', and his revisionist fantasy of ''The Wizard of Oz'', '' Was...'', has been called "his most accomplished work".Ency fantasy Much of Ryman's work is based on travels to Cambodia. The first of these, ''The Unconquered Country'' (1986) was winner of the World Fantasy Award and

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, ...

. His novel ''The King's Last Song'' (2006) was set both in the

Angkor Wat Angkor Wat (; km, អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring . Originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the g ...

era and the time after

Pol Pot Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Lenini ...

and the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 197 ...

. Ryman has written, directed and performed in several plays based on works by other writers. He was guest of honour at

Novacon Novacon is an annual science fiction convention, usually held each November in the English Midlands. Launched in 1971, it has been hosted by the Birmingham Science Fiction Group since 1972. History The first Novacon was organised by the University ...

in 1989 and has twice been a guest speaker at Microcon, in 1994 and in 2004. He was also the guest of honour at the national

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

science fiction convention Swecon in 2006, at Gaylaxicon 2008, at Wiscon 2009, and at Åcon 2010. An article by Wendy Gay Pearson on Ryman's novel ''The Child Garden'' won the British Science Fiction Foundation's graduate essay award and was published in a special issue of ''Foundation'' on LGBT science fiction edited by Andrew M. Butler in 2002. Ryman's works were also the subject of a special issue of ''Extrapolation'' in 2008, with articles dealing with ''Air, The Child Garden, Lust,'' and ''Was,'' in particular. Neil Easterbrook's article in this special issue, "'Giving An Account of Oneself': Ethics, Alterity, Air" won the Science Fiction Research Association's 2009 Pioneer Award for best published article on science fiction (this award has since been renamed the SFRA Innovative Research Award). The issue includes an interview with Geoff Ryman by Canadian speculative fiction writer Hiromi Goto. The introduction to the special issue, by Susan Knabe and Wendy Gay Pearson, also responds to Ryman's call for Mundane science fiction. Mundane science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction focusing on stories set on or near the Earth, with a believable use of technology and science as it exists at the time the story is written. The Mundane SF movement was founded in 2002 during the Clarion workshop by Ryman and others. In 2008 a Mundane SF issue of '' Interzone'' magazine was published, guest-edited by Ryman, Julian Todd and Trent Walters. Ryman has lectured at the University of Manchester since at least 2007; as of 2022 he is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing for

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

's English Department, where in 2011 he won the Faculty Students' Teaching Award for the School of Arts, History and Culture. As of 2008 he was at work on a new historical novel set in the United States before their

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

Bibliography

Novels

* ''

The Unconquered Country ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...

'' (1984) * ''

'' (1985) * ''

The Child Garden ''The Child Garden'' is a 1989 science fiction novel by Canadian writer Geoff Ryman. It won both the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1990. The novel is structured as two books with a brief introduction. The fir ...

'' (1989) * '' Was...'' (1992) * '' 253, or Tube Theatre'' (1996 online, 1998 print) * ''

Lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It ca ...

'' (2001) * '' Air: Or, Have not Have'' (2005) * ''

The King's Last Song ''The King's Last Song'' is a novel by Canadian author Geoff Ryman. It was first published in 2006 by HarperCollins in the UK. It was published in the United States in 2008 by Small Beer Press. Plot introduction Set in Cambodia, it tells ...

'' (2006 UK, 2008 US)

Collections

* '' Unconquered countries: Four novellas'' (1994) * ''

Paradise Tales In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradi ...

'' (July 2011, Small Beer Press)

Awards

, - , valign=top , ; British Science Fiction Award * ''The Unconquered Country'' for Best Short (1984) * ''Air'' for Best Novel (2005) ; World Fantasy Award * ''The Unconquered Country'' Best Novella (1985) ; Arthur C. Clarke Award * ''The Child Garden'' for Best Novel (1990) * ''Air'' (2005) , valign=top , ; Campbell Award * ''The Child Garden'' for Best Novel (1990) ; Philip K. Dick Award * ''253: The Print Remix'', 1998 ;

James Tiptree, Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, formerly 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 f ...

* ''Air'' (2005) ; Nebula Award for Best Novelette * ''

What We Found What We Found may refer to: * What We Found (short story), a 2011 science fiction novelette by Geoff Ryman * What We Found (film) ''What We Found'' is a 2020 American thriller film written and directed by Ben Hickernell and starring Elizabeth ...

'' (2012)

References

External links

*
Author page at Small Beer Press

Comment on the victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings

conducted by

Kit Reed Kit Reed, born Lillian Hyde Craig or Lil(l)ian Craig Reed (June 7, 1932 – September 24, 2017), was an American author of both speculative fiction and literary fiction, as well as psychological thrillers under the pseudonym Kit Craig. Biog ...

at Infinity Plus, discussing his novel ''Air'' and the Mundane SF movement.
Compilation of reviews of Ryman's book ''The King's Last Song''

Biog page at the University of ManchesterRyman special issue of ''Extrapolation'' at Liverpool University Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryman, Geoff 1951 births Living people British science fiction writers Canadian science fiction writers Canadian gay writers English LGBT writers The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people University of California, Los Angeles alumni World Fantasy Award-winning writers Nebula Award winners British male novelists