Ian Roderick MacLeod (born 6 August 1956) is a British

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

writer. He was born in

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

near

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. He studied law and worked as a civil servant before going freelance in early 1990s soon after he started publishing stories, attracting critical praise and awards.

Writings

He is the author of seven novels, including ''

The Light Ages ''The Light Ages'' is a steampunk and alternate history fantasy novel by Ian R. MacLeod. The novel is set in an alternate Victorian England during an Industrial Revolution fueled by a dangerous magical substance known as aether. Plot ''The Lig ...

'' and ''The House of Storms'', which are set in an alternate universe nineteenth century England, where aether, a substance that can be controlled by the mind, has ossified English society into

guilds A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

and has retarded technological progress. His other novels and short stories feature a mixture of fantastic, historical, and futuristic elements, combined with a concern for character and vividly descriptive writing. His novel ''Song of Time'', told from a viewpoint of a classical violinist and set in the near future, won the

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 ...

, the

John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, was an annual award presented to the author of the best science fiction novel published in English in the preceding calendar year. It was given by s ...

and the Premio Italia Award for Best International SF Novel in 2023. His novel '' Wake Up and Dream'', set in an alternative 1940s Los Angeles, won a Sidewise Award for Best Alternative History. His novel ''Red Snow'' follows the path of a vampire across several centuries in Europe and the United States. MacLeod's

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

" The Summer Isles" (''

Asimov's Science Fiction ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine edited by Sheila Williams and published by Dell Magazines, which is owned by Penny Press. It was launched as a quarterly by Davis Publications in 1977, after obtaining Isaac ...

'' October/November 1998) won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, Short Form and the

World Fantasy Award for Best Novella The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

. It is an

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

where Britain, having been defeated in the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, develops its own form of

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

in 1930s. The narrator is a closeted homosexual Oxford historian who had known the leader in youth. It was written as a novel, which however could not sell; MacLeod published the cut version, with the full-length version only being published in a limited edition in 2005. This novel version also won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, Long Form, thus becoming the only story to win the same award twice in two differing formats, novel and novella. MacLeod won the

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 ...

again in for his 2000 novelette "The Chop Girl". His shorter fiction has been collected in ''

Voyages by Starlight ''Voyages by Starlight'' is a collection of science fiction and horror stories by British writer Ian R. MacLeod. It was released in 1996 and was the author's first book. It was published by Arkham House in an edition of 2,542 copies. The stor ...

'', ''Breathmoss and Other Exhalations,'' ''Past Magic, Journeys,'' ''Frost on Glass'' and ''Ragged Maps.'' MacLeod was Guest of Honour at the 38th

Novacon Novacon is an annual science fiction convention, usually held each November in the English Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and t ...

, held in November 2008.

Bibliography

Novels

* *''

'' (Earthlight imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2003) (2004 nomination for World Fantasy Award) *''The House of Storms'' (

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 2005) *''The Summer Isles'' ( Aio Publishing, 2005) (2005 Sidewise Award) Expanded version of the original 1998 novella, which also won the award. *''Song of Time'' (

PS Publishing PS Publishing is an independent book publisher based in Hornsea, UK. Background PS Publishing was founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther.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 ...

, 2009 John W. Campbell Memorial Award) *'' Wake Up and Dream'' (PS Publishing, 2011) (2011 Sidewise Award) *''Red Snow'' (2017, PS Publishing)

Short fiction

;Collections *''

'' (1996,

Arkham House Arkham House was an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had ...

) * ''Breathmoss and Other Exhalations'' (2004,

Golden Gryphon Press Golden Gryphon Press was an independent publishing company, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy and cross-genre novels. It was founded in 1996 by Jim Turner, former editor at Arkham House, until his death in 1999. It was then o ...

) * ''Past Magic'' (2006, PS Publishing) * ''Journeys'' (2010,

Subterranean Press Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Burton, Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily Horror fiction, horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to publishing novel ...

) * ''Snodgrass and Other Illusions: The Best Short Stories of Ian R. MacLeod'' (Open Road Media, 2013) * ''Frost on Glass'' (2015, PS Publishing) * ''Everywhere'' (JABberwocky, ebook collection volume 1. 2019) * ''Nowhere'' (JABberwocky, ebook collection volume 2. 2019) * ''Ragged Maps'' (2023, Subterranean Press) ;StoriesShort stories unless otherwise noted.

References

External links

Official website
at Golden Gryphon Press; excerpt and links to reviews

at Aio Publishing website, includes excerpt, links and further materials

at ''Free Speculative Fiction Online'' *

at ''Upcoming4.me''
Art, Science and a little Magic - Ian R MacLeod looks back on why he writes - Online Essay
at ''Upcoming4.me''

Interviews

Interview
with Jay Tomio (2005)

at Infinity Plus

at sfsite.com
Interview
at sageandsavant.com (2017) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macleod, Ian R. 1956 births Living people Asimov's Science Fiction people British alternative history writers British fantasy writers British science fiction writers People from Solihull Sidewise Award winners World Fantasy Award–winning writers English male novelists