Maria Dahvana Headley (born June 21, 1977) is an American novelist, memoirist, editor, translator, poet, and playwright. She is a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''-bestselling author as well as editor. Her work includes ''Magonia'', a young-adult space-fantasy novel, ''Queen of Kings'', an alternate-history fantasy novel about

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

, and '' The Mere Wife'', a retelling of ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...

''. Her short story "Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream", originally published in '' Lightspeed'' magazine in July 2012, was a 2012

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 ...

nominee in the short story category. Her short story "The Traditional" was a finalist for the 2013 Shirley Jackson Award. Headley won the 2021 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award and the 2021

Hugo Award for Best Related Work The Hugo Award for Best Related Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for primarily non-fiction works related to science fiction or fantasy, published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The Hugo Awards have bee ...

for her translation of ''Beowulf''.

Early life

Maria Dahvana Headley was born June 21, 1977, in Estacada, Oregon."Maria Dahvana Headley: Divine Monsters"
'' Locus''. July 12, 2013. After graduating from Vallivue High School in

Caldwell, Idaho Caldwell (locally CALL-dwel) is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho, United States. The population was 68,336 at the time of th2023 United States census making it the List of cities in Idaho, 5th most populous city in Idaho. C ...

, she attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, where she studied dramatic writing at the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

Dramatic Writing Program.

Career

''Beowulf: A New Translation''

Published August 2020, Headley's translation of ''

'' was noted for its use of contemporary language, invoking the mood of urban legend, and for humanizing minor or villainous characters, including

Grendel's mother Grendel's mother () is one of three antagonists in the anonymous Old English poem ''Beowulf'' (c. 700–1000 AD), the other two being Grendel and the dragon. Each antagonist reflects different negative aspects of both the hero Beowulf and the h ...

. The translation received the 2021 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outrea ...

and the 2021

''The Mere Wife''

In October, 2015,

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

editor Sean McDonald acquired ''The Mere Wife'' at auction, describing it as "a ferocious, sexy, and politically topical literary adaptation of Beowulf set in present-day New York". ''The Mere Wife'' was nominated for the 2019 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

''Magonia''

In 2014, HarperCollins acquired the young adult novel ''Magonia'' and a sequel. ''Magonia'', the story of a 16-year-old girl with a mysterious breathing disease who finds herself on a sky ship in the historical kingdom of Magonia, was published in April 2015. It received a starred review in ''Publishers Weekly'' in February, 2015, being named one of the ''Publishers Weekly'' Best Books of 2015. It was a ''New York Times'' Young Adult bestseller in 2015. The sequel, ''Aerie'', was published in 2016.

''Queen of Kings''

In early 2010, Dutton purchased Headley's debut novel ''Queen of Kings'', which explores "the transcendent powers of love even beyond death, entwining the true story of Antony and Cleopatra and Rome's invasion of Alexandria with a narrative in which the Queen of Egypt sacrifices her soul to save her fallen husband and in return is transformed into an immortal goddess bent on the destruction of the Roman Empire". It was purchased as part of a trilogy deal. The hardcover was released in 2011.

''The Year of Yes''

In 2006, Hyperion published her memoir, ''The Year of Yes'', an account of the year Headley spent saying yes to dates with anyone who asked her out. ''The Year of Yes'' has been optioned for the screen by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

and the Jinks/Cohen Company (producers of '' American Beauty'', and ''

Big Fish ''Big Fish'' is a 2003 American fantasy drama film directed by Tim Burton. It is based on the 1998 novel '' Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions'' by Daniel Wallace. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange ...

'', among other films), and has been or will be translated into Korean, German, Dutch, Italian, Hebrew, and Chinese, as well as appearing in an additional English-language edition in the UK and world marketplace through

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

Thorsons Element imprint. ''The Year of Yes'' is a 2006 Finalist in The Books for a Better Life Award. ''The Year of Yes'' was released in hardcover in January 2006, and in paperback in January 2007.

Other writing

The novella ''The End of the Sentence'', co-written with Kat Howard, is "a fairytale of ghosts and guilt, literary horror blended with the visuals of Jean Cocteau, failed executions, shapeshifting goblins, and magical blacksmithery." It was published by Subterranean Press in September 2014. It was named one of NPR's Best Books of 2014. ''The Book of the Dead'', a 2013 anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories "all themed around the most mysterious, versatile and, perhaps, under-appreciated of the undead: the mummy," published by Jurassic London and the Egypt Exploration Society, will feature Headley's mummies and candy story, "Bit-U-Men". The short story "Give Her Honey When You Hear Her Scream" was published by '' Lightspeed'' magazine in 2012, ''The Lowest Heaven'', a 2013 anthology of science fiction stories devoted to the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

published by Jurassic London & The

Royal Observatory Greenwich Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

, contains Headley's short story "The Krakatoan", which was simultaneously published in ''Nightmare'' magazine. "The Traditional", a short story, was published in '' Lightspeed'' magazine in 2013. The short story "Moveable Beast" was published in the anthology ''Unnatural Creatures'' in 2013, and was a

finalist in the short story category. It is anthologized in ''The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy 2013'', edited by Rich Horton. The novelette ''Game'' was published by

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 ...

in 2012 and appeared in ''The Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror 2013'', edited by Paula Guran. "Seeräuber", a short story about a Jenny Haniver, was published by Subterranean Press in late 2012. Headley's plays, ''Drive Me'' and ''Last of the Breed'', have been produced at Boise Contemporary Theater in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. Her story "Some Gods of El Paso", a

Tor.com ''Reactor'', formerly ''Tor.com'', is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on specul ...

Original, was published in October 2015. Her story "Memoirs of an Imaginary Country", a retelling of a lost tale of Casanova, was published in the ''

Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...

'' special 2017 fiction issue Global Dystopias, and published online in 2020.

Editorial work

Headley is co-editor with

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

on the ''New York Times''-bestselling anthology ''Unnatural Creatures'', an anthology to benefit 826DC, containing natural history-themed monster stories by a variety of authors both living and dead, including

Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ; born April 1, 1942) is an American writer and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays on science fiction, literature, sexual orientation, sexuality, and ...

, E. Nesbit,

Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually d ...

Nalo Hopkinson Nalo Hopkinson (born 20 December 1960) is a Jamaican-born Canadian speculative fiction writer and editor. Her novels – ''Brown Girl in the Ring (novel), Brown Girl in the Ring'' (1998), ''Midnight Robber'' (2000), ''The Salt Roads'' (2003), ' ...

, Headley and Gaiman.

Awards and recognition

Headley is a 2020

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 ...

winner, a 2012 Nebula Award Finalist, a 2013 Shirley Jackson Award Finalist, a

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

Fellow, and has attended The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, The Sundance Playwright's Lab, The Kennedy Center's New Visions/New Voices workshop, Brave New Works, and the WordBridge Playwright's Lab. She has been a featured author at ABA Winter Institute,

Bumbershoot Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day (United States), Labor Day weekend (leading up to and ...

, Wordstock, and the

Texas Book Festival The Texas Book Festival is a free annual book festival held in downtown Austin, Texas. The festival takes place each fall in October or November and includes programming for children and adults. It is one of the largest and most critically acc ...

. In 2017, she was nominated for a World Fantasy Award in Short Fiction for "Little Widow." Her novel ''The Mere Wife'' was nominated for the 2019 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Her ''Beowulf: A New Translation'' received the 2021 Harold Morton Landon Translation Award. and the 2021

Personal life

Headley lived in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

for many years before returning to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She was married to Robert Schenkkan from 2004 to 2012. In 2018, while at an event for her novel ''The Mere Wife'', she met Will Badger, one of the founders of the Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature. He had come to invite her to deliver the lecture, which she accepted. They kept in contact and eventually fell in love. She gave birth to their son Grimoire in 2019. Headley describes herself as

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 ...

References

External links

* * * Morton, Lisa Noehealani.
Author Spotlight: Maria Dahvana Headley
. ''Nightmare'', July 2013 * Stephens, Patrick J.
Author Spotlight: Maria Dahvana Headley
, '' Lightspeed'', May 2013 * Stocks, Erin.
Author Spotlight: Maria Dahvana Headley
, ''Lightspeed'', July 2012 * Cheney, Matthew

''The Mumpsimus'', December 27, 2005. *Headley, Maria Dahvana
Author Archive: "Maria Dahvana Headley"
''PowellsBooks.Blog''. *Henderson, Susan
"Maria Dahvana Headley"
''LitPark'', January 10, 2007. *Miller, Brian
"Affirmative Action: How a local author dramatically improved her odds of finding a man"
''

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976, and it becam ...

'', February 16, 2006. *Robinson, Tasha
"The Year of Yes"
''A.V. Club'', February 8, 2006. *Sachs, Andrea

''

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 ...

'', February 10, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Headley, Maria 1977 births 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American translators American LGBTQ novelists American LGBTQ poets American women short story writers American women novelists Bisexual women writers Hugo Award–winning writers American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights LGBTQ people from Idaho LGBTQ people from Oregon Living people People from Estacada, Oregon People from Caldwell, Idaho American queer women American queer writers Tisch School of the Arts alumni Translators from Old English American women science fiction and fantasy writers World Fantasy Award–winning writers American bisexual writers Queer novelists Queer dramatists and playwrights