Mark Budz (born November 1, 1960, in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a Township (New Jersey), township within Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As a suburb of Philadelphia, the township is part of the South Jersey and Delaware Valley regions. Cherry Hill ...

) is an American science fiction writer. Although he began by writing short stories, his novels such as ''

Clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

'' and '' Crache'' have been nominated for major awards.

Personal life

Budz was born on November 1, 1960, in

into a family that traveled prodigiously because his father worked for the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, living in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. In 1982, Budz graduated from the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University o ...

with a bachelor's degree in architectural engineering. After graduating, he worked at several different jobs, including as a sales at manufacturer's representative for ITT Bell & Gossett, in retail sales, as a publisher's reader for a small press, and technical support. Currently, Budz is a technical writer for a software company near

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

. In the late 1980s, Budz moved to

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, to attempt to become a full-time writer, beginning with short stories. Although becoming a short story writer did not work out, he decided to become a novel writer, which began with his first novel ''

'' in 2003. In subsequent years, he published other novels such as '' Crache'' and '' Idolon''. In 1991, he met his future wife, Marina Fitch, and in 1992 they moved to

Watsonville Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 at the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self-designated sanctua ...

Publications

Novels

* ''

'' (2003) * '' Crache'' (2004) * '' Idolon'' (2006) * '' Till Human Voices Wake Us'' (2007)

Short stories

* ''Toy Soldiers'' * ''Zinnias on the Moon'' * ''Roatan'' * ''The War Inside''

Awards

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, ...

nominee - In 2003, Clade was a nominee for the Philip K. Dick 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 ...

- In 2004, Mark Budz won the second annual Norton Award for his novel

References

External links

Mark Budz homepage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Budz, Mark 1960 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Writers from Cherry Hill, New Jersey Writers from Eugene, Oregon People from Watsonville, California University of Colorado Boulder alumni American male short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from California Novelists from Oregon