Patrice Ann "Pat" Murphy (born March 9, 1955) is an American science writer and author of

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, ...

novels.

Early life

Murphy was born on March 9, 1955, in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

state.

Career

Murphy has used the ideas of the absurdist pseudophilosophy

pataphysics 'Pataphysics () is a sardonic "philosophy of science" invented by French writer Alfred Jarry (1873–1907) intended to be a parody of science. Difficult to be simply defined or pinned down, it has been described as the "science of imaginary solu ...

in some of her writings. Along with Lisa Goldstein and Michaela Roessner, she has formed The Brazen Hussies to promote their work. Together with

Karen Joy Fowler Karen Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the 19th century, nineteenth century, the Woman, lives of women, and social alienation. She is best known as the author of the b ...

, Murphy co-founded the

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 ...

in 1991. With her second novel, ''

The Falling Woman ''The Falling Woman'' is a 1986 contemporary psychological fantasy novel by Pat Murphy. The book won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1987. Plot summary Elizabeth Butler is an archaeologist, and the author of several popular books that chal ...

'' (1986), she won the

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 ...

, and another Nebula Award in the same year for her novelette, "

Rachel in Love "Rachel in Love" is a 1987 science fiction short story by American writer Pat Murphy. It was first published in ''Asimov's Science Fiction''. Synopsis When a neurologist's teenage daughter Rachel is killed, he secretly copies a recording of her ...

." Her short story collection, ''Points of Departure'' (1990) won the

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, ...

, and her 1990 novella, ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'', 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 ...

in 1991. From 1998 through 2018, Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty (a scientist and educator) jointly wrote the recurring 'Science' column in the '' Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' that typically appeared twice each year. Their last column was in the May/June 2018 issue; Doherty died in August 2017.

Personal life

She lives in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and, for more than 20 years, when she was not writing science fiction, she worked at the

Exploratorium The Exploratorium is a museum of science museum, science, technology museum, technology, and art museum, arts in San Francisco, California. Founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, the museum was originally located in the ...

, San Francisco's museum of science, art, and human perception. There, she published non-fiction as part of the museum staff. In 2014, Murphy was hired by

Doug Peltz Doug Peltz, popularly known as Mystery Doug, is an American science communicator and entrepreneur based in San Francisco. He is best known as the co-founder of the popular science curriculum Mystery Science, a science program used in 50% of U.S. ...

to join Mystery Science (company) as the first employee, creating science curriculum for elementary school teachers. She has a black belt in the martial art

kenpō is the name of several martial arts. This term is often informally transliterated as "kempo", as a result of applying Traditional Hepburn romanization, but failing to use a macron to indicate the long vowel In linguistics, vowel length is ...

Bibliography

Novels

* ''The Shadow Hunter'' (1982; partially rewritten and republished in 2002) * ''

'' (1986) * '' The City, Not Long After'' (1989) * ''Nadya: The Wolf Chronicles'' (1996) * '' There and Back Again'' (1999) * ''Wild Angel'' (2001) * ''Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell'' (2002) * '' The Wild Girls'' (children's novel) (2007)

Short fiction

;Collections * ''Points of Departure'' (1990) * ''Women Up to No Good'' (2013) ;StoriesShort stories unless otherwise noted.

Anthologies edited

* ''The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1'' (2005) with Debbie Notkin,

and Jeffrey D. Smith.

Tachyon Publications Tachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies ...

Anthology of winners of the

. * ''The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2'' (2006) with Debbie Notkin, Karen Joy Fowler and Jeffrey D. Smith.

. * ''The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3'' (2007) with Debbie Notkin, Karen Joy Fowler and Jeffrey D. Smith.

Nonfiction

* * ''Imaginary Friends'' (1996 essay) * ''Before and After'' (1997 travel essay) * ''Explorabook: A Kid's Science Museum in a Book'' by John Cassidy, Pat Murphy, and Paul Doherty (1991) * * ''By Nature's Design'' (1993) by Pat Murphy * ''The Science Explorer'' (1996) by Pat Murphy, Ellen Klages, and Linda Shore * ''The Color of Nature'' (1996) by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty * ''The Science Explorer Out and About'' (1997) by Pat Murphy, Ellen Klages, and Linda Shore * ''Zap Science: A Scientific Playground in a Book'' (1997) by John Cassidy, Paul Doherty, & Pat Murphy * * * * * * *

References

External links

Pat Murphy's page at Brazen Hussies
*

Mystery Science: Open and Go lessons that inspire kids to love science!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Pat 1955 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers American fantasy writers American science fiction writers American women novelists American women short story writers Chapbook writers Nebula Award winners The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people American women science fiction and fantasy writers World Fantasy Award–winning writers