Christopher McKitterick | |
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| Born | David Christopher McKitterick July 4, 1967 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
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| Education | University of Minnesota University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (BA) University of Kansas (MA) |
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| christopher-mckitterick | |
Christopher McKitterick (born David Christopher McKitterick in 1967) is an American writer of science fiction, and a scholar, [1] [2] educator, and popularizer of the field.
Chris McKitterick was born on July 4, 1967, in Jacksonville, Florida. He moved extensively throughout his early childhood, to Virginia Beach, Virginia; St. Louis Park, Minnesota; Junction City, Kansas; a small village in the northern region of South Korea; Paynesville, Minnesota, settling at the age of 10 in Ortonville, Minnesota, where he finished high school in 1985. He attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, but transferred to the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire two years later, completing a BA in creative writing in 1991.
After a year teaching and writing in Peerless, Montana, McKitterick was invited in 1992 by SF scholar and writer James E. Gunn to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Kansas and assist him in running the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction, a research center specializing in science fiction scholarship and studies. McKitterick completed a Master of Arts with a creative thesis under Gunn in 1995, moving shortly afterward to Seattle, Washington. He continued to assist Gunn, while writing game materials for Wizards of the Coast and WizKids, and working as an editor, writer, and writing lead for Microsoft. He was appointed by Gunn as the director for the center in 2010. During his involvement with this, he was nominations director for the Theodore Sturgeon Award for the best short SF story of the year (1993-2015), and director and juror for the John W. Campbell Award for best SF novel of the year (between 2002 and 2020, when the award was placed on hiatus). In 2002, he returned to Lawrence to work at the University of Kansas in the English Department, leaving in 2020, after Gunn's death. In 2021 he served as director for KU's short-lived Ad Astra Center for Science and the Imagination; [3] [4] [5] now he directs the nonprofit Ad Astra Institute for Science Fiction & the Speculative Imagination. [6]
McKitterick has taught and written extensively about science fiction. He has taught science fiction writing and literature in Kansas; and for the Future Affairs Administration (FAA) in Beijing in 2019, as well as elsewhere. He has published nonfiction about SF literature and authors, including scholarly book chapters and introductions, academic journals, reference works on the field, and digital humanities, as well as articles, essays, chapters, and other nonfiction in Analog, Locus Magazine, and other media focusing on the field for academics and a popular audience. He has been a SF pundit for NPR, the New YorkTimes, and other national presses.
Starting in 1995, McKitterick began coteaching (with James Gunn) an intensive residential workshop for writers preparing for publication in science fiction and fantasy [7] [8] [9] [11] held each summer in Lawrence, Kansas. By 2006, under McKitterick's direction, the summer program had expanded to a month-long program, including courses on writing short fiction and the novel, and the Intensive Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction. In 2010, Gunn stepped down entirely; since then more than 300 students have taken workshops in the program from McKitterick, Kij Johnson, and guest instructors such as Pat Cadigan, John Kessel, Tina Connolly, and Andy Duncan. He has also taught courses, workshops, and master classes for universities, conventions, conferences, and other venues. [8]
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was married to fellow writer Kate Wilhelm.
Charles Sheffield, was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science-fiction writer who served as a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society.
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 several organizations from 1973-1979 and then by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas until 2019. It was the novel counterpart of the Theodore Sturgeon Award for best short story, awarded at the same conference by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust. The award was named in honor of John W. Campbell (1910–1971), whose science fiction writing and role as editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact made him one of the most influential editors in the early history of science fiction. The award was established in 1973 by writers and critics Harry Harrison and Brian Aldiss "as a way of continuing his efforts to encourage writers to produce their best possible work." Locus magazine listed it as one of the "major awards" of written science fiction.
Harry Max Harrison was an American science fiction author, known mostly for his character The Stainless Steel Rat and for his novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966). The latter was the rough basis for the motion picture Soylent Green (1973). Long resident in both Ireland and the United Kingdom, Harrison was involved in the foundation of the Irish Science Fiction Association, and was, with Brian Aldiss, co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.
Alexei Panshin was an American writer and science fiction critic. He wrote several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award–winning novel Rite of Passage and, with his wife Cory Panshin, the 1990 Hugo Award–winning study of science fiction The World Beyond the Hill.
James Edwin Gunn was an American science fiction writer, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work as an editor of anthologies includes the six-volume Road to Science Fiction series. He won the Hugo Award for "Best Related Work" in 1983 and he won or was nominated for several other awards for his non-fiction works in the field of science fiction studies. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 24th Grand Master in 2007, and he was inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2015. His novel The Immortals was adapted into a 1970–71 TV series starring Christopher George.
Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Dallas Ross, Mark Mallory, Clark Collins, Dallas Rose, Guy McCord, Maxine Reynolds, Bob Belmont, and Todd Harding. His work focused on socioeconomic speculation, usually expressed in thought-provoking explorations of utopian societies from a radical, sometime satiric perspective. He was a popular author from the 1950s to the 1970s, especially with readers of science fiction and fantasy magazines.
John Joseph Vincent Kessel is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. He is a prolific short story writer, and the author of four solo novels, Good News From Outer Space (1989), Corrupting Dr. Nice (1997), The Moon and the Other (2017), and Pride and Prometheus (2018), and one novel, Freedom Beach (1985) in collaboration with his friend James Patrick Kelly. Kessel is married to author Therese Anne Fowler.
Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction, serious fiction, high literature, artistic literature, and sometimes just literature, are labels that, in the book trade, refer to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre ; or, otherwise, refer to novels that are character-driven rather than plot-driven, examine the human condition, use language in an experimental or poetic fashion, or are simply considered serious art.
John Carl Schoenherr was an American illustrator. He won the 1988 Caldecott Medal for U.S. children's book illustration, recognizing Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, which recounts the story of the first time a father takes his youngest child on a traditional outing to spot an owl. He was posthumously inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2015.
The Golden Age of Science Fiction, often identified in the United States as the years 1938–1946, was a period in which a number of foundational works of science fiction literature appeared. In the history of science fiction, the Golden Age follows the "pulp era" of the 1920s and 1930s, and precedes New Wave science fiction of the 1960s and 1970s. The 1950s are, in this scheme, a transitional period. Robert Silverberg, who came of age then, saw the 1950s as the true Golden Age.
Ad Astra is an annual science fiction, fantasy, and horror convention in Ontario. Major events of the convention include the Masquerade, Guest of Honour presentations, panel discussions, Art Show, and Dealer's Room, as well as a wide variety of privately run room parties. Other events on the convention program include a games room, book launches, and the Saturday evening dance.
Christopher Brown is an American author, who formerly wrote under the name Chris Nakashima-Brown, and is known for writing science fiction.
Science fiction studies is the common name for the academic discipline that studies and researches the history, culture, and works of science fiction and, more broadly, speculative fiction.
Nisi Shawl is an African American writer, editor, and journalist. They are best known as an author of science fiction and fantasy short stories who writes and teaches about how fantastic fiction might reflect real-world diversity of gender, sexual orientation, race, physical ability, age, and other sociocultural factors.
Joseph Lee Green is an American science fiction author and a charter member of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He is a prolific short story author best known for his novel Gold the Man. His work has been translated into German, Italian, Spanish, French, Polish and Dutch.
Virginia Kidd was an American literary agent, writer and editor, who worked in particular in science fiction and related fields. She represented science fiction American authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin, R.A. Lafferty, Anne McCaffrey, Judith Merril, and Gene Wolfe. Wolfe modeled Ann Schindler, a character in his 1990 novel Castleview, in large part on Kidd.
David Walton is an American science fiction and fantasy writer living in Philadelphia. His novel Terminal Mind won the 2008 Philip K. Dick Award for the best paperback science fiction novel published in the United States, in a tie with Adam-Troy Castro's novel Emissaries from the Dead.
Dinosaur Planet Survivors or Survivors: Dinosaur Planet II is a 1984 science fiction novel by American writer Anne McCaffrey. It is the sequel to Dinosaur Planet (1978) and thus the second book in the Ireta series.
Fran Van Cleave is an American author of libertarian science fiction, born in Boston and educated as a pharmacist. She was an active member of the Libertarian Futurist Society for many years and served as director of the society in 2005. Van Cleave's works include adventure stories with young protagonists, influenced by the Heinlein juveniles. In addition to fiction, Van Cleave has published articles on scientific topics in Analog Science Fiction and Fact.
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