Farah Mendlesohn | |
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![]() Mendlesohn at Archipelacon in Mariehamn, 2015 | |
Born | Manchester, England | 27 July 1968
Occupation | Academic, writer |
Citizenship | United Kingdom |
Subject | Cultural history, science fiction |
Spouse |
Farah Jane Mendlesohn (born 27 July 1968) is a British academic historian, writer on speculative fiction, and active member of science fiction fandom. Mendlesohn is best-known for their 2008 book Rhetorics of Fantasy , which classifies fantasy literature into four modes based on how the fantastic enters the story. Their work as editor includes the Cambridge Companions to science fiction and fantasy, collaborations with Edward James. The science fiction volume won a Hugo Award. Mendlesohn is also known for books on the history of fantasy, including Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction , co-written with Michael Levy. It was the first work to trace the genre's 500-year history and won the World Fantasy Award.
Mendlesohn's academic positions have included a professorship at Anglia Ruskin University. They have served as editor and chair of the science fiction journal Foundation , and as the president of the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts. In 2015, Mendlesohn received the SFRA 's Clareson award for distinguished service to the science fiction field.
Farah Jane Mendlesohn was born on 27 July 1968 in Manchester, England. [1] Mendlesohn received a D. Phil. in history from the University of York in 1997. [2] Mendlesohn's academic positions include a stint as reader in science fiction and fantasy literature in the media department at Middlesex University, and as professor and head of department in the department of English, communication, film and media at Anglia Ruskin University [3] from 2012 to 2017. [4] Mendlesohn joined Staffordshire University in November 2016 as professor and assistant dean in law, policing, forensics & sociology, [5] and is now an associate fellow of the Anglia Ruskin Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy. [4]
Mendlesohn writes on the history of American religions and British and American science fiction and fantasy. Mendlesohn was the editor of Foundation - The International Review of Science Fiction from 2002 to 2007, and served as its chair from 2004. [1] They then served as president of the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts from 2008 to 2010. Mendlesohn used to be reviews editor of Quaker Studies. [1]
Mendlesohn's best known work is the 2008 non-fiction book Rhetorics of Fantasy . [1] It proposes a classification of the fantasy genre using the manner in which the fantastic interacts with the real world. The four modes, or "rhetorics", Mendlesohn proposes are: portal-quest fantasy, where the protagonists travel from our world to a fantastical one; immersive fantasy, where only the fantastical world exists; intrusion fantasy, where the barriers between the fantasy and real worlds break down; and liminal fantasy, set in a world where certain elements are seen as irrational by the reader but are unquestioned by the characters. [6] [7]
In 2016 Mendlesohn wrote Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction with collaborator Michael Levy. The book traces the development of children's fantasy from the 16th to the 21st centuries, covering events such as the collection of folk tales, the impact of world wars, and the emergence of young adult fiction. [8] [9] It was the first work to blend the history of the fantasy and children's literature fields. [10]
In 2005 Mendlesohn won the Hugo Award for Best Related Work for The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, which edited with historian Edward James. James and Mendlesohn also edited The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature, released in 2012, and wrote A Short History of Fantasy in 2009. [11] Mendlesohn's book Rhetorics of Fantasy won the BSFA award for best non-fiction book in 2009; the book was also nominated for Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. [11]
In 2010 Mendlesohn was nominated twice for the Best Related Work Hugo, for The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children's and Teens' Science Fiction, and for On Joanna Russ. [11] They received the Science Fiction Research Association's Clareson award for distinguished service in 2015. [1]
In 2017, they won the World Fantasy Special Award—Professional for Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction. [11] Their critical biography of Robert Heinlein (see below) was nominated for the Best Related Work Hugo in 2020. It won the BSFA Award for non-fiction, [11] making them the only writer besides Paul Kincaid to win this award twice. [1]
Mendlesohn is an active volunteer member of the administration for science fiction conventions. Among other events, they co-chaired ConCussion, the 2006 Eastercon, with Simon Bradshaw; [12] and was director of program for Anticipation, the Montreal World Science Fiction Convention, in 2009; [13] Mendlesohn was on the convention committee of Loncon 3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention, but resigned as a protest over the announcement that Jonathan Ross was to be master of ceremonies for the presentation of the Hugo Awards; Mendlesohn remained division head for the convention's exhibits hall. [14]
In 2017, Mendlesohn announced that a critical study of Robert Heinlein was to be published by the crowdfunding publisher Unbound. [15] [16] As of October 2017 [update] the pledges had exceeded the target by 18%. The book was published in 2019, under the title The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein.
Children's fantasy is children's literature with fantasy elements: fantasy for young readers. It may also mean fantasy read by children.
Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, known by her pen names Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm, is an American writer of speculative fiction. As Hobb, she is best known for her fantasy novels set in the Realm of the Elderlings, which comprise the Farseer, Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies, the Rain Wild chronicles, and the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. Lindholm's writing includes the urban fantasy novel Wizard of the Pigeons and science fiction short stories, among other works. As of 2018, her fiction has been translated into 22 languages and sold more than 4 million copies.
Zenna Chlarson Henderson was an American elementary school teacher and science fiction and fantasy author. Her first story was published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1951. Her work is cited as pre-feminist, often featuring middle-aged women, children, and their relationships, but with stereotyped gender roles. Many of her stories center around humanoid aliens called "The People", who have special powers. Henderson was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1959 for her novelette Captivity. Science fiction authors Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, Connie Willis, Dale Bailey, and Kathy Tyers have cited her as an influence on their work.
The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award is given for "fiction in the spirit of the Inklings", and the Scholarship Award for non-fiction work. The award is a statuette of a seated lion, with a plaque on the base. It has drawn resemblance to, and is often called, the "Aslan".
Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthurian, Celtic, or Dark Ages could just as easily be placed in historical fantasy. Stories fitting this classification generally take place prior to the 20th century.
Patricia Anne McKillip was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. She has been called "one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy genre", and wrote predominantly standalone fantasy novels. Her work won numerous awards, including the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008.
Brian Attebery is an American writer and emeritus professor of English and philosophy at Idaho State University. He is known for his studies of fantasy literature, including The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin (1980) and Strategies of Fantasy (1992) which won the Mythopoeic Award. Attebery is also editor of the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, for which he received the World Fantasy Award in 2021. He has also won the IAFA Award for distinguished scholarship and the Pilgrim Award for lifetime achievement.
Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were an element of literature from its beginning. The modern genre is distinguished from tales and folklore which contain fantastic elements, first by the acknowledged fictitious nature of the work, and second by the naming of an author. Works in which the marvels were not necessarily believed, or only half-believed, such as the European romances of chivalry and the tales of the Arabian Nights, slowly evolved into works with such traits. Authors like George MacDonald created the first explicitly fantastic works.
Edward Frederick James is a British scholar of medieval history and science fiction. He is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at University College, Dublin. James received the Hugo Award for his non-fiction book The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, and the Pilgrim Award for lifetime contribution to SF and fantasy scholarship.
Andrew M. Butler is a British academic who teaches film, media and cultural studies at Canterbury Christ Church University. He is a former editor of Vector, the Critical Journal of the British Science Fiction Association and was membership secretary of the Science Fiction Foundation. He is a former Arthur C. Clarke Award judge and is now a member of the Serendip Foundation which administers the award.
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Bone Dance is a 1991 novel by American writer Emma Bull, described variously as fantasy, hard science fiction and cyberpunk. It was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Awards in 1992.
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga, animations and video games.
Greer Ilene Gilman is an American author of fantasy stories.
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The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982 is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts. Its principal activities are the organization of the International Conference of the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA), which was first held in 1980, the publication of a journal, the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts (JFA), which has been published regularly since 1990, and the production of a news blog and other social media that publish information of interest to the membership.
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Judith Clute is a Canadian painter, graphic designer, print-maker, and illustrator who has created cover art and illustrations for a number of well-known science fiction authors and magazines. Clute has British citizenship and works in London. She is also a tour guide with the Original London Walks.
Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction is a 2016 book by American author Michael Levy and British author Farah Mendlesohn. It is the only work to trace the history of children's fantasy over a period of 500 years. Events covered in the book include the collection of folk tales in the 16th century, the impact of world wars on British fantasy and the American response, and the emergence of modern children's and young adult fantasy.
Michael M. Levy (1950–2017) was an American writer, critic and professor of English and philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Stout. He was known for his scholarly contributions to speculative fiction and children's literature, and for his book reviews in a variety of literary magazines and journals. His work as author includes chapters in the Cambridge Companion and Routledge Companion to science fiction. Levy also wrote Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction, the first work on the 500-year history of the genre, in collaboration with Farah Mendlesohn.