Yoon Ha Lee

Last updated
Yoon Ha Lee
Born (1979-01-26) January 26, 1979 (age 46)
Houston, Texas
Occupationwriter
NationalityAmerican
Education Seoul Foreign School
Alma mater
Genre speculative fiction, Science fiction, fantasy, poetry
Notable works
Notable awards
Website
yoonhalee.com

Yoon Ha Lee [1] (born 1979 in Houston, Texas) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, [2] known for his Machineries of Empire space opera novels and his short fiction. His first novel, Ninefox Gambit , received the 2017 Locus Award for Best First Novel.

Contents

Life

Lee attended high school at Seoul Foreign School, an English-language international school, as his Korean American family lived in both Texas and South Korea. He went to college at Cornell University, majored in mathematics, and earned a master's degree in secondary mathematics education at Stanford University. He has worked as an analyst for an energy market intelligence company, done web design, and taught mathematics. [3] Lee is a trans man. [4] [5]

Career

Since his first sale in 1999, Lee has published short fiction in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction , Clarkesworld , Lightspeed and elsewhere. Three of his stories have been reprinted in Gardner Dozois's The Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies. Dozois wrote that Lee is "one of those helping to move science fiction into the twenty-first century". [6]

In 2012, Lee wrote Winterstrike, a browser-based text adventure game, for Failbetter Games.[ citation needed ]

Lee's short fiction has received praise from fellow authors and from literary awards organizations. Aliette de Bodard wrote the introduction for Conservation of Shadows and has twice recommended one of Lee's stories in her best of year-round-ups: she selected "Ghostweight" as a favorite of 2011 [7] and "The Knight of Chains, the Deuce of Stars" was chosen in her 2013 eligibility and recommendations post as "the one that most blew me away this year". [8] "Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" and "Ghostweight" were nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. [9] [10] "Extracurricular Activities", "The Starship and the Temple Cat", and "The Mermaid Astronaut" have been finalists for the Locus Award for Best Short Story. [11] [12] [13] The Mermaid Astronaut was also a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story. [14]

His debut novel, Ninefox Gambit, was the first novel in the Machineries of Empire series. It received the 2017 Locus Award for Best First Novel, [15] and was a finalist for the 2016 Nebula, [16] 2017 Hugo, [17] the 2017 Compton Crook Award, [18] and the 2017 Clarke award. [19] The sequel novels Raven Stratagem and Revenant Gun also received awards nominations, and the entire series was a finalist for the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Series. [20]

Dragon Pearl, the first book of the middle grade Thousand Worlds series, was released on January 15, 2019, and published by Disney Hyperion under the "Rick Riordan Presents" publishing imprint and became a New York Times bestseller. [21] Dragon Pearl won the 2020 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book [22] and the 2020 Mythopoeic Award for Children's Literature. [23] It was a finalist for the 2020 Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book [24] and the 2019 Andre Norton Award. [25]

Lee's young adult novel Moonstorm was published in 2024 and was also well-received critically. It won the 2025 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book [26] and was a finalist for several other accolades. It was followed by a sequel, Starstrike, in 2025.

Bibliography

Lee's notable works include the Machineries of Empire series, the Thousand Worlds series of middle grade books, Phoenix Extravagant, and Moonstorm. He has also written numerous short stories.

Awards and honors

Awards and honors
YearBookAwardCategoryResultRef.
2011"Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" Theodore Sturgeon Award —Finalist [9]
2012"Ghostweight" Theodore Sturgeon Award —Finalist [27]
2014Conservation of Shadows Crawford Award —Shortlisted [28]
"Effigy Nights" World Fantasy Award Short Fiction Nominated [29]
2016Ninefox Gambit Nebula Award Novel Nominated [16]
2017"Foxfire, Foxfire" Locus Award Novelette Finalist [15]
Ninefox Gambit Arthur C. Clarke Award —Shortlisted [19]
Compton Crook Award —Finalist [18]
Hugo Award Novel Finalist [17]
Locus Award First Novel Won [15]
2018"Extracurricular Activities" Hugo Award Novelette Finalist [30]
Locus Award Short Story Finalist [11]
Raven Stratagem Hugo Award Novel Finalist [30]
Locus Award Science Fiction Novel Finalist [11]
Revenant Gun BSFA Award Novel Shortlisted [31]
2019Dragon Pearl Andre Norton Award —Nominated [25]
Machineries of Empire Hugo Award Series Finalist [20]
Revenant Gun Arthur C. Clarke Award —Shortlisted [32]
Hugo Award Novel Finalist [20]
Locus Award Science Fiction Novel Finalist [12]
"The Starship and the Temple Cat" Locus Award Short Story Finalist [12]
Theodore Sturgeon Award —Finalist [33]
2020Dragon Pearl Locus Award Young Adult novel Won [22]
Lodestar Award —Finalist [24]
Mythopoeic Award Children's LiteratureWon [23]
Hexarchate Stories Locus Award Collection Finalist [22]
2021Ninefox Gambit Seiun Award Translated NovelFinalist [34]
"The Mermaid Astronaut" Hugo Award Short Story Finalist [14]
Locus Award Short Story Finalist [13]
Theodore Sturgeon Award —Finalist [35]
2023"Bonsai Starships" Theodore Sturgeon Award —Finalist [36]
2024Moonstorm Andre Norton Award —Nominated [37]
2025 Ignyte Award Young Adult NovelPending [38]
Locus Award Young Adult Novel Won [26]
Lodestar Award —Finalist [39]

References

  1. ↑ surname/family name: Lee, first name: Yoon, middle name : Ha
  2. ↑ "Yoon Ha Lee". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  3. ↑ Interview with Yoon Ha Lee at Locus Online, excerpt posted Sunday 7 September 2014
  4. ↑ Wagner, Wendy (2017-06-27). "Interview: Yoon Ha Lee". Lightspeed Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  5. ↑ Ana (2016-06-16). "SFF in Conversation: Yoon Ha Lee on Being Trans". The Book Smugglers. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  6. ↑ Cover quote, Yoon Ha Lee, Conservation of Shadows. Prime Books, April 2013
  7. ↑ de Bodard, Aliette (2012-01-04). "Ye obligatory eligibility post, plus asking for story recommendations". aliettedebodard.com. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  8. ↑ de Bodard, Aliette (2014-01-06). "Awards eligibility and awards recommendations". aliettedebodard.com. Retrieved 2014-01-08.
  9. 1 2 "McDonald, Landis win Campbell, Sturgeon Awards". Locus. 8 Jul 2011. Retrieved 26 Aug 2025.
  10. ↑
  11. 1 2 3 "2018 Locus Awards Finalists". Locus. 30 Apr 2018. Retrieved 2 Jun 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 "2019 Locus Awards Finalists". Locus. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 2 Jun 2024.
  13. 1 2 "2021 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. 26 Jun 2021. Retrieved 1 Jun 2025.
  14. 1 2 "2021 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners". Locus. 18 Dec 2021. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved 1 Jun 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 "2017 Locus Awards Winners". Locus . 24 Jun 2017. Retrieved 2 Jun 2024.
  16. 1 2 "2016 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 2 Jul 2025.
  17. 1 2 "2017 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners". Locus. 11 Aug 2017. Retrieved 2 Jul 2025.
  18. 1 2 "Palmer Wins 2017 Compton Crook Award". Locus. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 21 Jul 2025.
  19. 1 2 "2017 Clarke Award Shortlist". Locus. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 2 Jul 2025.
  20. 1 2 3 "Announcing the 2019 Hugo Award Winners". Reactor Magazine. 18 Aug 2019. Retrieved 2 Jun 2024.
  21. ↑ Lee, Yoon Ha (2019). Dragon Pearl. Disney Electronic Content. ISBN   978-1-368-01519-6.
  22. 1 2 3 "2020 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online . 27 Jun 2020. Retrieved 20 Jul 2025.
  23. 1 2 "2020 Mythopoeic Awards Winners". Locus. 15 Feb 2021. Retrieved 21 Jul 2025.
  24. 1 2 "Announcing the 2020 Hugo Award Winners". Tor.com. 31 Jul 2020. Retrieved 4 Aug 2025.
  25. 1 2 "2019 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 22 Jul 2025.
  26. 1 2 "2025 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. 21 Jun 2025. Retrieved 13 Jul 2025.
  27. ↑ "2012 Campbell and Sturgeon Award Winners". Locus. 29 Jun 2012. Retrieved 26 Aug 2025.
  28. ↑ "Samatar Wins Crawford Award". Locus. 24 Jan 2014. Retrieved 28 Aug 2025.
  29. ↑ "World Fantasy Awards Winners 2014". Locus. 9 Nov 2014. Retrieved 25 Aug 2025.
  30. 1 2 "Announcing the 2018 Hugo Award Winners". Reactor Magazine. 20 Aug 2018. Retrieved 2 Jun 2024.
  31. ↑ "2018 BSFA Winners". Locus. 22 Apr 2019. Retrieved 21 Jul 2025.
  32. ↑ "Rosewater Wins 2019 Clarke Award". Locus. 17 Jul 2019. Retrieved 21 Jul 2025.
  33. ↑ "2019 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Winners". Locus. 1 Jul 2019. Retrieved 26 Aug 2025.
  34. ↑ "2021 Seiun Awards Winners". Locus. 21 Jul 2021. Retrieved 21 Jul 2025.
  35. ↑ "Campbell Wins Sturgeon". Locus. 18 Oct 2021. Retrieved 26 Aug 2025.
  36. ↑ "Mills Wins Sturgeon". Locus. 25 Aug 2023. Retrieved 26 Aug 2025.
  37. ↑ "2024 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. 7 Jun 2025. Retrieved 8 Jun 2025.
  38. ↑ "2025 Ignyte Awards Finalists". Locus. 9 Jun 2025. Retrieved 26 Aug 2025.
  39. ↑ "2025 Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Winners". Locus. 16 Aug 2025. Retrieved 17 Aug 2025.
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