Mur Lafferty
| Mur Lafferty | |
|---|---|
 Mur Lafferty |
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| Born | July 25, 1973 |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Science Fiction/Fantasy |
| Literary movement | The Podiobook (Podcast Novel) |
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www.murverse.com |
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Mur Lafferty (born July 25, 1973) is an American podcaster and writer based in Durham, North Carolina.[1] She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated with a degree in English. She is the editor and host of Escape Pod since 2010, when she took over from Steve Eley. She is also the host and creator of the podcasts Geek Fu Action Grip (on hiatus) and I Should Be Writing. She was, until July 2007, the host and co-editor of Pseudopod.
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[edit] Podcasting
[edit] Geek Fu Action Grip
Lafferty was first introduced to podcasting in October 2004 by a friend, and she immediately seized on it as an opportunity for publishing her essays on geekdom. This led to her first podcast, Geek Fu Action Grip, which launched in December 2004. It consisted of her thoughts for the week and then a reading of one of her essays. Early topics included her obsession with Alton Brown and her uncomfortable crushes on the hosts of her child's TV shows like Steve Burns, and expanded to discussions of games, movies and television shows. In later episodes she began podcasting her fiction, in particular her serialized novels Heaven and Heaven Part 2: Hell. The main show has been put on indefinite hold as of episode 103.
These essays also led to her becoming an early contributor to Michael and Evo's Wingin' It, a sci-fi variety show podcast hosted by Michael R. Mennenga and Evo Terra. While she is no longer a regular, she did step in to produce an essay during their 2006 Dragon*Con show that is considered one of her best.
Lafferty briefly returned to the Geek Fu world with long-time friend and fellow podcaster Jason Adams via the Geek Fu Morning Show, also found on the Geek Fu Action Grip feed. This podcast was heralded as a morning show for geeks that can be recorded at any time of the day and listened to at any time of the day. The show regularly featured updates on the host's lives, commentary on issues of interest and suggestions taken from listeners via Twitter.
[edit] I Should Be Writing
Lafferty's second podcast was formed from her desire to share her experiences as a struggling fiction writer. I Should Be Writing is self-described as "a podcast for wanna-be fiction writers." Each show covers a specific topic about working your way through the publishing market, from producing queries, cover letters and seeking out agents. This is interspersed with interviews with published professionals, often covering topics from previous shows.
I Should Be Writing won the 2007 Parsec Award for Best Writing Podcast.
[edit] Escape Pod and Pseudopod
Since May 2010, she has been the editor and host of the weekly podcast magazine Escape Pod, having taken over from former editor and founder Steve Eley.[2] Under her editorship, Escape Pod began paying SFWA pro rates for the first time.[3]
Lafferty was also co-founder, along with Steve Eley and co-editor Ben Phillips, of Pseudopod, a spin-off of Escape Pod presenting "the best in audio horror." In July 2007 she stepped down as co-editor.
[edit] Voices: New Media Fiction
In early 2006, Lafferty edited and published Voices: New Media Fiction through podiobooks.com.[4] This is an anthology of short fiction, podcasted by the authors, and featuring such contributors as James Patrick Kelly and Cory Doctorow.
[edit] The Parsec Awards
In September 2006, Lafferty, along with Michael R. Mennenga and Tracy Hickman, founded the Parsec Awards, an awards show for the best in science fiction podcasting.
[edit] Writing
Lafferty has also worked as a freelance writer. Her early career began with her writing for White Wolf and other role playing game companies, and she has expanded to writing about games for such publications as Scrye, Knights of the Dinner Table, Anime Insider, Games Quarterly, and The Escapist. Her popular podcast novel Playing For Keeps was published by Swarm Press on August 25, 2008.
She has also written essays for the online magazine Grumble, many of which have ended up on Geek Fu Action Grip.
She has had fiction published in Hub.
Her monster travel-guide novel, The Shambling Guide To New York City will be published by Orbit in May 2013, and is the first of a series. The working title of the second book, forthcoming in 2014, is The Ghost Train to New Orleans.
[edit] Awards and Honors
- Member of the Podcast Pickle Hall of Fame
- One of the Top Ten Savvy Women in Podcasting, 2006[5]
- Tricks of the Podcasting Masters was named one of the top reference books for 2006 by Amazon.com.[6]
- 2007 Parsec Nomination for Best Speculative Fiction Story (Short Form): I Look Forward To Remembering You[7]
- 2007 Parsec Award for Best Writing Related Podcast: I Should Be Writing
- 2008 Parsec Award for Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novella Form): Heaven - Season Four: Wasteland[8]
- 2008 Parsec Award for Best Speculative Fiction Story (Long Form): Playing for Keeps
- 2010 Parsec Nomination for Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novella Form): Heaven - Season Five: War[9]
- 2011 Parsec Nomination for Best Speculative Fiction Story (Novella Form): Marco and the Red Granny[10]
- 2012 Nomination for John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer[11]
[edit] Selected Bibliography
[edit] Novels
- Playing for Keeps, Podiobooks.com 2007 [1]
- Playing for Keeps, Swarm Press 2008
- Nanovor: Hacked, Running Press Kids 2010
[edit] The Shambling Guides
- A Shambling Guide to New York, Orbit Books, 2013
- The Ghost Train to New Orleans, Orbit Books, 2014[12]
[edit] Short Fiction
- I Look Forward To Remembering You, Escape Pod 2006 [2]
- Heaven - Season One, Podiobooks.com 2006 [3]
- Heaven - Season Two: Hell, Podiobooks.com 2007 [4]
- Heaven - Season Three: Earth, Podiobooks.com 2007 [5]
- Heaven - Season Four: Wasteland, Podiobooks.com 2007 [6]
- Heaven - Season Five: War, Podiobooks.com 2009 [7]
- Marco and the Red Granny, Hub Magazine 2010
- 1963: The Argument Against Louis Pasteur, The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities (ed. Ann & Jeff VanderMeer)[13]
[edit] Non-Fiction and Essays
- Tricks of the Podcasting Masters (with Robert Walch) Que 2006 ISBN 0-7897-3574-1
- Lessons From a Geek Fu Master, Lulu 2006
[edit] RPGs
- D20 Fright Night Haunted School, Hogshead Publishing 2004 ASIN B000RI8HFA
[edit] References
- ^ G.D. Gearino (March 22, 2005). "Podcasting takes off". The News & Observer. p. E1.
- ^ "Escape Pod Metacast 5". Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "News- changes at Escape Pod- blog, reviews, text, and rate increase!". Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "Voices: New Media Fiction".
- ^ "Top Ten Savvy Women in Podcasting for 2006 Final List". Archived from the original on November 11, 2007.
- ^ Elise Ackerman (November 23, 2006). "Podcasts beginning to reach non-geeks". San Jose Mercury News. p. BU1.
- ^ "2007 Parsec Awards Winners & Finalists". Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "2008 Parsec Awards Winners & Finalists". Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "2010 Parsec Awards Winners & Finalists". Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "2011 Parsec Awards Winners & Finalists". Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "2012 Hugo Awards". Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "Mur Lafferty - The Ghost Train to New Orleans cover art reveal". Upcoming4.me :. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ Brazil, Nathan. "The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities: A review". Sfsite. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
[edit] External links
- Murverse.com
- RPG writing credits
- Audio interview on the Comic Geek Speak podcast
- Interview on Books and Ideas Podcast (2008)
- Mur Lafferty at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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