Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is a bestselling American author, working in several genres, but primarily known for his science fiction work. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, making Card the only author (as of 2007) to win both of science fiction's top prizes in consecutive years. Card has written, "We care about moral issues, nobility, decency, happiness, goodness—the issues that matter in the real world, but which can only be addressed, in their purity, in fiction."

Early life

Card is descended from Charles Ora Card, a son-in-law of Brigham Young and founder of Cardston, Alberta the first Mormon Pioneer settlement in Canada. Card was born in Richland, Washington, and raised in Santa Clara, California as well as Mesa, Arizona and Orem, Utah. He served as missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil and graduated from Brigham Young University and the University of Utah; he also spent a year in a Ph.D. program at the University of Notre Dame. Card lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, an environment that played a significant role in Ender's Game.

Career

See also: List of works by Orson Scott Card

Card's writing career began primarily as a poet, studying with Clinton F. Larson at Brigham Young University. During his studies as a theatre major, he began "doctoring" scripts, adapting fiction for readers theatre production, and finally writing his own one-act and full-length plays, several of which were produced by faculty directors at BYU. He also explored fiction writing, beginning with stories that eventually evolved into The Worthing Saga.

After returning to Provo, Utah, from his LDS mission in Brazil, Card started the Utah Valley Repertory Theatre Company, which for two summers produced plays at "the Castle," a Depression-era outdoor amphitheater behind the then-active state mental hospital in Provo; his company's were the first plays ever produced there. Meanwhile, he took part time employment as a proofreader at BYU Press, then made the jump to full time employment as a copy editor. In 1976, in the midst of a paid acting gig in the Church's musical celebrating America's Bicentennial, he secured employment as an assistant editor at the Church's official magazine, Ensign, and moved to Salt Lake City. It was while working at Ensign that Card published his first piece of fiction. His short story "Gert Fram" appeared in the July 1977 fine arts issue of that magazine under the pseudonym Byron Walley.

Science fiction

He first wrote the short story "Ender's Game" while working at the BYU press, and submitted it to several publications. It was eventually purchased by Ben Bova at Analog and published in the August 1977 issue. Meanwhile, he started writing half-hour audioplays on the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the New Testament, and other subjects for Living Scriptures in Ogden, Utah; on the basis of that continuing contract, some freelance editing work, and a novel contract for Hot Sleep and A Planet Called Treason, he left Ensign and began supporting his family as a freelancer.

He completed his master's degree in English at the University of Utah in 1981 and began a doctoral program at the University of Notre Dame, but the recession of the early 1980s caused the flow of new book contracts to temporarily dry up. He returned to full-time employment as the book editor for Compute! Magazine in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1983. In October of that year, a new contract for the Alvin Maker "trilogy" (now up to 6 books) allowed him to return to freelancing.

Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead were both awarded the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, making Card the only author (as of 2007) to win both of science fiction's top prizes in consecutive years. Card continued the series with Xenocide, Children of the Mind, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant, and the 2007 release of A War of Gifts. Card has also announced his plan to write Shadows in Flight, a book that connects the "Shadow" series and "Speaker" series together, and Ender in Exile: Ganges, a book that takes place after Shadow of the Giant and before the short story "Investment Counselor". Furthermore, Card recently announced that Ender's Game will soon be made into a movie. It is slated to be directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who also directed The Neverending Story movie. Card is writing the screenplay himself.

Other genres

He has since branched out into contemporary fiction, such as Lost Boys, Treasure Box and Enchantment. Other works include the novelization of the James Cameron film The Abyss, the alternate histories The Tales of Alvin Maker and Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, the comic book Ultimate Iron Man for Marvel Comics' Ultimate Marvel Universe series, and Robota, a collaboration with Star Wars artist Doug Chiang. Empire, his latest novel, is about a near future civil war in the United States. Outside the published fiction world, Card contributed dialog to two video games, the The Secret of Monkey Island and The Dig in the early 1990s.

In 2000, Card published the first historical novel in The Women of Genesis series. This series explores the lives of the prinicle women mentioned in the first book of the Bible and includes Sarah (2000), Rebekah (2002), and Rachel and Leah (2004).

In the fall of 2005, Card also launched Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. He edited the first two issues, but found that the demands of teaching, writing, and directing plays for his local church theatre group made it impossible to respond to writers' submissions in a timely manner; former Card student and experienced freelance writer and editor Edmund Schubert became the new editor as of June 1, 2006.

On writing

Teaching

In 2005, Card accepted a permanent appointment as "distinguished professor" at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista, Virginia, a small liberal arts college run based on the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Card has cited his frustration with dismal teaching methodology for creative writing in most universities as a reason for accepting this position, along with his desire to teach the techniques of effective fiction writing to writers whose values are more harmonious with his own. Card has worked closely with colleagues to develop new and effective ways to educate aspiring writers and has published two books on the subject. He was eager for the opportunity to apply these techniques in a university environment—his assorted workshops did not allow the follow-through he desired. After being affected by his students' essays he decided to stop teaching regularly at the university to spend time with his youngest child who still lives at home.

Literary Boot Camp

Since 2001, Card has run an annual, one-week intensive critique workshop for aspiring writers called "Literary Boot Camp." Participants are picked from applicants who submit a sample of their fiction writing. The week-long workshop is paired with a weekend lecture-style workshop open to all comers. Graduates have gone on to win major science fiction and fantasy contests (for instance, the now-defunct Phobos contest and the Writers of the Future contest), sell many stories to the SF and fantasy magazines such as Asimov's Science Fiction and Realms of Fantasy, sell books to major publishers (Judson Roberts' Strongbow Saga trilogy is one of many examples), etc.

Books on writing

Card has written two books on the subject of creative writing. The first of these books was Characters and Viewpoint published in 1988. The second was How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy published in 1990. Both of the books were published by Writer's Digest Books and remain in print.

Writers of the Future

Card also serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest The Writers of the Future contest is a science fiction and fantasy story contest for amateur writers originated by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s.

Personal views

Political writing

Card is active as a critic, political writer, and speaker. Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks Card began to write a weekly column named variously "War Watch", "World Watch", or "Civilization Watch", depending upon the topic. The column is published in the Greensboro Rhinoceros Times. Card also writes an "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything" column. Both columns are archived on Card's websites. Card is a vocal supporter of many aspects of George W. Bush's leadership style, the war on terror, aspects of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and aspects of the USA PATRIOT Act. Though he praises Fox News for aspects of their news coverage, he maintains his cynicism, as when he saw they were broadcasting soldiers' messages back to loved ones at home and said, "I thought of what it meant to them... and being human, I was touched. At the same time, being a cynical critic of pretty much everything, the thought flashed through my mind: So Fox News is profiting from the love and loneliness and fear of our military people?" Card is also known for his strong support for the State of Israel.

Political identification

Card identifies himself as a Democrat because he is pro-gun control/anti-National Rifle Association, highly critical of free-market capitalism, and because he believes that the Republican party in the South continues to tolerate racism. Card encapsulated his views thus:

Maybe the Democrats will even accept the idea that sometimes the people don't want to create your utopian vision (especially when your track record is disastrous and your "utopias" keep looking like hell)... The Democratic Party ought to be standing as the bulwark of the little guy against big money and rapacious free-market capitalism, here and abroad. After all, the Republicans seem to be dominated by their own group of insane utopians—when they're not making huggy-huggy with all those leftover racists from the segregationist past.

He has described himself as a Moynihan Democrat, and later as a "Tony Blair" Democrat, saying he has to look outside the U.S. for someone representative for his views now that Moynihan has died and the Democrats oppose Bush. He has written columns condemning extremist liberals as being part of what's wrong with America, and praises Zell Miller for trying to save the Democratic Party. During the 2004 election Card wrote many articles supporting the Bush/Cheney ticket, criticizing John Kerry, and lambasting his own state's senator, John Edwards, as being absurd, insincere, and an opportunistic shill. Prior to the 2004 presidential race, Card had written that his state needed to regain control from people like Edwards and advocated running a strong primary opponent against Edwards should he run for reelection to the Senate. He has also been a staunch defender of Fox News, stating that "It's a good feeling to hear about our war from people who actually think it would be a good thing if we win." Card also publicly endorses children of illegal immigrants receiving in-state college tuition rates and has stated there is a need for moderation in tax cuts.

On November 6, 2006, just one day before a major election in the United States, Card wrote an opinion piece for RealClearPolitics, in which he encourages voters to support the Republicans:

There is only one issue in this election that will matter five or ten years from now, and that's the War on Terror... I say this as a Democrat, for whom the Republican domination of government threatens many values that I hold to be important to America's role as a light among nations. But there are no values that matter to me that will not be gravely endangered if we lose this war.

Environment and science

Although he supports government-funded research into alternative energy sources and the phasing out of fossil fuel use, Card has also frequently criticized precipitate action on global warming, and has voiced the suggestion that scientific evidence against global warming is suppressed because global warming has become an academic orthodoxy that discourages opposing evidence. His short story "Angles" also features scientists fearing to pursue research because it would run counter to scientific dogma. Similarly, he has voiced distrust of Darwinism as dogma in opposition to Intelligent Design (which he also distrusts, for entirely different reasons). While criticizing scientists for claiming that Darwinism explains "completely how evolution works," Card also said that "real science does not—and never can—prove or even support" Intelligent Design.

Views on sex

Premarital sex

Card has written that an increase in crime in USA of the 1970s and 1980s "might well have been the result" of what he calls "the New Morality and the Pill" because they may have increased the number of babies born to "the people with poor impulse control" who are "most likely to be irresponsible parents."

Homosexuality

Card's outspoken views on homosexuality have led a number of critics to characterize him as homophobic. He has called same-sex marriage a "potentially devastating social experiment" and argued that same-sex marriage is not necessary to ensure equal rights for all, since "Any homosexual man who can persuade a woman to take him as her husband can avail himself of all the rights of husbandhood under the law." He says he is against "changing the word 'marriage' to apply to something it's never applied to."

Writing of the Mormon Church's attitude towards homosexuals, he argues that because the Church leaders and prophets teach against homosexual behaviour, it is hypocritical for a practising homosexual to claim to be a Church member but still deny that their behavior is sinful. He writes further that:

This applies also to the polity, the citizens at large. Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society. The goal of the polity is not to put homosexuals in jail. The goal is to discourage people from engaging in homosexual practices in the first place, and, when they nevertheless proceed in their homosexual behavior, to encourage them to do so discreetly, so as not to shake the confidence of the community in the polity's ability to provide rules for safe, stable, dependable marriage and family relationships.

He views individual homosexuals as "human beings with as complex a combination of good and evil in them as I find within myself". Speaking of tolerance, he says "That we must treat sinners kindly is true; that we must courageously and firmly reject sin is also true." Thus he condemns the behaviour but equally condemns violence against those practising it: "I think there is no room in America for violence directed against any group (or any individual) for any reason short of immediate defense against physical attack -- which doesn't often come up with homosexuals."

Card himself claims he is "walking a middle way, which condemns the sin but loves the sinner". Card says that when homosexuality appears in his fiction (as in Songmaster and The Ships of Earth) it is not to argue for or against homosexuality, but rather "to create real and living characters".

Family

He and his wife Kristine are the parents of five children, each with at least one name of authors he and his wife admire. Their children's names are Michael Geoffrey (Geoffrey Chaucer), Emily Janice (Emily Brontë and Emily Dickinson), Charles Benjamin (Charles Dickens), Zina Margaret (Margaret Mitchell) and Erin Louisa (Louisa May Alcott). Charles, afflicted with cerebral palsy, died shortly after his seventeenth birthday and their daughter, Erin, died the day she was born. Currently Card and his wife live with their youngest living child, Zina, in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The life of their son Charles influenced some of Card's fiction, most notably the Homecoming series, Lost Boys and Folk of the Fringe. Their daughter, Emily, along with two other writers adapted Card's short stories "Clap Hands and Sing", "Lifeloop" and "A Sepulchre of Songs" for the stage in Posing as People.

Awards

• 1978; John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer; from the World Science Fiction Convention
• 1981; Songmaster; Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award 81
• 1984; Saints; named Book of the Year by Association for Mormon Letters
• 1985; Ender's Game; Nebula Award 85, Hugo Award 86, Hamilton-Brackett Award 86, SF Chronicle Readers Poll Award 86
• 1987; Speaker for the Dead; Nebula Award 86, Hugo Award 87, Locus Award 87, SF Chronicle Readers Poll Award 87
• 1987; "Eye for Eye"; Hugo award 88; "Japanese Hugo" 89
• 1987; "Hatrack River"; Nebula finalist 86, Hugo finalist 87, World Fantasy Award winner 87
• 1988; Seventh Son, Hugo finalist 88, World Fantasy finalist 88, Mythopoeic Society Award 88, Locus Award (best fantasy novel) 88
• 1989; Hugo & Nebula Finalist; Red Prophet
• 1991; Hugo Award; How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Writer's Digest Books, 90)
• 1995; Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel; for Alvin Journeyman
• 2008; YALSA Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Contribution to Young Adult Literature; for Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow

See also

• List of works by Orson Scott Card
• Signature Books
• Mormon fiction

External links

About Card

• The official Orson Scott Card website -includes popular discussion forums frequented by thousands of fans.
• Biography at the Orson Scott Card website
• Detailed bibliography at the Orson Scott Card website
• "Orson Scott Card: Criminalize Homosexual Behavior" - A criticism of Card's viewpoint on homosexuality
• "Why I Am Teaching at SVU... and Why SVU is Important" by Orson Scott Card

By Card

• Intergalactic Medicine Show - Online science fiction magazine published by Orson Scott Card. Features a new Ender's world story in every issue.
• Strong Verse - Online poetry magazine published by Orson Scott Card
• The Ornery American - Orson Scott Card's political site; includes his column
• Riots of the Faithful - Contains Card's criticism of Muslim reaction to Newsweek's report of Qur'an desecration
• "The Hypocrites of Homosexuality" - Card's controversial essay about homosexuality
• "Under the Influence" an essay by Card on Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith and its Jedi religious concepts
• Deseret Book - "Women of Genesis" series.
• Orson Scott Card's work at Marvel.com
• Uncle Orson Reviews Everything, February 18, 2007 - Card's statement regarding this Wikipedia article. (Ninth paragraph under the heading The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations.)
• All in a good cause Card's view of the Hockey stick controversy, March 8, 2007
• How Software Companies Die - About how to retain good programmers, and comparing it to beekeeping.

Fan sites

• "Philotic Web" A Fan resource website and community.
• "Ansible Wikia" An introduction to Orson Scott Card's; Works, Current Events, Characters, Locations, and Lingo.
• Ender's Game at IMDb on the forthcoming film
• Orson Scott Card at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Other

• Creating the Innocent Killer - An essay by John Kessel critical of the morality expressed in Card's writing.
• "Demonizing Literature" - John Kessel's response to Card's critique of "literary fiction."
• Ender and Hitler: Sympathy for the Superman (20 Years Later) - Elaine Radford's analysis of the Ender and Hitler connection.
• My favorite author, my worst interview - Donna Minkowitz at Salon Books
• An audio interview with Orson Scott Card (MP3 format) from Hour 25
• An audio interview with Orson Scott Card
• Orson Scott Card at the Internet Book List
• Interview at SFFWorld.com
• Interview part 1 at actusf.com
• Interview part 2 at actusf.com
• Interview at Gaming Today