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Elizabeth Moon

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Elizabeth Moon
Moon at the 2013 National Book Festival
Moon at the 2013 National Book Festival
Born (1945-03-07) March 7, 1945 (age 79)
McAllen, Texas, USA
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAmerican
PeriodJune 1, 1988 – present
GenreMilitary science fiction, science fiction, fantasy
SpouseRichard Sloan Moon (1969–present)
Website
www.elizabethmoon.com Edit this at Wikidata

Elizabeth Moon (born March 7, 1945) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer.[1] Her other writing includes newspaper columns and opinion pieces. Her novel The Speed of Dark won the 2003 Nebula Award. Prior to her writing career, she served in the United States Marine Corps.

Early life

Moon was born Susan Elizabeth Norris and grew up in McAllen, Texas. She started writing when she was a child and first tried a book, which was about her dog, at age six. She was inspired to write creatively, and says that she began writing science fiction in her teens, considering it a sideline.[2]

She earned a Bachelor's degree in History from Rice University in Houston, Texas in 1968 and later earned a second B.A. in Biology. In 1968, she joined the United States Marine Corps as a computer specialist, attaining the rank of 1st Lieutenant while on active duty.[3] She married Richard Sloan Moon in 1969 and they have a son, Michael, born in 1983.[2]

Moon at the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention, Glasgow, August 2005

Writing career

Moon began writing professionally in her mid-thirties and had a newspaper column in a county weekly newspaper. In 1986, she published her first science fiction in the monthly magazine Analog and the anthology series Sword and Sorceress.[4] Her stories appeared regularly in Analog the next few years. Her first novel The Sheepfarmer's Daughter (1988)[4] won the Compton Crook Award and inaugurated the Paksennarrion series.[3]

Most of her work has military science fiction themes, although biology, politics, and personal relationships also feature strongly. The Serrano Legacy is a space opera. Her Nebula-winning novel The Speed of Dark (2003) is a near-future story told from the viewpoint of an autistic computer programmer, inspired by her own autistic son Michael.[5]

Other interests

Elizabeth Moon has many interests besides writing. She has a musical background, having played the accordion during her university days[6] and sung in choirs.[2][6] She is an accomplished fencer, and captain of the SFWA Musketeers, a group of published speculative fiction authors who also fence.[7]

Moon is also an experienced paramedic and has served in various capacities in local government.

On September 11, 2010, she wrote a blog entry "Citizenship" about assimilation and an Islamic group that wanted to build a memorial center at/near the site of the 9/11 attack,[8] which was "perceived by many as derogatory toward Muslims and immigrants".[9] Because it "dismayed, angered and offended" the co-chairs and other people associated with WisCon 35, a feminist science fiction convention to be held in May 2011,[10] her invitation to be a guest of honor was rescinded by WisCon's parent body.[9][11]

Awards and nominations

Works

Paksenarrion

Main article: The Deed of Paksenarrion

The Deed of Paksenarrion novels

  1. Sheepfarmer's Daughter (June 1988)
  2. Divided Allegiance (October 1988)
  3. Oath of Gold (January 1989)
“Those Who Walk in Darkness” (March 1990)—short story set during Oath of Gold, included in the collections Lunar Activity and Phases
The Deed of Paksenarrion (February 1992)—paperback omnibus
The Deed of Paksenarrion (October 2003)—hardcover omnibus
The Deed of Paksenarrion (January 2010)—paperback omnibus

The Legacy of Gird novels

  1. Surrender None (June 1990)—prequel to The Deed of Paksenarrion
  2. Liar's Oath (May 1992)—sequel to Surrender None
The Legacy of Gird (September 1996)—paperback omnibus
to be available as A Legacy of Honour (paperback omnibus) in November 2010

Paladin's Legacy or Legend of Paksenarrion novels

  1. Oath of Fealty (March 2010)—sequel to Oath of Gold
  2. Kings of the North (March 2011)
  3. Echoes of Betrayal (February 2012)
  4. Limits of Power (June 2013)
  5. Crown of Renewal (May 2014)

Familias Regnant universe

Main article: Familias Regnant universe
Heris Serrano (July 2002)—Baen omnibus edition of Hunting Party, Sporting Chance and Winning Colors
The Serrano Legacy: Omnibus One (December 2006)—Orbit GB omnibus
  • Esmay Suiza continuation
    • Once a Hero (Hardcover ISBN 0-671-87769-0, March 1997)
    • Rules of Engagement (Hardcover ISBN 0-671-57777-8, December 1998)
The Serrano Connection: Omnibus Two (September 2007)—Orbit GB omnibus
The Serrano Connection (October 2008)—Baen omnibus edition
The Serrano Succession: Omnibus Three (February 2008)—Orbit GB omnibus

Vatta's War

Main article: Vatta's War

Vatta's Peace

Planet Pirates

The Planet Pirates trilogy is based on two books by Anne McCaffrey, Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors (1978 and 1984, jointly reissued as The Ireta Adventure in 1985 and The Mystery of Ireta in 2004), which also form the core of The Death of Sleep. ISFDB catalogs all five novels as the Ireta series.[15]

Omnibus edition: The Planet Pirates (Baen, October 1993), McCaffrey, Moon, and Nye[15]

Other novels

Short stories

Collections

Elizabeth Moon’s list of her own short fiction

both include “Those Who Walk in Darkness”—a Paksenarrion short story
  • Moon Flights (hardcover ISBN 1-59780-109-7, paperback ISBN 978-1-59780-110-2, August 2008)—Fifteen stories, including an original "Vatta's War" story, with an introduction by Anne McCaffrey
    • The limited edition hardcover (ISBN 978-1-59780-108-9, September 2007) contains an additional rare bonus story entitled "Fencing In".
  • Deeds of Honor: Paksenarrion World Chronicles (ISBN 9781625671141, June 2015)—Eight stories set in the world of Paksenarrion.

See also

References

  1. ^ Nawotka, Edward (April 24, 2008). "Nebula Awards puts Austin and Texas writers at center of science fiction world". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Moon, Elizabeth. Biographical information. Retrieved 2007-09-15. Archived August 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b Ebbers, A.F. (April 13, 1989). "Writer wins award; Marine Corps tour helped publish book". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Elizabeth Moon at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  5. ^ Meats, Jessica (June 8, 2011). "An interview with: Elizabeth Moon" Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Plot Twister: Adventures in the world of fiction. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  6. ^ a b Dow, Christopher. Elizabeth Moon's Path to the Stars Archived September 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, Rice University's alumni magazine, The Sallyport. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
  7. ^ SFWA Musketeers Archived September 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  8. ^ Moon, Elizabeth (September 11, 2010). "Citizenship". Archived from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  9. ^ a b "WisCon Withdraws Moon's GOH Invitation". Locus Magazine Online News. October 22, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
  10. ^ "WisCon eCube -- Vol. 35, No. 3". September 21, 2010. Archived from the original on August 2, 2014.
  11. ^ "Elizabeth Moon". Society for the Furtherance & Study of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
  12. ^ "The Compton Crook Award". Baltimore Science Fiction Society. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
  13. ^ Heinlein Award Announcement Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
  14. ^ Elizabeth Moon Archived August 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index of Literary Nominees. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  15. ^ a b Ireta series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved 2014-03-04. Select a title to see its linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Elizabeth Moon.

Interviews

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