Geoff Ryman
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Charles Ryman is a writer of science fiction
, fantasy
and surrealistic or "slipstream" fiction.
Ryman currently lectures in Creative Writing
for University of Manchester
's English Department. His most recent full-length novel, The King's Last Song
, is set in Cambodia, both at the time of Angkor
ean emperor Jayavarman VII
, and in the present period. He is currently at work on a new historical novel set in the United States before the Civil War.
and moved to the United States
at age 11. He earned degrees in History and English at UCLA
, then moved to England
in 1973, where he has lived most of his life. He is openly
gay
.
In addition to being an author, Ryman started a web design team for the UK government at the Central Office of Information in 1994. He also led the teams that designed the first official British Monarchy and 10 Downing Street websites, and worked on the UK government's flagship website www.direct.gov.uk.
He is best known for his science fiction; however, his first novel was the fantasy The Warrior Who Carried Life, and his revisionist fantasy Was has been called "his most accomplished work".
Much of Ryman's work is based on travels to Cambodia. The first of these The Unconquered Country (1986) was winner of the World Fantasy Award
and British Science Fiction Association Award. His novel The King's Last Song (2006) was set both in the Angkor Wat
era and the time after Pol Pot
and the Khmer Rouge
.
Ryman has written, directed and performed in several plays based on works of other writers.
He was guest of honour at Novacon
in 1989 and has twice been a guest speaker at Microcon
, in 1994 and in 2004. He was also the guest of honour at the national Swedish
sf convention Swecon in 2006, at Gaylaxicon 2008, at Wiscon
2009, and at Åcon
2010.
Mundane Science Fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction
focusing on stories set on or near the Earth, with a believable use of technology and science as it exists at the time the story is written, the Mundane SF movement was founded in 2002 during the Clarion workshop
by Ryman amongst others. In 2008 a Mundane SF
issue of Interzone
magazine was published, guest- edited by Ryman, Julian Todd
and Trent Walters.
He is currently at work on a new historical novel
set in the United States before their Civil War.
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British Science Fiction Award
World Fantasy Award
Arthur C. Clarke Award
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Campbell Award
Philip K. Dick Award
James Tiptree, Jr. Award
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and surrealistic or "slipstream" fiction.
Ryman currently lectures in Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
for University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
's English Department. His most recent full-length novel, The King's Last Song
The King's Last Song
The King's Last Song is a novel by Canadian author Geoff Ryman. It was first published in 2006 by HarperCollins in the UK. It was published in the United States in 2008 by Small Beer Press.- Plot introduction :...
, is set in Cambodia, both at the time of Angkor
Angkor
Angkor is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara , meaning "city"...
ean emperor Jayavarman VII
Jayavarman VII
Jayavarman VII was a king of the Khmer Empire in present day Siem Reap, Cambodia. He was the son of King Dharanindravarman II and Queen Sri Jayarajacudamani. He married Jayarajadevi and then, after her death, married her sister Indradevi...
, and in the present period. He is currently at work on a new historical novel set in the United States before the Civil War.
Biography
Ryman was born in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at age 11. He earned degrees in History and English at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, then moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1973, where he has lived most of his life. He is openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
.
In addition to being an author, Ryman started a web design team for the UK government at the Central Office of Information in 1994. He also led the teams that designed the first official British Monarchy and 10 Downing Street websites, and worked on the UK government's flagship website www.direct.gov.uk.
Works
Ryman says he knew he was a writer "before [he] could talk", with his first work published in his Mother's newspaper column at six years of age.He is best known for his science fiction; however, his first novel was the fantasy The Warrior Who Carried Life, and his revisionist fantasy Was has been called "his most accomplished work".
Much of Ryman's work is based on travels to Cambodia. The first of these The Unconquered Country (1986) was winner of the World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
and British Science Fiction Association Award. His novel The King's Last Song (2006) was set both in the Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu,...
era and the time after Pol Pot
Pol Pot
Saloth Sar , better known as Pol Pot, , was a Cambodian Maoist revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge from 1963 until his death in 1998. From 1976 to 1979, he served as the Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea....
and the Khmer Rouge
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge literally translated as Red Cambodians was the name given to the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, who were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan...
.
Ryman has written, directed and performed in several plays based on works of other writers.
He was guest of honour at Novacon
Novacon
Novacon is an annual science fiction convention, usually held each November in the West Midlands, UK. It is now the annual convention of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.-History:...
in 1989 and has twice been a guest speaker at Microcon
Microcon
Microcon is an annual science fiction and fantasy convention, held annually at the University of Exeter in Exeter, Devon, England since 1982, usually over the first weekend in March...
, in 1994 and in 2004. He was also the guest of honour at the national Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
sf convention Swecon in 2006, at Gaylaxicon 2008, at Wiscon
WisCon
Wiscon or WisCon, the Wisconsin Science Fiction Convention, is often called the world's leading feminist-oriented science fiction convention and conference. It was first held in Madison, Wisconsin in February 1977, and is held annually throughout the four day weekend of Memorial Day...
2009, and at Åcon
Åcon
Åcon is an annual science fiction convention, held in May or June every year in Mariehamn, Åland. It was founded in 2007 with the goal of bringing Swedish and Finnish science fiction fandom together, and described as being a literary relaxacon with all programming in English...
2010.
Mundane Science Fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
focusing on stories set on or near the Earth, with a believable use of technology and science as it exists at the time the story is written, the Mundane SF movement was founded in 2002 during the Clarion workshop
Clarion Workshop
Clarion is a six-week workshop for new and aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Knight and Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, USA, it was founded in 1968 by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College in...
by Ryman amongst others. In 2008 a Mundane SF
Mundane SF
Mundane Science Fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction, similar to hard science fiction, which is characterized by its setting on Earth or within the solar system, and a lack of interstellar travel or contact with aliens....
issue of Interzone
Interzone
Interzone may refer to:* International zone, such as in Tangiers* Interzone , the title of a short story collection by William Burroughs; it is also a setting in his 1959 novel Naked Lunch...
magazine was published, guest- edited by Ryman, Julian Todd
Julian Todd
Julian Todd is a British computer programmer and activist for freedom of information. He works in Liverpool.He was inventor and co-founder of Public Whip with Francis Irving. And also the affiliated TheyWorkForYou website, a project which parses raw Hansard data to track how members vote in the UK...
and Trent Walters.
He is currently at work on a new historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
set in the United States before their Civil War.
Novels
- The Warrior Who Carried Life (1985)
- The Child GardenThe Child GardenThe Child Garden is a 1989 science fiction novel by Geoff Ryman. It won both the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1990....
(1989) - Was...Was (novel)Was is a WFA nominated 1992 parallel novel by Geoff Ryman focussing on the lives of disparate individuals linked to one another by L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and the musical film version...
(1992) - 253, or Tube Theatre253 (book)253, or Tube Theatre, is a novel by Geoff Ryman, originally created as a website in 1996, then published as a paper book titled 253: The Print Remix in 1998. The print version won a Philip K. Dick Award.-Synopsis:...
(1996 online, 1998 print) - Lust (2001)
- Air: Or, Have not HaveAir (novel)Air, also known as Air: Or, Have Not Have, is a 2005 novel by Geoff Ryman. It won the British Science Fiction Association Award, the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, and the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and was on the short list for the Philip K. Dick Award in 2004, the Nebula Award in 2005, and the John W...
(2005) - The King's Last SongThe King's Last SongThe King's Last Song is a novel by Canadian author Geoff Ryman. It was first published in 2006 by HarperCollins in the UK. It was published in the United States in 2008 by Small Beer Press.- Plot introduction :...
(2006 UK, 2008 US)
Collections
- Unconquered countries: Four novellas (1994)
- Paradise Tales (Forthcoming July 2011, Small Beer Press)
Awards
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British Science Fiction Award
BSFA award
The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association to honor works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members...
- The Unconquered Country for Best Short (1984)
- Air for Best Novel (2005)
World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
- The Unconquered Country Best Novella (1985)
Arthur C. Clarke Award
Arthur C. Clarke Award
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. The award was established with a grant from Arthur C. Clarke and the first prize was awarded in 1987...
- The Child Garden for Best Novel (1990)
- Air (2005)
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Campbell Award
Campbell award (best novel)
The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for best science fiction novel was created in 1973 by writers and critics Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss to honor Campbell's name...
- The Child Garden for Best Novel (1990)
Philip K. Dick Award
- 253: The Print Remix, 1998
James Tiptree, Jr. Award
James Tiptree, Jr. Award
The James Tiptree, Jr. Award is an annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February of 1991 by science fiction authors Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler, subsequent to a discussion at WisCon.- Background...
- Air (2005)
External links
- Author page at Small Beer Press
- Comment on the victims of the 7 July 2005 London Bombings
- Interview with Geoff Ryman conducted by Kit ReedKit ReedKit Reed is an American author of both speculative fiction and literary fiction, as well as psychological thrillers under the pseudonym Kit Craig. Her first short story was published by Anthony Boucher. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of a five-year grant literary from the Abraham...
at Infinity Plus, discussing his novel Air and the Mundane SFMundane SFMundane Science Fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction, similar to hard science fiction, which is characterized by its setting on Earth or within the solar system, and a lack of interstellar travel or contact with aliens....
movement. - Compilation of reviews of Ryman's book The King's Last Song
- Biog page at the University of Manchester