John Kessel
Encyclopedia
John Kessel is an American
author of science fiction and fantasy. He is a prolific short story writer and the author of two solo novels, Good News From Outer Space (1989) and Corrupting Dr. Nice (1997) and one novel, Freedom Beach (1985) in collaboration with his friend James Patrick Kelly
.
Kessel won a Nebula Award
in 1982 for his novella "Another Orphan," in which the protagonist finds himself living inside the novel Moby-Dick
, and a second for his 2008 novelette "Pride and Prometheus," a story melding the tales of Jane Austen
's Pride and Prejudice
and Mary Shelley
's Frankenstein. This novelette also won a 2009 Shirley Jackson Award
. The intervening 26 years was the longest gap between competitive awards in Nebula history. His short story "Buffalo" won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award and the Locus poll in 1992. His novella "Stories for Men" shared the 2002 James Tiptree, Jr. Award
for science fiction dealing with gender issues with M. John Harrison
's novel Light. He has been nominated three times for a World Fantasy Award
: 1993 for the Meeting in Infinity collection, 1999 for the short fiction "Every Angel is Terrifying, and 2009 for the short story "Pride and Prometheus."
He also is a widely published science fiction and fantasy critic; his most notable work of criticism is probably his 2004 essay on Orson Scott Card's novel Ender's Game, "Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality." With Mark L. Van Name
, Kessel created the Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop
. Kessel has also edited, with Kelly, three collections of contemporary sf short stories, Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology, Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology, and The Secret History of Science Fiction.
Having obtained a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas
in 1981, where he studied under science fiction writer and scholar James Gunn
, Kessel has taught classes in American literature, science fiction, fantasy, and fiction writing at North Carolina State University
since 1982. He helped organize the MFA Creative Writing program at NCSU and served as its first director.
In 1994, his play Faustfeathers received the Paul Green Playwrights' Prize. In 2007, his story "A Clean Escape
" (previously adapted by Kessel as a one-act play in 1986) was adapted by Sam Egan
for ABC's science fiction anthology series Masters of Science Fiction
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author of science fiction and fantasy. He is a prolific short story writer and the author of two solo novels, Good News From Outer Space (1989) and Corrupting Dr. Nice (1997) and one novel, Freedom Beach (1985) in collaboration with his friend James Patrick Kelly
James Patrick Kelly
James Patrick Kelly is an American science fiction author who began publishing in the 1970s and remains to this day an important figure in the science fiction field....
.
Kessel won a Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
in 1982 for his novella "Another Orphan," in which the protagonist finds himself living inside the novel Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, was written by American author Herman Melville and first published in 1851. It is considered by some to be a Great American Novel and a treasure of world literature. The story tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael, and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod,...
, and a second for his 2008 novelette "Pride and Prometheus," a story melding the tales of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
and Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
's Frankenstein. This novelette also won a 2009 Shirley Jackson Award
Shirley Jackson Award
The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented at Readercon, an annual conference on imaginative...
. The intervening 26 years was the longest gap between competitive awards in Nebula history. His short story "Buffalo" won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award and the Locus poll in 1992. His novella "Stories for Men" shared the 2002 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...
for science fiction dealing with gender issues with M. John Harrison
M. John Harrison
M. John Harrison , known as Mike Harrison, is an English author and critic. His work includes the Viriconium sequence of novels and short stories, , Climbers , and the Kefahuchi Tract series which begins with Light . He currently resides in London.-Early years:Harrison was born in Rugby,...
's novel Light. He has been nominated three times for a 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...
: 1993 for the Meeting in Infinity collection, 1999 for the short fiction "Every Angel is Terrifying, and 2009 for the short story "Pride and Prometheus."
He also is a widely published science fiction and fantasy critic; his most notable work of criticism is probably his 2004 essay on Orson Scott Card's novel Ender's Game, "Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality." With Mark L. Van Name
Mark L. Van Name
Mark L. Van Name is an American science fiction writer and technology consultant. As of 2009, Van Name lives in North Carolina.-About:With John Kessel, Van Name co-founded the Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop in 1985, and in 1996 he, Kessel, and Richard Butner edited an anthology of stories written...
, Kessel created the Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop
Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop
Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop is a workshop for science fiction writers. Since its origin in 1985, it has been held in Raleigh, North Carolina; Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; and most recently in Little Switzerland, North Carolina....
. Kessel has also edited, with Kelly, three collections of contemporary sf short stories, Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology, Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology, and The Secret History of Science Fiction.
Having obtained a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
in 1981, where he studied under science fiction writer and scholar James Gunn
James Gunn (author)
- Further reading :James E. Gunn The Listeners, BenBella Books, ISBN 1-932100-12-1 -External links:*...
, Kessel has taught classes in American literature, science fiction, fantasy, and fiction writing at North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
since 1982. He helped organize the MFA Creative Writing program at NCSU and served as its first director.
In 1994, his play Faustfeathers received the Paul Green Playwrights' Prize. In 2007, his story "A Clean Escape
A Clean Escape
A Clean Escape is a 1985 short story by John Kessel, later adapted into a play by Kessel in 1986. It features a psychiatrist attempting to cure the President of the United States of his amnesia so that he can be held accountable for precipitating a nuclear holocaust.The story was adapted by Sam...
" (previously adapted by Kessel as a one-act play in 1986) was adapted by Sam Egan
Sam Egan
Sam Egan is a journalist, and a writer/producer for television.His credits include writing and producing for such shows as: Quincy, M.E., The Incredible Hulk, The Fall Guy, Northern Exposure, The Outer Limits, Sanctuary and Jeremiah...
for ABC's science fiction anthology series Masters of Science Fiction
Masters of Science Fiction
Masters of Science Fiction is an American television anthology series by the same creators as Masters of Horror. The show debuted on ABC on August 4, 2007 at 10PM for a run of four episodes...
.
Novels
- 1985 Freedom Beach (with James Patrick KellyJames Patrick KellyJames Patrick Kelly is an American science fiction author who began publishing in the 1970s and remains to this day an important figure in the science fiction field....
) - 1989 Good News From Outer Space (Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
Nominee) - 1997 Corrupting Dr. Nice
Plays
- 1986 A Clean EscapeA Clean EscapeA Clean Escape is a 1985 short story by John Kessel, later adapted into a play by Kessel in 1986. It features a psychiatrist attempting to cure the President of the United States of his amnesia so that he can be held accountable for precipitating a nuclear holocaust.The story was adapted by Sam...
- 1994 Faustfeathers (Paul Green Playwrights' Prize Winner)
Short story collections
- 1992 Meeting in InfinityMeeting in InfinityMeeting in Infinity is a collection of Science fiction stories by author John Kessel. It was released in 1992 and was the author's first book published by Arkham House . It was published in an edition of 3,547 copies. Most of the stories originally appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction...
(World Fantasy Award Nominee) - 1997 The Pure Product
- 2008 The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories
Anthologies
- 1996 Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology (with Mark L. Van Name and Richard Butner)
- 2006 Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology (with James Patrick Kelly) Features stories by Aimee Bender, Michael Chabon, Ted Chiang, Carol Emshwiller, Jeffrey Ford, Karen Joy Fowler, Theodora Goss, Jonathan Lethem, Kelly Link, M. Rickert, Benjamin Rosenbaum, George Saunders, Bruce Sterling, Jeff VanderMeer, and Howard Waldrop
- 2007 Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk AnthologyRewired: The Post-Cyberpunk AnthologyRewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology is a collection of postcyberpunk short stories, published by Tachyon Publications and edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel...
(coedited with James Patrick KellyJames Patrick KellyJames Patrick Kelly is an American science fiction author who began publishing in the 1970s and remains to this day an important figure in the science fiction field....
) (Tachyon PublicationsTachyon PublicationsTachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies....
, 2007) - 2009 The Secret History of Science Fiction (coedited with James Patrick KellyJames Patrick KellyJames Patrick Kelly is an American science fiction author who began publishing in the 1970s and remains to this day an important figure in the science fiction field....
) (Tachyon PublicationsTachyon PublicationsTachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies....
) - 2011 Kafkaesque (coedited with James Patrick KellyJames Patrick KellyJames Patrick Kelly is an American science fiction author who began publishing in the 1970s and remains to this day an important figure in the science fiction field....
) (Tachyon PublicationsTachyon PublicationsTachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies....
)
Other Notable Stories
- 1982 "Another Orphan" (September, Fantasy and Science Fiction) - Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
Winner - 1988 "Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner" (June, Asimov's SF) - Nebula Award Nominee
- 1991 "Buffalo" (January, Fantasy and Science Fiction) - Sturgeon Award Winner, Locus AwardLocus AwardThe Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
Winner, Hugo AwardHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
Nominee, Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
Nominee - 1993 "The Franchise" (August, Asimov's SF) - Nebula Award nominee, Hugo Award nominee, novelette
- 1996 "The Miracle of Ivar Avenue" (from Intersections) - Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
nominee, novelette - 1998 "Every Angel is Terrifying" (October–November, Fantasy and Science Fiction) - World Fantasy AwardWorld Fantasy AwardThe World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
nominee - 1999 "Ninety Percent of Everything" with Jonathan LethemJonathan LethemJonathan Allen Lethem is an American novelist, essayist and short story writer. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels...
and James Patrick KellyJames Patrick KellyJames Patrick Kelly is an American science fiction author who began publishing in the 1970s and remains to this day an important figure in the science fiction field....
(September, Fantasy and Science Fiction) - Nebula Award nominee, novella - 2002 "Stories for Men" (October–November, Asimov's SF) - James Tiptree, Jr. AwardJames Tiptree, Jr. AwardThe 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...
Winner, Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
Nominee - 2008 "Pride and Prometheus" (January Fantasy and Science Fiction) - Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
winner, Shirley Jackson AwardShirley Jackson AwardThe Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented at Readercon, an annual conference on imaginative...
winner, Hugo Award nominee, novelette; World Fantasy Award nominee, Short Story
As Editor
- 1996 Intersections (with Mark L. Van Name and Richard Butner)
- 1998 Memory's Tailor (by Laurence Rudner. Kessel was the literary executorLiterary executorA literary executor is a person with decision-making power in respect of a literary estate. According to Wills, Administration and Taxation: a practical guide "A will may appoint different executors to deal with different parts of the estate...
after Rudner's death in 1995.) - 2006 Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology (with James Patrick Kelly) Features stories by Aimee BenderAimee BenderAimee Bender is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her surreal plots and characters.-Biography:Bender received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at San Diego, and a Master of Fine Arts from the distinguished creative writing MFA program at University of...
, Michael ChabonMichael ChabonMichael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
, Ted ChiangTed ChiangTed Chiang is an American speculative fiction writer. His Chinese name is Chiang Feng-nan.He was born in Port Jefferson, New York and graduated from Brown University with a Computer Science degree. He currently works as a technical writer in the software industry and resides in Bellevue, near...
, Carol EmshwillerCarol EmshwillerCarol Emshwiller is an American writer of avant garde short stories and science fiction who has won prizes ranging from the Nebula Award to the Philip K. Dick Award. Ursula K...
, Jeffrey FordJeffrey FordJeffrey Ford is an American writer in the Fantastic genre tradition, although his works have spanned genres including Fantasy, Science Fiction and Mystery. His work is characterized by a sweeping imaginative power, humor, literary allusion, and a fascination with tales told within tales...
, Karen Joy FowlerKaren Joy FowlerKaren Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation....
, Theodora GossTheodora GossTheodora Goss is a Hungarian American writer of fantasy short stories. Her stories have been nominated for major awards, including the 2007 Nebula Award for "Pip and the Fairies," and the 2005 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction for "The Wings of Meister Wilhelm." She won the 2004...
, Jonathan LethemJonathan LethemJonathan Allen Lethem is an American novelist, essayist and short story writer. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels...
, Kelly LinkKelly LinkKelly Link is an American editor and author of short stories. While some of her fiction falls more clearly within genre categories, many of her stories might be described as slipstream or magic realism: a combination of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and realism...
, M. RickertM. RickertMary Rickert, known as M. Rickert , is an American writer of fantasy fiction. Many of her stories have been published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Her first collection, Map of Dreams, was published by Golden Gryphon Press in 2006; her second collection, Holiday, appeared in 2010...
, Benjamin RosenbaumBenjamin RosenbaumBenjamin Rosenbaum is an American science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction writer and computer programmer, whose stories have been finalists for the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award, the BSFA award, and the World Fantasy Award...
, George SaundersGeorge SaundersGeorge Saunders is a New York Times bestselling American writer of short stories, essays, novellas and children's books. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, McSweeney's and GQ, among other publications...
, Bruce SterlingBruce SterlingMichael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
, Jeff VanderMeerJeff VanderMeerJeffrey Scott VanderMeer is an American writer, editor and publisher.He is best known for his contributions to the New Weird and his stories about the city of Ambergris, in books like City of Saints and Madmen.-Biography:...
, and Howard WaldropHoward WaldropHoward Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical... - 2007 Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk AnthologyRewired: The Post-Cyberpunk AnthologyRewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology is a collection of postcyberpunk short stories, published by Tachyon Publications and edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel...
(coedited with James Patrick KellyJames Patrick KellyJames Patrick Kelly is an American science fiction author who began publishing in the 1970s and remains to this day an important figure in the science fiction field....
) (Tachyon PublicationsTachyon PublicationsTachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies....
) - 2009 The Secret History of Science Fiction (coedited with James Patrick KellyJames Patrick KellyJames Patrick Kelly is an American science fiction author who began publishing in the 1970s and remains to this day an important figure in the science fiction field....
) (Tachyon PublicationsTachyon PublicationsTachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies....
)
External links
- John Kessel's home page
- An Interview with John Kessel and James Patrick Kelly conducted by John Joseph Adams
- An interview with John Kessel conducted by Fiona KelleghanFiona KelleghanFiona Kelleghan is an American academic and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy; she is also the metadata librarian at the University of Miami's Otto G...
writing as Ellen Feehan - Free download of The Baum Plan for Financial Independence from the publisher
- Talk: "The Future as Mirror: How SF Uses the Tomorrow to Understand Today" - Fractal'11 conference