Judith Berman is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She is a linguistic anthropologist

Linguistic anthropology

Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages, and has grown over the past 100 years to encompass almost any aspect of language structure and...

 by training and has published articles on Native American myth and translations. In particular those of the Pacific Northwest. She also has a form of synesthesia

Synesthesia

Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...

.

Her science fiction and fantasy has occasionally drawn on her anthropological background. Her novel, "Bear Daughter" made use of this in part and was nominated for the Crawford Award

Crawford Award

The IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award is a literary award given to a writer whose first fantasy book was published during the preceding 18 months. It's one of several awards presented by the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts , and is presented at the conference each...

. In 2008 her story, "Awakening" was nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Novella

Nebula Award for Best Novella

Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novella. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.-Winners and other nominees:-External links:**...

. She also received a SFRA Pioneer Award

SFRA Pioneer Award

The Pioneer Award is given by the Science Fiction Research Association to the writer or writers of the best critical essay-length work of the year.Previous winners:*1990 - Veronica Hollinger, "The Vampire and the Alien: Variations on the Outsider"*1991 - H...

for the essay, "Science Fiction Without the Future."

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