Karen Joy Fowler
Encyclopedia
Karen 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
.
She is best known as the author of the best-selling novel The Jane Austen Book Club
that was made into a movie of the same name
. Her latest book, Wit's End, came out in April 2008.
, and spent the first eleven years of her life there. Her family then moved to Palo Alto, California
. Fowler attended the University of California, Berkeley
, and majored in political science
. After having a child during the last year of her master's program, she spent seven years devoted to child-raising. Feeling restless, Fowler decided to take a dance class, and then a creative writing
class at the University of California, Davis
. Realizing that she was never going to make it as a dancer, Fowler began to publish science fiction stories, making a name for herself with Artificial Things (1986), a collection of short stories.
. One character is Chinese American
, another putatively mentally ill, a third a feminist, and lastly Sarah herself. Similar to some of her other work, notably her award-winning short story "What I Didn't See," Fowler's first novel, Sarah Canary, has been controversial in regards to its actual genre. Fowler states, "If I tell [my readers] that I believe that Sarah Canary is in fact an extraterrestrial, they usually react with shock." Fowler meant for Sarah Canary to "read like a science fiction novel to a science fiction reader" and "like a mainstream novel to a mainstream reader." Both novels have been incorporated with aspects of science fiction that typical readers would overlook. Fowler's intentions were to leave room for the readers’ own interpretation of the text.
in 1991, a literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that "expands or explores our understanding of gender." The prize is named for science fiction author Alice Sheldon who wrote under the pen name James Tiptree, Jr. Fowler drew inspiration not only from Sheldon’s work, but also from the fact that Sheldon’s mother was an adveneturer, going on several trips to Africa including a gorilla hunting expedition in 1920. As such, she serves as the inspiration for the protagonist in Fowler’s “What I Didn’t See.” The award's main focus is to recognize the authors, male or female, who challenge and reflect shifting gender roles.
Her 2004 novel The Jane Austen Book Club
become a critical and popular success including being on The New York Times bestsellers list. Although it is not a science fiction or fantasy work, science fiction does play an integral part to the novel's plot.
Fowler was an instructor at the Clarion Workshop
2007 in San Diego. She was one of the two Guests of Honor at Readercon
2007.
In 2008, she won the Nebula Award
for the second time for Best Short Story for her 2007 story "Always
." Her short story “The Pelican Bar” won a Shirley Jackson Award
in 2009 and a World Fantasy Award
in 2010.
winning "What I Didn't See." The Nebula Award is given to best novel, novella, novelette, and short story eligible in the year. The work had to fit in a genre either related to science fiction or fantasy. The Nebula panel concluded Fowler satisfied these requirements and awarded her the Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 2003 on her work “What I Didn’t See” despite controversy over whether the story fit within the genre. The story is set in 1920s Africa and has no overtly fantastical elements; it is a feminist response to the pulp magazines. Editor David Truesdale has been especially vocal in opposition to the story being considered as science fiction or fantasy in any way or form. Fowler was inspired to write “What I didn’t see” after researching about chimpanzees for her book The Jane Austen Book Club. During her research, Fowler came across Donna Haraway
’s essay, which discusses a 1920 expedition that was carried out by the curator of the New York National Museum of History. One of the men on the expedition wanted a woman in the group to kill a gorilla in order to ultimately protect these species. He reasoned that if women could carry out this action, the thrill of killing gorillas would be gone. Fowler’s reaction was one of appalled interest, and consequently, she decided to base the premise of “What I Didn’t See” on these findings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author 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...
, 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 literary fiction
Literary fiction
Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction . In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon...
. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation
Social alienation
The term social alienation has many discipline-specific uses; Roberts notes how even within the social sciences, it “is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship”...
.
She is best known as the author of the best-selling novel The Jane Austen Book Club
The Jane Austen Book Club
The Jane Austen Book Club is a 2004 novel by American author Karen Joy Fowler. The story, which takes place near Sacramento, California, centers around a book club consisting of five women and one man who meet once a month to discuss Jane Austen's six novels...
that was made into a movie of the same name
The Jane Austen Book Club (film)
The Jane Austen Book Club is a 2007 American romantic drama film written and directed by Robin Swicord. The screenplay, adapted from the 2004 novel of the same name by Karen Joy Fowler, focuses on a book club formed specifically to discuss the six novels written by Jane Austen...
. Her latest book, Wit's End, came out in April 2008.
Biography
Fowler was born in Bloomington, IndianaBloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, and spent the first eleven years of her life there. Her family then moved to Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
. Fowler attended the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and majored in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. After having a child during the last year of her master's program, she spent seven years devoted to child-raising. Feeling restless, Fowler decided to take a dance class, and then a 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...
class at the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
. Realizing that she was never going to make it as a dancer, Fowler began to publish science fiction stories, making a name for herself with Artificial Things (1986), a collection of short stories.
Sarah Canary
Her work as a genre writer tended toward eccentric tales of implausible history. Often these tales had a feminist theme or mindset. Her first novel, Sarah Canary (1991), was published to critical acclaim. The novel involves a group of people alienated by nineteenth century America experiencing a peculiar kind of first contactFirst contact (science fiction)
First contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
. One character is Chinese American
Chinese American
Chinese Americans represent Americans of Chinese descent. Chinese Americans constitute one group of overseas Chinese and also a subgroup of East Asian Americans, which is further a subgroup of Asian Americans...
, another putatively mentally ill, a third a feminist, and lastly Sarah herself. Similar to some of her other work, notably her award-winning short story "What I Didn't See," Fowler's first novel, Sarah Canary, has been controversial in regards to its actual genre. Fowler states, "If I tell [my readers] that I believe that Sarah Canary is in fact an extraterrestrial, they usually react with shock." Fowler meant for Sarah Canary to "read like a science fiction novel to a science fiction reader" and "like a mainstream novel to a mainstream reader." Both novels have been incorporated with aspects of science fiction that typical readers would overlook. Fowler's intentions were to leave room for the readers’ own interpretation of the text.
James Tiptree, Jr. Award
Fowler also collaborated with Pat Murphy to found the James Tiptree, Jr. AwardJames 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...
in 1991, a literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that "expands or explores our understanding of gender." The prize is named for science fiction author Alice Sheldon who wrote under the pen name James Tiptree, Jr. Fowler drew inspiration not only from Sheldon’s work, but also from the fact that Sheldon’s mother was an adveneturer, going on several trips to Africa including a gorilla hunting expedition in 1920. As such, she serves as the inspiration for the protagonist in Fowler’s “What I Didn’t See.” The award's main focus is to recognize the authors, male or female, who challenge and reflect shifting gender roles.
Other Genre Works
Her other genre works also tended to focus on odd corners of the nineteenth century experiencing the unexpected or fantastic. Her second novel, The Sweetheart Season (1996) is a romantic comedy infused with historical and fantasy elements.Her 2004 novel The Jane Austen Book Club
The Jane Austen Book Club
The Jane Austen Book Club is a 2004 novel by American author Karen Joy Fowler. The story, which takes place near Sacramento, California, centers around a book club consisting of five women and one man who meet once a month to discuss Jane Austen's six novels...
become a critical and popular success including being on The New York Times bestsellers list. Although it is not a science fiction or fantasy work, science fiction does play an integral part to the novel's plot.
Fowler was an instructor at 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...
2007 in San Diego. She was one of the two Guests of Honor at Readercon
Readercon
Readercon is an annual science fiction convention, held every July in the Boston, Massachusetts area, in Burlington, Massachusetts). It was founded by Bob Colby and statistician Eric Van in the 1980s with the goal of focusing exclusively on science fiction in the written form Readercon is an...
2007.
In 2008, she won the 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...
for the second time for Best Short Story for her 2007 story "Always
Always (story)
"Always" is a science fiction short story written by Karen Joy Fowler. Originally published in the April/May 2007 issue of Asimov's Science Fiction, it won the 2007 Nebula Award for Best Short Story. It is collected in Fowler's What I Didn't See....
." Her short story “The Pelican Bar” won a 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...
in 2009 and 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...
in 2010.
Controversy and "What I Didn't See"
However, the genre content of her stories has at times been controversial, most especially in the case of the Nebula AwardNebula 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...
winning "What I Didn't See." The Nebula Award is given to best novel, novella, novelette, and short story eligible in the year. The work had to fit in a genre either related to science fiction or fantasy. The Nebula panel concluded Fowler satisfied these requirements and awarded her the Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 2003 on her work “What I Didn’t See” despite controversy over whether the story fit within the genre. The story is set in 1920s Africa and has no overtly fantastical elements; it is a feminist response to the pulp magazines. Editor David Truesdale has been especially vocal in opposition to the story being considered as science fiction or fantasy in any way or form. Fowler was inspired to write “What I didn’t see” after researching about chimpanzees for her book The Jane Austen Book Club. During her research, Fowler came across Donna Haraway
Donna Haraway
Donna J. Haraway is currently a Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, United States...
’s essay, which discusses a 1920 expedition that was carried out by the curator of the New York National Museum of History. One of the men on the expedition wanted a woman in the group to kill a gorilla in order to ultimately protect these species. He reasoned that if women could carry out this action, the thrill of killing gorillas would be gone. Fowler’s reaction was one of appalled interest, and consequently, she decided to base the premise of “What I Didn’t See” on these findings.
Novels
- Sarah Canary (1991) - Novel concerning a mysterious nonsense-speaking woman in 1873 Pacific NorthwestPacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. - The War of the Roses (1991) - Chapter book publication of the novelette.
- The Sweetheart Season (1996) - Fantasy novel about the Sweetwheat Sweethearts, a female baseball team from 1947 MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. - Sister Noon (2001) - Novel set in 1890s San Francisco.
- The Jane Austen Book ClubThe Jane Austen Book ClubThe Jane Austen Book Club is a 2004 novel by American author Karen Joy Fowler. The story, which takes place near Sacramento, California, centers around a book club consisting of five women and one man who meet once a month to discuss Jane Austen's six novels...
(2004) - Six members of an early 21st century book club discuss Jane AustenJane AustenJane 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...
books. - Wit's End (Putnam, 2008) - A young woman visits her godmother, one of America's most successful mystery writers.
Collections
- Artificial Things (1986) - Collection of 13 short stories.
- Peripheral Vision (1990) - Collection of 5 stories, 1 original. Author's Choice Monthly #6
- Letters from Home (1991) with Pat Cadigan and Pat Murphy. Collection of short fiction by Fowler, Cadigan, and Murphy.
- Black Glass (1997) - Collection of 15 short stories, 2 original. Includes the contents from Artificial Things and Letters from Home.
- What I Didn't See and Other Stories (2010) - Collection of 12 short stories, 1 original.
As editor
- MOTA 3: Courage (2003) - Anthology of short fiction.
- The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1 (2005) with Debbie Notkin, Pat Murphy and Jeffrey D. Smith. Anthology of winners of the 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...
- The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2 (2006) with Debbie Notkin, Pat Murphy and Jeffrey D. Smith.
- The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3 (2007) with Debbie Notkin, Pat Murphy and Jeffrey D. Smith.