Joan D. Vinge

Joan D. Vinge (/ˈvɪndʒi/ (listen); born April 2, 1948 as Joan Carol Dennison) is an American science fiction author. She is known for such works as her Hugo Award-winning novel The Snow Queen and its sequels, her series about the telepath named Cat, and her Heaven's Chronicles books. She also is the author of The Random House Book of Greek Myths (1999)

Joan D. Vinge
Born (1948-04-02) April 2, 1948
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
OccupationNovelist
GenreScience fiction
Notable worksThe Snow Queen, The Cat Novels
SpousesVernor Vinge (1972–1979, divorced)
James Frenkel (1980–present)
Website
sff.net/people/jdvinge/home.htm

Biography

Vinge studied art in college, but eventually changed to a major in anthropology, and received a B.A. degree from San Diego State University in 1971.

Vinge has been married twice: first to fellow science fiction author Vernor Vinge from 1972 to 1979, and currently to science fiction editor James Frenkel since 1980. Vinge and Frenkel have two children, and live in Green Valley, Arizona. She has taught at the Clarion Workshop several times, both East and West. Besides writing, Vinge also makes and sells dolls.

Robert A. Heinlein in part dedicated his 1982 novel Friday to Joan.[1]

On March 2, 2002, Vinge was severely injured in a car accident that left her with "minor but debilitating" brain damage that, along with her fibromyalgia, left her unable to write. She recovered to the point of being able to resume writing around the beginning of 2007,[2] and her first new book after the accident is the 2011 novelization of the movie Cowboys & Aliens.[3]

Works

Vinge's first published story, "Tin Soldier", a novella, appeared in Orbit 14 in 1974. Her stories have also appeared in Analog, Millennial Women, Asimov's Science Fiction, and several "Best of the Year" anthologies.

Several of her stories have won major awards: Her novel The Snow Queen won the 1981 Hugo Award for Best Novel. "Eyes of Amber" won the 1977 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. She has also been nominated for several other Hugo and Nebula Awards, as well as for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her novel Psion was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association.

In March 2007, a new edition of her novel Psion was released, which includes a sequel novella, "Psiren", together in one volume.

At the time of her accident in 2002, Vinge had been working on a new, independent novel called Ladysmith, set in Bronze Age Europe; she resumed writing Ladysmith once she was able to begin writing again in 2007.[4]

Bibliography

Heaven Chronicles
  • The Outcasts of Heaven Belt (1978)
  • Legacy (1980)

The Snow Queen Cycle

Cat
  • Psion (1982)
  • Catspaw (1988)
  • Dreamfall (1996)

Collections
  • Fireship / Mother and Child (1978) - single-volume collection of two novellas.
  • Eyes of Amber (1979) - 6 short stories
  • Phoenix in the Ashes (1985) - 6 short stories
  • Alien Blood (1988) - single-volume collection of Psion and its sequel Catspaw
  • The Heaven Chronicles (1991) - single-volume collection of The Outcasts of Heaven's Belt and its sequel Legacy

Media novelizations and tie-ins
  • Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – The Storybook Based on the Movie (1983)
  • Tarzan, King of the Apes (1983)
  • The Dune Storybook (1984)
  • Return to Oz (1985)
  • Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
  • Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
  • Santa Claus: The Movie Storybook (1985)
  • Ladyhawke (1987)
  • Willow (1988)
  • Lost in Space (1998)
  • Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
  • 47 Ronin (2013)

Short fiction
  • "Tin Soldier" (1974)
  • "Mother and Child" (1975)
  • "The Peddler's Apprentice" (with Vernor Vinge) (1975)
  • "The Crystal Ship" (1976)
  • "To Bell the Cat" (1977)
  • "Eyes of Amber" (1977)
  • "View from a Height" (1978)
  • "Phoenix in the Ashes" (1978)
  • "Fireship" (1978)
  • "Psiren" (1980)
  • "The Storm King" (1980)
  • "Voices from the Dust" (1980)
  • "The Hunt of the Unicorn" (1980)
  • "Exorcycle" (1982)
  • "Golden Girl and the Guardians of the Gemstones" (as by Billie Randall) (1985)
  • "Tam Lin" (1985)
  • "Latter-Day Martian Chronicles" (1990)
  • "Murphy's Cat" (2000)

Poetry
  • "Phoenix" (1978)
  • "Sun and Chimes Dropping" (1978)
  • "Alien Lover" (1980)
  • "There Are Songs" (1980)

References
  1. Heinlein, Robert A (1984). Friday. New England Library. ISBN 0-450-05549-3.
  2. Sff.net
  3. Vinge, Joan D (2011-06-27). "Cowboys & Aliens: "But Seriously…"". Tor.com. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  4. "An open letter to my readers". Joan Vinge. 2007-03-05. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
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