Martha Wells

Martha Wells (born September 1, 1964)[1] is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has published a number of fantasy novels, young adult novels, media tie-ins, short stories, and nonfiction essays on fantasy and science fiction subjects. Her novels have been translated into twelve languages.[2] Wells has won a Nebula Award, two Locus Awards, and two Hugo Awards.

Martha Wells
Wells at the 2018 Texas Book Festival
Born1964
Fort Worth, Texas, US
OccupationWriter
NationalityAmerican
Period1993–present
GenreFantasy, science fiction
Website
marthawells.com

Life

Martha Wells was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and has a B.A. in Anthropology from Texas A&M University.[1] She lives in College Station, Texas, with her husband. She was involved in SF/F fandom in college and was chairman of AggieCon 17.[3]

Career

As an aspiring writer Wells attended many local writing workshops and conventions, including the Turkey City Writer's Workshop taught by Bruce Sterling.[4] She has also taught writing workshops at ArmadilloCon, WorldCon, ApolloCon, Writespace Houston,[5] and was the Special Workshop Guest at FenCon in 2018.[6]

Wells was toastmaster of the World Fantasy Convention in 2017,[7] where she delivered a speech called "Unbury the Future"[8] about marginalized creators in the history of science fiction and fantasy, movies, and other media and the deliberate suppression of the existence of those creators. The speech was well-received and generated a great deal of discussion.[9]

During 2018, Wells was the leader of the story team and lead writer for the new Dominaria expansion of the card game Magic: the Gathering.[10] In May 2018, her Murderbot Diaries novella All Systems Red was number 8 on The New York Times Bestseller List for Audio.[11] All Systems Red won the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella,[12] the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella,[13] the 2018 Locus Award for Best Novella,[14] and the American Library Association's Alex Award,[15] and was nominated for the 2017 Philip K. Dick Award.[16] It was followed by the sequel novellas Artificial Condition (2018), Rogue Protocol (2018), and Exit Strategy (2018);[17] a short story, "Compulsory" (2018);[18] and a full novel sequel, Network Effect (2020)[19]

Work

Wells is known for the complex, realistically detailed societies she creates; this is often credited to her academic background in anthropology.[20][21] Her first published novel, The Element of Fire (1993), was a finalist for that year's Compton Crook Award, and a runner-up for the 1994 William Crawford Award. Her second novel, City of Bones (1995) received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and a black diamond review from Kirkus Reviews, and was on the 1995 Locus Recommended Reading List for fantasy. Her third novel, The Death of the Necromancer (1998), was nominated for a Nebula Award.[22] The Element of Fire and The Death of the Necromancer are stand-alone novels which take place in the country of Ile-Rien, which is also the setting for the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy: The Wizard Hunters (2003), The Ships of Air (2004), and The Gate of Gods (2005). Her fourth novel was a stand-alone fantasy, Wheel of the Infinite. In 2006, she released a revised edition of The Element of Fire.[23]

Her fantasy short stories include "The Potter's Daughter" in the anthology Elemental (2006), which was selected to appear in The Year's Best Fantasy #7 (2007).[24] This story features one of the main characters from The Element of Fire. Three prequel short stories to the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy were published in Black Gate Magazine in 2007[25][26] and 2008.[27]

Wells' longest-running fantasy series is The Books of the Raksura which included five novels and two short fiction collections published by Night Shade Books: The Cloud Roads (2011), The Serpent Sea (2012), The Siren Depths (2012), Stories of the Raksura Vol 1: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud (2014), Stories of the Raksura Vol 2: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below (2015), The Edge of Worlds (2016), and The Harbors of the Sun (2017). The series was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2018[28] and The Edge of Worlds was reviewed in The New York Times.[29]

Wells has written two young adult fantasy novels, Emilie and the Hollow World and Emilie and the Sky World published by Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry in 2013 and 2014.[30]

She has written media tie-ins, including Reliquary and Entanglement set in the Stargate Atlantis universe, "Archaeology 101", a short story based on Stargate SG-1 for issue No. 8 (Jan/Feb 2006) of the official Stargate Magazine, and a Star Wars novel, Empire and Rebellion: Razor's Edge.[31]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
1994 Compton Crook Award The Element of Fire Nominated
Crawford Award The Element of Fire Nominated
1998 Nebula Award Best Novel The Death of the Necromancer Nominated [32]
2002 Imaginales Award The Death of the Necromancer (French edition) Nominated
2004 Imaginales Award The Element of Fire (French edition) Nominated
2018 Alex Award The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red Won [33]
Hugo Award Best Novella The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red Won [13]
Hugo Award Best Series The Books of the Raksura Nominated [34]
Locus Award Best Novella The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red Won [14]
Nebula Award Best Novella The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red Won [12]
Philip K. Dick Award The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red Nominated [35]
Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award Best SF Novel The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red Nominated
2019 BSFA Award Best Shorter Fiction The Murderbot Diaries: Exit Strategy Nominated [36]
Hugo Award Best Novella[lower-alpha 1] The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition Won [38]
Locus Award Best Novella[lower-alpha 2] The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition Won [39]
Nebula Award Best Novella The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition Nominated [40]
  • Nomination for Journal d’un AssaSynth, tomes 1 à 4 (translated by Mathilde Montier) in the 2020 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire awards in the Nouvelle étrangère category.[41]
  • Nominations for Tagebuch eines Killerbots (The Murderbot Diaries omnibus) for Best Foreign Novel published in German and for translator Frank Böhmert for Best Translation in the 2020 Kurd Laßwitz Preis.[42]
  • Finalist for The Murderbot Diaries, Books 1-4 (translated by Naoya Nakahara) in the Seiun Award in the Best Translated Novel category.[43]
  • Locus Recommended List in 1994 for The Element of Fire
  • Locus Recommended List in 1995 for City of Bones

Published works

Stand-alone fantasy novels
  • City of Bones (1995, ISBN 0-312-85686-5)
  • Wheel of the Infinite (2000, ISBN 0-380-97335-9)

Ile-Rien

Listed in order of the internal chronology, not by year of publication.

  • "The Potter's Daughter" (2006 short story, Elemental: the Tsunami Relief Anthology ISBN 0-7653-1562-9, The Year's Best Fantasy #7 ISBN 978-1-892391-50-6)
  • The Element of Fire (1993, ISBN 0-312-85374-2; revised edition 2006, ISBN 0-615-13571-4)
  • "Night at the Opera" (2015, in the collection Between Worlds: the Collected Cineth and Ile-Rien Stories and PodCastle Episode 400)
  • The Death of the Necromancer (1998, ISBN 0-380-97334-0)
  • The Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy:
    • The Wizard Hunters (2003, ISBN 0-380-97788-5)
    • The Ships of Air (2004, ISBN 0-380-97789-3)
    • The Gate of Gods (2005, ISBN 0-380-97790-7)

Books of the Raksura
  • The Cloud Roads (2011, ISBN 978-1-59780-216-1)
  • The Serpent Sea (2012, ISBN 978-1-59780-332-8)
  • The Siren Depths (2012, ISBN 978-1-59780-440-0)
  • Stories of the Raksura Vol 1: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud (2014, ISBN 978-159780-535-3)
  • Stories of the Raksura Vol 2: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below (2015, ISBN 978-159780-537-7)
  • The Edge of Worlds (2016, ISBN 978-1-59780-843-9)
  • The Harbors of the Sun (2017, ISBN 978-1-59780-891-0)
Short stories
  • The Forest Boy (2009) – prequel to The Cloud Roads. In the collection Stories of the Raksura Vol 1
  • The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-ship Escarpment (2011) – set in the same world. In the collection Stories of the Raksura Vol 2
  • Adaptation (2012) – prequel to The Cloud Roads. In the collection Stories of the Raksura Vol 1
  • Mimesis (2013) – in the anthology The Other Half of the Sky (2013, ISBN 9781936460441)
  • Trading Lesson (2013) – In the collection Stories of the Raksura Vol 1
  • Birthright (2017) – in the anthology Mech: Age of Steel (2013, ISBN 9781941987858)

Emilie

Young-adult fantasy.

  • Emilie and the Hollow World (2013, ISBN 978-190884-449-1)
  • Emilie and the Sky World (2014, ISBN 978-190884-452-1)

Star Wars
  • Empire and Rebellion: Razor's Edge (2013, ISBN 978-0-345-54524-4)

Stargate universe
Main article: Stargate literature

The Murderbot Diaries

Science fiction series:

  • All Systems Red (2017 Tor.com novella, ISBN 978-076539-753-9)[44][45][46]
  • Artificial Condition (2018 Tor.com novella, ISBN 978-12501-869-28)
  • Rogue Protocol (2018 Tor.com novella, ISBN 978-12501-917-86)
  • Exit Strategy (2018 Tor.com novella, ISBN 978-12501-918-54)
  • "Compulsory" (2018 Wired short story)
  • Network Effect (2020 Tor.com novel, ISBN 978-1-250-22986-1)
  • "Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory" (2020 Tor.com short story)
  • Fugitive Telemetry (2021 Tor.com novella, upcoming 27 April 2021)

Other short stories
  • "Thorns" (1995, Realms of Fantasy)
  • "Bad Medicine" (1997, Realms of Fantasy)
  • "Wolf Night" (2006, Lone Star Stories)
  • "Reflections" (2007, Black Gate Magazine)
  • "Holy Places" (2007, Black Gate Magazine)
  • "Houses of the Dead" (2008, Black Gate Magazine)
  • "Revenants" (2012, in the anthology Tales of the Emerald Serpent)
  • "Soul of Fire" (2014, in the anthology Tales of the Emerald Serpent II: A Knight in the Silk Purse)
  • "The Dark Gates" (2015, in the anthology The Gods of Lovecraft)

Non-fiction
  • "Don't Make Me Tongue You: John Crichton and D'Argo and the Dysfunctional Buddy Relationship" (2005, Farscape Forever, ISBN 1-932100-61-X)
  • "Neville Longbottom: the Hero With a Thousand Faces" (2006, Mapping the World of Harry Potter, ISBN 1-932100-59-8)
  • "Donna Noble Saves the Universe" (2012, Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who, ISBN 9781935234128)
  • "A Life Less Ordinary: The Environment, Magic Systems, and Non-Humans" (2014, A Kobold Guide to Magic, ISBN 978-1936781287)
  • "The Ups and Downs of a Long Career" (2019, The Writer's Book of Doubt, ISBN 978-0648334224)

Notes
  1. Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy also made the preliminary shortlist but Wells declined the nominations.[37]
  2. Rogue Protocol was also shortlisted for the award.[39]

References
  1. "Martha Wells: Unburied Future". Locus Online. August 13, 2018.
  2. "Martha Wells – Bibliography". official site. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  3. "AggieCon XVII Program exerpt". cepheids.org. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  4. Re:Fiction (September 19, 2017). "Interview with Martha Wells".
  5. "Writers' Family Reunion". Writespace Writing Center. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018.
  6. "FenCon XV – September 21–23, 2018". www.fencon.org.
  7. "World Fantasy 2017 – An annual gathering and reunion of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of light and dark fantasy art and literature". wfc2017.org. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  8. "'Unbury the Future': Martha Wells' Full Speech from the 2017 World Fantasy Awards". November 7, 2017.
  9. "World Fantasy Con 2017: A Mixed Montage".
  10. Whitbrook, James. "Scifi Author Martha Wells Is Bringing Magic: The Gathering Back to Where It All Began". io9. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  11. "Audio Fiction Books Bestsellers". The New York Times. May 1, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  12. "All Systems Red". Nebula Awards. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018 – via nebulas.sfwa.org.
  13. "2018 Hugo Awards". Hugo Awards. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018 – via thehugoawards.org.
  14. "2018 Locus Awards Winners". Locus.
  15. "American Library Association announces 2018 youth media award winners". American Library Association. February 12, 2018. Archived from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  16. "Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Announced". Philip K. Dick Award. January 11, 2018. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  17. "Ghosts, Robots, and Monsters: A Round-up of New Sci-Fi and Fantasy". The New York Times. November 30, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  18. "The Future of Work: 'Compulsory' by Martha Wells". Wired. December 17, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  19. Harris, Lee (March 11, 2019). "Murderbot Will Return in...Network Effect". Tor.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  20. "Shaun Farrell interviews Martha Wells for Far Sector SFFH March 2006". www.farsector.com.
  21. "ActuSF Interview with Martha Wells".
  22. "The Locus Index to SF Awards Index". Locus. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  23. "The Element of Fire by Martha Wells". official site. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  24. Hartwell, David G.; Cramer, Kathryn, eds. (2007). Year's best fantasy 7 (1st ed.). San Francisco: Tachyon Publications. ISBN 9781892391506. OCLC 153153135.
  25. "Table of Contents". Black Gate (10).
  26. "Table of Contents". Black Gate (11).
  27. "Table of Contents". Black Gate (12).
  28. "Press Release: WorldCon 76 Announces 2018 Hugo Award Finalists".
  29. Jemisin, N. K. (April 19, 2016). "Otherworldy: The Latest in Science Fiction and Fantasy". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  30. "Young Adult Fantasy by Martha Wells". MarthaWells.com.
  31. "Media Tie-ins". MarthaWells.com.
  32. "1998 Nebula Awards" – via nebulas.sfwa.org.
  33. "American Library Association announces 2018 youth media award winners". American Library Association. February 19, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  34. "2018 Hugo and Campbell Award Finalists". Locus.
  35. "Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Announced".
  36. "Awards Shortlist" – via bsfa.co.uk.
  37. "2019 Hugo Results" (PDF).
  38. "2019 Hugo Award Finalists Announced". Tor.com. April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  39. "2019 Locus Awards Winners". Locus.
  40. "Announcing the 2018 Nebula Award Finalists". Tor.com. February 20, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  41. "Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire 2020".
  42. "2020 Kurd Laßwitz Preis".
  43. "2020 Seiun Awards Nominees". Locus.
  44. Holloway, Samantha. "Book review by Samantha Holloway: All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries)". New York Journal of Books. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  45. "Fiction Book Review: All Systems Red by Martha Wells". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  46. Sheehan, Jason (January 27, 2019). "Sulky, Cynical 'Murderbot' Is One of Sci-Fi's Most Human Characters". NPR. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
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