Amy Sterling Casil (born 1962) is a science fiction writer from Los Angeles, California, now living in Florida. Her writing has often included Southern California themes. Her mother,

Sterling Sturtevant Sterling Sturtevant (1922–1962) was a designer and art director for animated cartoons in an era in which few women were worked in Hollywood animation. Some of her early work was done under her married name Sterling Glasband. Biography Sturtevant ...

, was an Academy Award-winning art director for animated films who worked for Walt Disney,

Playhouse Pictures ''Playhouse'' (german: Schauspielhaus) is a common term for a theatre. Specifically it may refer to: Venues Australia * Dunstan Playhouse, at the Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, South Australia * The Playhouse, at the Arts Centre Melbourne ...

, UPA and Charles Schulz.

Background, education and employment

A four-year National Merit Scholar, she graduated from

Scripps College Scripps College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1 ...

in 1983 with bachelor's degrees in British and American Literature and Studio Art. She was the first female editor and publisher of the Claremont Colleges' newsmagazine. She twice received the Crombie Allen Award for fiction writing at the Claremont Colleges. During her time at Scripps, she was raped and tortured. She has written at length about why she did not pursue prosecution of her rapist (a professor at Pomona College, whom she has named repeatedly). Casil was the director of Family Service Association in

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of Lo ...

from 1987 to 1997. In 1999, she received her MFA in creative writing from

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...

with full honors, under committee chair

James P. Blaylock James Paul Blaylock (born September 20, 1950) is an American fantasy author. He is noted for a distinctive, humorous style, as well as being one of the pioneers of the steampunk genre of science fiction. Blaylock has cited Jules Verne, H. G. W ...

. From 1998 to 2005, she taught English and creative writing at several Southern California colleges, including Chapman University and Saddleback College. From 2005, she was Director of Development for the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization Beyond Shelter. In April 2020, she moved to southwestern Florida's Gulf Coast. Debbie Sterling of

GoldieBlox GoldieBlox is an American toy company that markets interactive toys designed for girls. GoldieBlox, which pairs a construction kit with a storybook, launched in 2012 as a prototype on Kickstarter. Its Kickstarter campaign led to more than $1 mill ...

is her niece.

Science fiction writing

Casil attended the

Clarion Science Fiction Writer's Workshop Clarion is a six-week workshop for aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Damon Knight's and Kate Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, United States, it was founded i ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 1984. "Jonny Punkinhead," which appeared in the July 1996 New Writers issue of '' The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', was her first published genre story. "To Kiss the Star" was a 2002 nominee for science fiction's

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of profe ...

. "Chromosome Circus" was a nominee for a HOMer Award on the

CompuServe CompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS) was an American online service provider, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the oth ...

SF and Fantasy Forum. She has served three terms as treasurer of the Science Fiction Writers of America.

Bibliography

Novels

Short fiction

;Collections * * ''To Kiss the Star and Other Stories'' ;Stories * "Jonny Punkinhead" (1996) * "Jenny, With the Stars in Her Hair" (''Writers of the Future Volume XIV'') (1998) * "My Son, My Self" (''Writers of the Future Volume XV'') (1999) * "The Color of Time" (''Zoetrope All-Story'') (1999) * "Chromosome Circus" (''Fantasy & Science Fiction''–January) (2000) * "Mad for the Mints" (''Fantasy & Science Fiction''–July) * "To Kiss the Star" (''Fantasy & Science Fiction''–February) * ''Perfect Stranger'' (Fantasy & Science Fiction) (2006)

As editor

* switch.blade "School's Out" Fictionwise original anthology (2002)

Nonfiction

* ''Buzz Aldrin: Pilot of the First Moon Landing'' (2004) * ''Coping With Terrorism'' (2005) * ''John Dewey: Founder of American Liberalism'' (2006) * *

Art

Covers of

Alan Rodgers Alan Rodgers (August 11, 1959 – March 8, 2014) was a science fiction and horror writer, editor, and poet. In the mid-eighties he was the editor for ''Night Cry''. His short stories have been published in a number of venues, including ''Weird ...

' ''Bone Music'' and ''Pandora''; and Stephen Mark Rainey's ''Balak''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casil, Amy Sterling 1962 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers American science fiction writers American women novelists American women short story writers Analog Science Fiction and Fact people Chapman University alumni Chapman University faculty The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Saddleback College people Scripps College alumni Women science fiction and fantasy writers Writers from Los Angeles