Ann Leckie (born 2 March 1966) is an American author of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

. Her 2013

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

Ancillary Justice ''Ancillary Justice'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in 2013. It is Leckie's debut novel and the first in her Imperial Radch space opera trilogy, followed by ''Ancillary Sword'' (2014) and '' Ancillary Me ...

'', in part about

artificial consciousness Artificial consciousness (AC), also known as machine consciousness (MC) or synthetic consciousness (; ), is a field related to artificial intelligence and cognitive robotics. The aim of the theory of artificial consciousness is to "Define that wh ...

and

gender-blindness In education, business, law, and other fields, gender blindness or sex blindness is the practice of disregarding gender as a significant factor in interactions between people. In education Krista Ratcliffe writes that gender blindness function ...

, won the 2014

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

for "Best Novel", as well as the

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 ...

, the

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

, and the

BSFA Award The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...

. The sequels, ''

Ancillary Sword ''Ancillary Sword'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in October 2014. It is the second novel in Leckie's "Imperial Radch" space opera trilogy, which began with '' Ancillary Justice'' (2013) and ended with ' ...

'' and ''

Ancillary Mercy ''Ancillary Mercy'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in October 2015. It is the final novel in Leckie's "Imperial Radch" space opera trilogy, which began with ''Ancillary Justice'' (2013) and was followed b ...

'', each won the

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

and were nominated for the Nebula Award. ''

Provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

'', published in 2017, is also set in the ''Imperial Radch'' universe. Leckie's first fantasy novel, ''

The Raven Tower ''The Raven Tower'' is a 2019 fantasy novel by Ann Leckie. Her first fantasy novel, it is based on the story of Hamlet. The novel recounts the story of Mawat, a prince seeking to overthrow his usurper uncle and regain his rightful place as the s ...

'', was published in February 2019.

Career

Having grown up as a science fiction fan in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, Leckie's attempts in her youth to get her science fiction works published were unsuccessful. One of her few publications from that time was an unattributed

bodice-ripper A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pr ...

in '' True Confessions''. After giving birth to her children in 1996 and 2000, boredom as a

stay-at-home mother A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home—housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buying an ...

motivated her to sketch a first draft of what would become ''Ancillary Justice'' for

National Novel Writing Month National Novel Writing Month (often shortened to NaNoWriMo ) is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that promotes creative writing around the world. Its flagship program is an annual, international creative writing event in which participants att ...

2002. In 2005, Leckie attended the

Clarion West Writers Workshop Clarion West Writers Workshop is an intensive six-week program for writers preparing for professional careers in science fiction and fantasy. It runs annually from late June through the end of July. The workshop is limited to 18 students per year. ...

, where she studied under

Octavia Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. ...

. After that, she wrote ''Ancillary Justice'' over a period of six years; it was picked up by the publisher

Orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...

in 2012 and published the following year. Leckie has published numerous short stories, in outlets including ''

Subterranean Magazine Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Burton, Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to publishing novels, short story ...

'', ''

Strange Horizons ''Strange Horizons'' is an online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and nonfiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in September 2000, and ...

'', and ''

Realms of Fantasy ''Realms of Fantasy'' was a professional bimonthly fantasy speculative fiction magazine published by Sovereign Media, then Tir Na Nog Press, and Damnation Books, which specialized in fantasy fiction (including some horror), related nonfiction (wit ...

''. Her short stories have been selected for inclusion in year's best collections, such as ''The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy'', edited by Rich Horton. She edited the science fiction and fantasy

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

Giganotosaurus ''Giganotosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina, during the early Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 99.6 to 95 million years ago. The holotype specimen was discovered in the ...

'' from 2010 to 2013, and is assistant editor of the ''

PodCastle ''PodCastle'' is a weekly audio fantasy fiction podcast. They release audio performances of fantasy short fiction, including all the subgenres of fantasy, including magical realism, urban fantasy, slipstream, high fantasy, and dark fantasy. As ...

'' podcast. She served as the secretary of the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While ...

from 2012 to 2013.

Imperial Radch trilogy

Leckie's debut novel ''

'', the first book of the ''Imperial Radch''

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...

trilogy, was published to critical acclaim in October 2013 and won all of the principal English-language science fiction awards (see Ann Leckie#Awards and nominations). It follows Breq, the sole survivor of a

starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...

destroyed by treachery and vessel of that ship's

, as she attempts to revenge herself on the ruler of her empire. The sequel, ''

'', was published in October 2014, and the conclusion, ''

'', was published in October 2015. "Night's Slow Poison" (2014) and "She Commands Me and I Obey" (2014) are short stories set in the same universe.

Other novels

In 2015, Orbit Books purchased two additional novels from Leckie. The first, ''

'' (published on 3 October 2017), is set in the ''Imperial Radch'' universe. The second was to have been an unrelated science fiction novel. In April 2018, Orbit announced that Leckie's first fantasy novel, ''The Raven Tower'', would be published in early 2019.

Bibliography

Novels

Set in the Ancillary universe

;Imperial Radch trilogy #''

''. (1 October 2013).

. . #''

''. (7 October 2014). Orbit. . #''

''. (6 October 2015). Orbit. . ;Other novels *''

''. (26 September 2017). Orbit. . * ''Translation State'' (forthcoming - Summer 2023)

Non-Ancillary novels

*''

''. (26 February 2019). Orbit. .

Short fiction

*"Hesperia and Glory". (2006). ''Subterranean Magazine 4''. (Reprinted in ''Science Fiction: The Best of the Year 2007 Edition'', edited by Rich Horton) *"Footprints". (2007). ''Postcards from Hell: The First Thirteen.'' *"The Snake's Wife". (2007). ''Helix #6.'' (Reprinted on ''Transcriptase'') *"Needle and Thread" - co-authored by Rachel Swirsky. (2008). ''Lone Star Stories #29''. *"The Nalendar". (2008). ''Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine'', Issue #36. (Reprinted in ''Uncanny Magazine'' #2, January 2015 and as audio on PodCastle #52, May 2009) *"Clickweed". (July 2008). ''A Field Guide to Surreal Botany''. *"Marsh Gods". (7 July 2008). ''Strange Horizons''. *"The God of Au". ''Helix #8''. (Reprinted in ''The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009'', edited by Rich Horton) *"The Endangered Camp". (2009). ''Clockwork Phoenix 2''. (Reprinted in ''The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2010'', edited by Rich Horton) *"The Sad History of the Tearless Onion" (12 June 2009). ''PodCastle Miniature #33''. *"The Unknown God". (February 2010). ''Realms of Fantasy''. *"Beloved of the Sun". (21 October 2010). ''Beneath Ceaseless Skies''. *"Maiden, Mother, Crone". (December 2010). ''Realms of Fantasy''. (Reprinted in ''Lightspeed'', January 2015 and as audio on PodCastle #500, 11 December 2017) *"The Endangered Camp". (12 March 2012). ''Clockwork Phoenix 2''. (Reprinted in ''The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2010'' and ''Forever Magazine'', March 2015) *"Saving Bacon". (39 July 2014). ''PodCastle #322.'' *"Another Word for World". (2015). ''Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Stories Inspired by Microsoft''. *"The Justified". (2019). ''The Mythic Dream''. ;Set in the Ancillary universe *"Night's Slow Poison". (2014). Tor. *"She Commands Me and I Obey". (2014). ''Strange Horizons''. ;Set in the Ancillary universe

Critical studies and reviews of Leckie's work

Awards and nominations

* ''Ancillary Justice'' (2013) ** 2013: won the

Nebula Award for Best Novel The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; a ...

** 2013: won the

BSFA Award for Best Novel The BSFA Awards are given every year by the British Science Fiction Association. The Best Novel award is open to any novel-length work of science fiction or fantasy that has been published in the UK for the first time in the previous year. Seriali ...

** 2013: won the

Kitschies The Kitschies are British literary prizes presented annually for "the year's most progressive, intelligent and entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic" published in the United Kingdom. Awards and criteria The Ki ...

Award Golden Tentacle (Debut) ** 2014: won the

Hugo Award for Best Novel The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,00 ...

** 2014: won the Arthur C. Clarke Award ** 2014: won the

Locus Award for Best First Novel The Locus Award for Best First Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best Firs ...

** 2014: won the

British Fantasy Award The British Fantasy Awards (BFA) are awarded annually by the British Fantasy Society (BFS), first in 1976. Prior to that they were known as The August Derleth Fantasy Awards (see August Derleth Award). First awarded in 1972 (to ''The Knight of S ...

for the Best Newcomer (the Sydney J. Bounds Award) ** 2016: won the for Best Translated Novel ** 2016: won the

Seiun Award The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fict ...

for Best Translated Novel (Japan) ** 2013: Nominated for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award ** 2013: Nominated for the

Philip K. Dick Award The Philip K. Dick Award is an American science fiction award given annually at Norwescon and sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005) the Philip K. Dick Trust. Named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, ...

** 2014: Finalist for the

John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best science fiction no ...

** 2014: Finalist for the

Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented to the best English language first novel of the year in the field of science fiction, fantasy, or horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society at their annual science fiction convention, Baltic ...

* ''Ancillary Sword'' (2014) ** 2014: won the BSFA Award for Best Novel ** 2015: won the

Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel The Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award f ...

** 2014: Nominated for the

** 2015: Finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel * ''Ancillary Mercy'' (2015) ** 2016: won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel ** 2015: Nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel ** 2016: Finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel ** 2016: Nominated for the Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel * Imperial Radch trilogy (2013–2015) ** 2017: won Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Translator (Jacques Chambon Translation Prize) for ''Les Chroniques du Radch, tomes 1 à 3'' (France) ** 2017: Nominated for Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign Novel (France) **2017: Nominated for the

for Best Translated Novel * ''

'' (2017) ** 2018: Nominated for the

Personal life

Leckie earned a degree in music from

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

in 1989. She has since held various jobs, including as a waitress, a receptionist, a land surveyor, a lunch lady, and a recording engineer. She is married to David Harre, with whom she has a son and daughter, and lives with her family in

References

External links

* at annleckie.com * *
Ann Leckie
at ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Leckie, Ann 1966 births Living people American science fiction writers American women novelists Hugo Award-winning writers Nebula Award winners Writers from St. Louis Women science fiction and fantasy writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Missouri