Jason Sanford is an American

science fiction author This is a list of noted science-fiction authors (in alphabetical order): A *Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960) *Alexander Abasheli (1884–1954) *Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926) *Kōbō Abe (1924–1993) * Robert Abernathy (1924–1990) *Dan Abn ...

whose 2022 novel ''Plague Birds'' was a finalist for the

Nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

and Philip K. Dick Awards.Acquisition: PLAGUE BIRDS by Jason Sanford
Apex Books, December 22, 2020. He's also known for this short fiction, which has been published in '' Interzone,

Asimov's Science Fiction ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publication ...

Analog Science Fiction and Fact ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

Year's Best SF 14 ''Year's Best SF 14'' is a science fiction anthology edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer that was published in 2009. It is the fourteenth in the Year's Best SF series. Contents The book itself, as well as each of the stories, has a s ...

'', ''

InterGalactic Medicine Show ''InterGalactic Medicine Show'' (sometimes shortened to ''IGMS'') was an American online fantasy and science fiction magazine. It was founded in 2005 by multiple award-winning author Orson Scott Card and was edited by Edmund R. Schubert from 200 ...

'' and other magazines and anthologies. Sanford is a three-time winner of the ''Interzone'' Readers' Poll and a multiple finalist for 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 ...

in the short fiction categories of

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

, novelette, and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

.Jason Sanford Past Nominations and Wins
The Nebula Awards, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, June 16, 2021. ''Interzone'' published a special issue on his fiction in 2010. He is also a multiple finalist for the

Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer The Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer is the Hugo Award given each year for writers of works related to science fiction or fantasy which appeared in low- or non-paying publications such as semiprozines or fanzines or in generally available electroni ...

. His fiction has been reprinted into a number of languages, including Czech, French, Russian, and Chinese. He also founded the literary magazine ''

storySouth ''storySouth'' is an online quarterly literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, criticism, essays, and visual artwork, with a focus on the Southern United States. The journal also runs the annual Million Writers Award to select the best sh ...

'' and ran their annual

Million Writers Award Million Writers Award was a short story literary award presented annually by storySouth. It honored the best online short stories. The award was structured to be egalitarian allowing for anyone to nominate a story including readers, authors, editors ...

for best online short stories.

Life

Sanford was born in Alabama and raised outside of

Wetumpka Wetumpka () is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the fastest-growing counties in the state. The city is ...

. He attended

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, where he studied

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

."An Interview with Jason Sanford"
by John Coyne, Peace Corps Writers, July 2007, accessed Feb. 20, 2010. After college Sanford served for two years as a

Peace Corps Volunteer This is a list of notable persons who have been members of the United States Peace Corps, along with their terms of service. The Peace Corps volunteers category page may include a more extensive list of individuals. Business * Patricia Cloher ...

in Thailand, where he taught English in a junior high school. He also met his wife, a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer, while in Thailand. After the Peace Corps they moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, where Sanford worked as an editor.

Editing career

In 2001 Sanford, along with poet

Jake Adam York Jake Adam York (August 10, 1972December 16, 2012) was an American poet. He published three books of poetry before his death: ''Murder Ballads'', which won the 2005 Elixir Prize in Poetry; ''A Murmuration of Starlings'', which won the 2008 Colora ...

, founded the literary magazine ''

'', which focuses on literature from the "New South." storySouth "About Us" page
accessed Feb. 20, 2010. One of the early journals of the online literature movement, works published in ''storySouth'' have been reprinted in anthologies such as ''Best American Poetry 2008, Best of the Web 2008'', and ''e2ink: The Best of the Online Journals'', and have won a number of awards and honors. Sanford served as the fiction and nonfiction editor, while York served as poetry editor. Both editors were heavily involved in the debate around the alleged

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

of Southern author

Brad Vice Brad Vice (born November 14, 1973) is an English language and composition professor at the University of West Bohemia. He grew up in Alabama. His short story collection, ''The Bear Bryant Funeral Train'', won the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short ...

, with Sanford defending Vice's work and his essays on the affair being mentioned in the subsequent press coverage. Sanford turned over publication of ''storySouth'' to Spring Garden Press in 2009 and now serves as Editor Emeritus for the journal. In 2004, Sanford started the ''storySouth''

, which highlighted each year's best online short stories. In 2012 he edited two anthologies of stories from the

Writing career

Sanford is best known as a

, although he also writes fantasy and has been published in other literary genres. His fiction has been described as "new weird SF", and compared to both the anime of

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

and the early writings of

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for ...

. Sanford has described his writings and those of others as part of an emergent storytelling form called SciFi Strange, "which sets high literary standards, experiments with style, is infused with a sense of wonder, takes the idea of diverse sexuality for granted, focuses on human values and needs and explores the boundaries of reality and experience through philosophical speculation."Confronting the Unfamiliar: Interview with Jason Sanford" by Andy Hedgecock, Interzone 231, page 48. Sanford's science fiction and fantasy has been published in '' Interzone,

Tales of the Unanticipated ''Tales of the Unanticipated'', known as ''TOTU'', is a semiprozine that was founded under the auspices of the Minnesota Science Fiction Society (known as Mn-STF or Minn-STF), and has since become independent. Like contemporaries such as ''Cran ...

'', and other magazines and anthologies. His non-genre works have been published in ''The Mississippi Review'', ''Diagram'', ''Pindeldyboz'', and other places. He is a three-time winner of the Interzone Readers' Pollhttp://ttapress.com/846/2009-readers-poll-results/0/4/2009 Interzone Readers' Poll, Interzone, May 7, 2010. and a three-time finalist for the Nebula Awards. He has also received a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship and been nominated for 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

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 ...

, and the

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

. SF critic and reviewer Patrick Wolohan named Sanford to his list of 25 authors worth watching in 2010 and beyond. His critical essays and book reviews have been published in ''

The New York Review of Science Fiction ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' is a monthly literary magazine of science fiction that was established in 1988. It includes works of science fiction criticism, essays, and in-depth critical reviews of new works of fiction and scholarship ...

'', ''The Pedestal Magazine'', and ''The Fix Short Fiction Review''. Among Sanford's more influential essays is "Who Wears Short Shorts? Micro Stories and MFA Disgust", which ripped both the claimed incestuous nature of

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

programs and

flash fiction Flash fiction is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as " twitterature"); ...

. The essay prompted a large amount of online discussion on the merits of Sanford's claims. Apex Publications released Sanford's first novel ''Plague Birds'' in 2022. The novel was selected as a finalist for both 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 ...

and

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, ...

s. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' called ''Plague Birds'' "something like The Wizard of Oz as retold by A.E. van Vogt."

Maurice Broaddus Maurice Broaddus is an author who has published fiction across a number of genres including young adult, horror, fantasy and science fiction. Among his books are ''The Knights of Breton Court'' urban fantasy trilogy from Angry Robot, the steam ...

called the novel "a perfect blend of sf and fantasy weaving memory, loss, technology, and family into a wholly unique tapestry that left me turning the pages just to see what he would do next."

Bibliography

Novels

* ''Plague Birds'', Apex Books, 2022.

Short fiction

;Collections * ''Never Never Stories'' - Short story collection, Spotlight Publishing, 2011. ;Anthologies (edited) * ''Million Writers Award: The Best Online Science Fiction and Fantasy'' - (edited), anthology of short fiction, Spotlight Publishing, 2012. * ''Million Writers Award: The Best New Online Voices'' - (edited), anthology of short fiction, Spotlight Publishing, 2012. Spotlight Publishing website
, accessed March 20, 2012. ;List of stories * "Sublimation Angels" (published in Interzone). Finalist, Nebula Award for Best Novella, 2009. * "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" (published by

Beneath Ceaseless Skies ''Beneath Ceaseless Skies'' (''BCS'') is a fantasy adventure online magazine published in the United States by Firkin Press. History ''Beneath Ceaseless Skies'' first issue was released on October 9, 2008 featuring stories by Chris Willrich and ...

). Finalist, Nebula Award for Best Novelette, 2016. * "The Eight-Thousanders" (published in

). Finalist, Nebula Award for Best Short Story, 2020.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, Jason Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers American short story writers American speculative fiction critics Asimov's Science Fiction people Auburn University alumni People from Wetumpka, Alabama Science fiction critics Novelists from Alabama American male non-fiction writers