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Jeff VanderMeer (born July 7, 1968) is an American author, editor, and literary critic. Initially associated with the New Weird literary genre, VanderMeer crossed over into mainstream success with his bestselling
Southern Reach Trilogy The ''Southern Reach Trilogy'' is a series of novels by the American author Jeff VanderMeer first published in 2014—''Annihilation'', ''Authority'', and ''Acceptance''. The trilogy takes its name from the secret agency that is central to th ...
. The trilogy's first novel, ''
Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy ...
'', won 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
Shirley Jackson Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...
Awards, and was adapted into a
Hollywood film The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Ame ...
by director
Alex Garland Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English writer and filmmaker. He rose to prominence as a novelist in the late 1990s with his novel '' The Beach'', which led some critics to call Garland a key voice of Generation X. He subsequ ...
. Among VanderMeer's other novels are '' Shriek: An Afterword'' and '' Borne''. He has also edited with his wife
Ann VanderMeer Ann VanderMeer (née Kennedy) is an American publisher and editor, and the second female editor of the horror magazine '' Weird Tales''. She is the founder of Buzzcity Press. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantas ...
such influential and award-winning anthologies as ''The New Weird'', ''
The Weird ''The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories'' is an anthology of weird fiction edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. Published on 30 Oct 2011, it contains 110 short stories, novellas and short novels. At 1,152 pages in the hardcover editi ...
'', and ''The Big Book of Science Fiction''.2017 Locus Awards Winners
," Locus Magazine, June 24, 2017.
VanderMeer has been called "one of the most remarkable practitioners of the literary fantastic in America today,""Jeff VanderMeer entry, Contemporary Authors Online, 2016," Gale Biography in Context, accessed September 1, 2017. with ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' naming him the "King of Weird Fiction".The Weird Thoreau
" by Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, January 14, 2015.
VanderMeer's fiction is noted for eluding genre classificationsStarred review of Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
," Publishers Weekly, February 6, 2017.
even as his works bring in themes and elements from genres such as
postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...
,"Review of City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer," Publishers Weekly, May 6, 2002.
ecofiction Ecofiction (also "eco-fiction" or "eco fiction") is the branch of literature that encompasses nature-oriented (non-human) or environment-oriented ( human impacts on nature) works of fiction. While this super genre's roots are seen in classic, pasto ...
,There’s No Escape From Contamination Above the Toxic Sea
" by Wai Chee Dimockmay, The New York Times Book Review, May 5, 2017.
the New Weird and
post-apocalyptic fiction Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
.Jeff VanderMeer Amends the Apocalypse
" by Laura Miller, The New Yorker, April 24, 2017.
VanderMeer's writing has been described as "evocative" and containing "intellectual observations both profound and disturbing,"Starred review of Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
," Publishers Weekly, December 23, 2013.
and has been compared with the works of
Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...
,SHRIEK: AN AFTERWORD BY JEFF VANDERMEER
," Believermag.com, Sept. 2006, accessed June 26, 2017
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...
, and Henry David Thoreau.


Early life and education

VanderMeer was born in
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Bellefonte is a borough in, and the county seat of, Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is approximately twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The bor ...
in 1968, and spent much of his childhood in the
Fiji Islands Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, where his parents worked for the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...
.Jeff VanderMeer: South of Reality
," Locus Magazine, July 6, 2014.
After returning to the United States, he spent time in
Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...
, New York, and Gainesville, Florida. He attended the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
for three years and, in 1992, took part in the
Clarion Writers 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 ...
. When VanderMeer was 20, he read
Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
's novel ''
The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman ''The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman'', published in the United States as ''The War of Dreams'', is a 1972 novel by Angela Carter. This picaresque novel is heavily influenced by surrealism, Romanticism, critical theory, and other bra ...
'', which he has said "blew the back of my head off, rewired my brain: I had never encountered prose like that before, never such passion and boldness on the page."The Thrill and Pain of Inventing Angela Carter
" by Jeff VanderMeer, The Atlantic, April 20, 2017.
Carter's fiction inspired VanderMeer to both improve and be fearless with his own writing.


Career


Writing

VanderMeer began writing in the late 1980s while still in high school and quickly became a prolific contributor to small-press magazines.St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers by David Pringle, St. James Press, 1998. During this time VanderMeer wrote a number of horror 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 ...
short stories, some of which were collected in his 1989 self-published book ''The Book of Frog'' and in the 1996 collection ''The Book of Lost Places''. He also wrote poetry—his poem "Flight Is for Those Who Have Not Yet Crossed Over" was a co-winner of the 1994
Rhysling Award __NOTOC__ The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. Unlike most literary awards, which are named for the creator of the award, the subject of the award, or a noted member of t ...
—and edited two issues of the self-published
zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...
''Jabberwocky''. One of VanderMeer's early successes was his 2001 short-story collection ''
City of Saints and Madmen ''City of Saints and Madmen: The Book of Ambergris'' is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer Jeff VanderMeer, set in the fictional metropolis of Ambergris. The setting was further explored in the novels '' Shriek: An Afterword ...
,'' set in the imaginary city of Ambergris. Several of VanderMeer's novels were subsequently set in the same place, including '' Shriek: An Afterword'' (2006) and ''
Finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
'' (2009), the latter of which was a finalist for 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 ...
. In 2000, his novella ''The Transformation of Martin Lake'' won the
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
. VanderMeer has also worked in other media, including on a movie based on his novel ''Shriek'' that featured an original soundtrack by rock band The Church. The band
Murder By Death ''Murder by Death'' is a 1976 American comedy mystery film directed by Robert Moore and written by Neil Simon. The film stars Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, M ...
likewise recorded a soundtrack for ''
Finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
'', which was released alongside a limited edition of the book. VanderMeer also wrote a ''
Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
'' tie-in novel for ''
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
'' called ''Predator: South China Seas'' and worked with animator
Joel Veitch Joel Veitch (born 28 March 1974) is a British web animator, singer-songwriter, and member of the humour website B3ta. Veitch is owner of the web site RatherGood where he showcases many of his animations. Joel has also created the Mr. Stabby an ...
on a Play Station Europe animation of his story "A New Face in Hell".


The Southern Reach Trilogy

In 2014,
Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...
published VanderMeer's
Southern Reach Trilogy The ''Southern Reach Trilogy'' is a series of novels by the American author Jeff VanderMeer first published in 2014—''Annihilation'', ''Authority'', and ''Acceptance''. The trilogy takes its name from the secret agency that is central to th ...
, consisting of the novels ''
Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy ...
,
Authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...
,'' and ''
Acceptance Acceptance in human psychology is a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempting to change it or protest it. The concept is close in meaning to ...
''. The story focuses on a secret agency that manages expeditions into a location known as Area X. The area is an uninhabited and abandoned part of the United States that nature has begun to reclaim after a mysterious world-changing event. VanderMeer has said that the main inspiration for Area X and the series was his hike through
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, in Wakulla County, Florida, is one of the oldest wildlife refuges in the United States. Established in 1931 as a wintering ground for migratory birds, it encompasses 68,000 acres (280 km2) spread between ...
. ''The Other Side of the Mountain'' by Michel Bernanos is among the books VanderMeer has cited as also having had an influence. The trilogy was released in quick succession over an 8-month period, in what has been called an innovative "
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
-inspired strategy."The boundary-pushing fiction of Sean McDonald and his new FSG imprint, MCD
" by Margaret Wappler, The Los Angeles Times, July 28, 2017.
The strategy helped the second and third books reach the ''New York Times'' Bestseller list, and established VanderMeer as "one of the most forward-thinking authors of the decade." The series ended up being highly honored, with ''Annihilation'' winning 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
Shirley Jackson Shirley Hardie Jackson (December 14, 1916 – August 8, 1965) was an American writer known primarily for her works of horror and mystery. Over the duration of her writing career, which spanned over two decades, she composed six novels, two me ...
Awards for Best Novel. The entire trilogy was also named a finalist for the 2015
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
and the 2016 Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis. ''Annihilation'' was also adapted into a film of the same name by writer-director
Alex Garland Alexander Medawar Garland (born 26 May 1970) is an English writer and filmmaker. He rose to prominence as a novelist in the late 1990s with his novel '' The Beach'', which led some critics to call Garland a key voice of Generation X. He subsequ ...
. The film stars
Natalie Portman Natalie Portman (born Natalie Hershlag, he, נטע-לי הרשלג, ) is an Israeli-born American actress. She has had a prolific film career since her teenage years and has starred in various blockbusters and independent films, receiving mu ...
,
Gina Rodriguez Gina Alexis Rodriguez-LoCicero (born July 30, 1984) is an American actress. She is known for her leading role as Jane Villanueva in The CW satirical romantic dramedy series ''Jane the Virgin'' (2014–2019), for which she received a Golden Glo ...
,
Tessa Thompson Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College. She appeared in productions of '' The Tempest ...
,
Jennifer Jason Leigh Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough as Stacy Hamilton in '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982). Sh ...
, and
Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor. Known for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his gene ...
.


Later writing

In 2017 VanderMeer released '' Borne,'' a "biotech apocalypse" novelBorne by Jeff VanderMeer review – after the biotech apocalypse
" by Neel Mukherjee, The Guardian, June 15, 2017.
about a scavenger named Rachel trying to survive both a city "plunged into a primordial realm of myth, fable, and fairy tale" and a five-story-tall flying bear named Mord. As with the Southern Reach trilogy, the novel was highly praised, with ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' saying, "VanderMeer’s recent work has been
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
ian in its underpinnings, exploring the radical transformation of life forms and the seams between them." ''
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 ...
'' said the novel reads "like a dispatch from a world lodged somewhere between science fiction, myth, and a video game" and that with ''Borne'' Vandermeer has essentially invented a new literary genre, "weird literature." Paramount Pictures has optioned the film rights to ''Borne''. In August 2017 VanderMeer released the novella '' The Strange Bird: A Borne Story''.Four Questions for...Jeff VanderMeer
" by John Maher, Publishers Weekly, August 1, 2017.
The stand-alone story is set in the same world as ''Borne'' but featuring different characters. Dead Astronauts, a stand-alone short novel set in the Borne universe, was released on December 3, 2019. VanderMeer's upcoming novels include ''Hummingbird Salamander'', which is set ten seconds into the future and deals with "bioterrorism, ecoterrorism, and climate change," and a
young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...
series called ''Jonathan Lambshead and the Golden Sphere''. He is also working on a story called "The Three," based on the dead astronauts mentioned in ''Borne'', along with another Southern Reach story.


Literary criticism and editing

VanderMeer is a frequent writer of critical literary reviews and essays, which have appeared in numerous publications including ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
,
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' Book World, ''
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 ...
'', and other places. For a number of years he was a regular columnist for the Amazon book-culture blog and has served as a judge for the
Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...
, among others. He has been a guest speaker at such diverse events as the Brisbane Writers Festival,
Finncon Finncon is the largest science fiction convention in Finland and, with up to 15,000 participants, one of the largest SF conventions in Europe. Finncon is unique among SF conventions because it has no participation/membership fee, and is funded pr ...
in Helsinki, and the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
annual conference. In 2019, VanderMeer was a judge for the
National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...
. VanderMeer has also edited a number of anthologies. He won a 2003
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
for ''Leviathan, Volume Three'', a collection of genre-bending stories he edited with
Forrest Aguirre Forrest Aguirre (born July 29, 1969) is an American fantasy and Horror fiction, horror author, and winner of the 2003 World Fantasy Award for his editing work on ''Leviathan 3'', for which he was also a Philip K. Dick Award nominee. He recently ed ...
. He and Mark Roberts were also finalists for the same award the next year for the anthology ''The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases''. Most of his recent anthologies have been collaborations with his wife,
Ann VanderMeer Ann VanderMeer (née Kennedy) is an American publisher and editor, and the second female editor of the horror magazine '' Weird Tales''. She is the founder of Buzzcity Press. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantas ...
, the Hugo-award-winning former editor of ''
Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...
''. These anthologies include '' The New Weird'', a collection of stories from New Weird authors; ''Last Drink Bird Head'', a charity anthology benefiting literacy; ''
The Weird ''The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories'' is an anthology of weird fiction edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. Published on 30 Oct 2011, it contains 110 short stories, novellas and short novels. At 1,152 pages in the hardcover editi ...
'', a
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
winning collection of weird fiction; '' Time Traveler's Almanac'', an anthology of time-travel fiction; ''Fast Ships, Black Sails'', a pirate fiction anthology; and 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 ...
winning ''The Big Book of Science Fiction''. VanderMeer is the founding editor and publisher of the ''Ministry of Whimsy Press'', which he set up in the late 1980s while still in high school. The press is currently an imprint of Wyrm Publishing. One of the ''Ministrys publications, ''
The Troika ''The Troika'' is a 1997 science fiction novel by American writer Stepan Chapman. Written in surrealist style, the novel features a highly complex plot mixing fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elemen ...
'' by
Stepan Chapman Stepan Chapman (May 27, 1951 — January 27, 2014) was an American writer of speculative fiction and fabulation. He is best known for the Philip K. Dick Award winning novel '' The Troika''. Chapman was born and raised in Chicago and then studied ...
, won 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, ...
in 1997.


Teaching

VanderMeer has been involved in teaching creative writing. One of the projects he is involved with is Shared Worlds, an annual two-week program that aims to teach creative writing to teenagers. VanderMeer has also taught at the
Clarion 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 ...
and at Trinity Prep School. In addition to his teaching, VanderMeer has also written guides to creative writing such as ''Wonderbook'', which won a BSFA Award, a Locus Award, and was nominated for a Hugo and World Fantasy Award.


Critical reputation

VanderMeer has been called "one of the most remarkable practitioners of the literary fantastic in America today," with ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' naming him the "King of Weird Fiction." VanderMeer's fiction is noted for eluding genre classifications even as his works bring in themes and elements from genres such as
postmodernism Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or Rhetorical modes, mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by philosophical skepticism, skepticis ...
,
ecofiction Ecofiction (also "eco-fiction" or "eco fiction") is the branch of literature that encompasses nature-oriented (non-human) or environment-oriented ( human impacts on nature) works of fiction. While this super genre's roots are seen in classic, pasto ...
, the New Weird and
post-apocalyptic fiction Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
. VanderMeer's fiction has been described as "evocative (with) intellectual observations both profound and disturbing" and "lyrical and harrowing," with his mixing of genres producing "something unique and unsettling." VanderMeer's writing has been compared with the works of
Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...
,
Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typi ...
, and
Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and hi ...
.


Personal life

In 2003, VanderMeer married Ann Kennedy, then editor for the small Buzzcity Press and magazine the ''Silver Web''. They have two cats. One is named Neo.


Awards

VanderMeer has been nominated for the
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
14 times. He has also won an NEA-funded Florida Individual Writers' Fellowship, and, the Le Cafard Cosmique award in France and the Tähtifantasia Award in Finland, both for ''City of Saints''. He has also been a finalist for the Hugo Award,
Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...
,
International Horror Guild Award The International Horror Guild Award (also known as the IHG Award) was an accolade recognizing excellence in the field of Horror fiction, horror/dark fantasy, presented by the International Horror Guild (IHG) from 1995 to 2008. The IHG Awards wer ...
,
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, ...
, and many others. Novels such as ''
Veniss Underground ''Veniss Underground'' is a 2003 fantasy novel by American writer Jeff VanderMeer, following the adult lives of three different protagonists across a short period of time in the decadent, surreal city of Veniss, which is situated above a vast un ...
'' and '' Shriek: An Afterword'' have made the year's best lists of Amazon.com, ''
The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
'', the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...
'', and ''
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 ...
'', among others. Other Awards include: * 2000 –
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
for the novella ''The Transformation of Martin Lake'' * 2003 –
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
for his anthology ''Leviathan 3'' (with Forrest Aguirre) * 2009 –
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
nomination for ''Finch'' * 2009 – Nebula Award nomination for Best Novel for ''Finch'' * 2012 –
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
for his anthology ''The Weird'' (with
Ann VanderMeer Ann VanderMeer (née Kennedy) is an American publisher and editor, and the second female editor of the horror magazine '' Weird Tales''. She is the founder of Buzzcity Press. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantas ...
) * 2013 –
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 ...
for Best Non-Fiction for ''Wonderbook'' * 2013 –
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 ...
for Best Non-Fiction for ''Wonderbook'' * 2013 – Hugo Award nomination for ''Wonderbook'' * 2013 –
World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...
nomination for ''Wonderbook'' * 2014 – Nebula Award for Best Novel for ''Annihilation'' * 2014 –
Shirley Jackson Award The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented a ...
for Best Novel for ''Annihilation''


Bibliography


Novels

* ''Dradin, In Love'' (1996, collected in all editions of ''City of Saints and Madmen'') * ''The Hoegbotton Guide to the Early History of Ambergris, by Duncan Shriek'' (1999, collected in all editions of ''City of Saints and Madmen'') * ''
Veniss Underground ''Veniss Underground'' is a 2003 fantasy novel by American writer Jeff VanderMeer, following the adult lives of three different protagonists across a short period of time in the decadent, surreal city of Veniss, which is situated above a vast un ...
'' (2003) * '' Shriek: An Afterword'' (2006) * ''
Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
: South China Sea'' (2008) * ''
Finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
'' (2009) *
Southern Reach Trilogy The ''Southern Reach Trilogy'' is a series of novels by the American author Jeff VanderMeer first published in 2014—''Annihilation'', ''Authority'', and ''Acceptance''. The trilogy takes its name from the secret agency that is central to th ...
: ** ''
Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy ...
'' (2014) ** ''
Authority In the fields of sociology and political science, authority is the legitimate power of a person or group over other people. In a civil state, ''authority'' is practiced in ways such a judicial branch or an executive branch of government.''The N ...
'' (2014) ** ''
Acceptance Acceptance in human psychology is a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempting to change it or protest it. The concept is close in meaning to ...
'' (2014) ** Absolution (forthcoming) * '' Borne'' (2017) * '' Dead Astronauts'' (2019) * The Misadventures of Jonathan Lambshead: ** '' A Peculiar Peril'' (2020) ** A Terrible Trouble (forthcoming) * ''Hummingbird Salamander'' (2021) * ''The Journals of Doctor Mormeck'' (forthcoming) * ''The Book Murderer'' (forthcoming) * The Stone Shed (forthcoming) * Drone Love (forthcoming)


Nonfiction

* * * (With S. J. Chambers) * *


Collections

* ''The Book of Frog'' (1989) * ''The Book of Lost Places'' (1996) * ''
City of Saints and Madmen ''City of Saints and Madmen: The Book of Ambergris'' is a collection of fantasy short stories by American writer Jeff VanderMeer, set in the fictional metropolis of Ambergris. The setting was further explored in the novels '' Shriek: An Afterword ...
: The Book of Ambergris'' (2001) ** ''City of Saints and Madmen'' (2002, substantially expanded from the 2001 edition) ** ''City of Saints and Madmen'' (2004, expanded from the 2002 edition) * ''The Day Dali Died'' (2003) * ''Secret Life'' (2004) * ''Why Should I Cut Your Throat?'' (non-fiction, 2004) * ''VanderMeer 2005'' (promotional sampler, 2005) * ''Secret Lives'' (2006) * ''The Surgeon's Tale and Other Stories'' (with
Cat Rambo Cat Rambo (born November 14, 1963) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and editor. Rambo uses they/them pronouns. Rambo was co-editor of ''Fantasy Magazine (2005), Fantasy Magazine'' from 2007 to 2011, which earned them a 2012 Wor ...
, 2007) * ''The Third Bear'' (2010,
Tachyon Publications Tachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies ...
) * ''Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy: Annihilation; Authority; Acceptance'' (2014)


Short fiction

* "Mansions of the Moon" (2001) in
Nemonymous ''Nemonymous'' was a short fiction publication that labeled itself a "megazanthus" (a portmanteau of magazine and anthology). It was published in the United Kingdom from 2001–2010, and edited by British writer D. F. Lewis. This publication wa ...
1 * "My Report on the Secret Life of Shane Hamill" (2006) in ''
Eidolon I ''Eidolon I'' is a 2006 speculative fiction anthology edited by Jonathan Strahan and Jeremy G. Byrne. Background ''Eidolon I'' was first published in 2006 by Eidolon Books in trade paperback format. It was a short-list nominee for the 2007 Di ...
'' (ed.
Jonathan Strahan Jonathan Strahan (born 1964, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is an editor and publisher of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. His family moved to Perth, Western Australia in 1968, and he graduated from the University of Western Australia with a ...
,
Jeremy G. Byrne Jeremy may refer to: * Jeremy (given name), a given name * Jérémy, a French given name * ''Jeremy'' (film), a 1973 film * "Jeremy" (song), a song by Pearl Jam * Jeremy (snail), a left-coiled garden snail that died in 2017 * ''Jeremy'', a 1919 ...
) * "Fixing Hanover" (2008) in '' Extraordinary Engines'' and reprinted in ''
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' (2012) ed.
Sean Wallace Sean Wallace (born January 1, 1976) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologist, editor, and publisher best known for founding the publishing house Prime Books and for co-editing three magazines, '' Clarkesworld Magazine'', '' ...
* ''The Mona Lisa'' (2009) in Halo: Evolutions * ''The Strange Bird'' (2017) * ''The World is Full of Monsters'' (2017)


Other projects

* ''
The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (with
Ann VanderMeer Ann VanderMeer (née Kennedy) is an American publisher and editor, and the second female editor of the horror magazine '' Weird Tales''. She is the founder of Buzzcity Press. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantas ...
, 2010,
Tachyon Publications Tachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies ...
)


Anthologies edited

* ''Leviathan 1'' (with Luke O'Grady, 1994) * ''Leviathan 2'' (with
Rose Secrest A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
, 1998) * ''Leviathan 3'' (with
Forrest Aguirre Forrest Aguirre (born July 29, 1969) is an American fantasy and Horror fiction, horror author, and winner of the 2003 World Fantasy Award for his editing work on ''Leviathan 3'', for which he was also a Philip K. Dick Award nominee. He recently ed ...
, 2002) * ''Album Zutique'' (2003) * '' The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases'' (with Mark Roberts, 2003) * '' The New Weird'' (with
Ann VanderMeer Ann VanderMeer (née Kennedy) is an American publisher and editor, and the second female editor of the horror magazine '' Weird Tales''. She is the founder of Buzzcity Press. Work from her press and related periodicals has won the British Fantas ...
, 2007) * ''Best American Fantasy'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2007) * ''Best American Fantasy: v. 2'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2008) * ''Last Drink Bird Head'', (2008) * '' Steampunk'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2008) * ''
Fast Ships, Black Sails Fast or FAST may refer to: * Fast (noun), high speed or velocity * Fast (noun, verb), to practice fasting, abstaining from food and/or water for a certain period of time Acronyms and coded Computing and software * ''Faceted Application of Subje ...
'', (with Ann VanderMeer, 2009) – Fantasy pirate stories * ''Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded'' (2010) * ''The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2011) * ''
The Weird ''The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories'' is an anthology of weird fiction edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. Published on 30 Oct 2011, it contains 110 short stories, novellas and short novels. At 1,152 pages in the hardcover editi ...
'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2012) * ''
The Time Traveler's Almanac ''The Time Traveler's Almanac'' (British title: ''The Time Traveller's Almanac'') is a 2013 anthology edited by Ann VanderMeer, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. It contains stories that focus on time travel. It was released in November 2013 in the UK and ...
'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2014) * ''Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2015) * ''The Big Book of Science Fiction: The Ultimate Collection'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2016) * ''The Big Book of Classic Fantasy'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2019) * ''The Big Book of Modern Fantasy'' (with Ann VanderMeer, 2020)


References


External links

*
Golden Gryphon Press official site
– About ''Secret Life'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandermeer, Jeff 1968 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American bloggers American environmentalists American fantasy writers American horror writers American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American male short story writers American people of Dutch descent American science fiction writers American speculative fiction critics Environmental fiction writers Living people Nebula Award winners People from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Postmodern writers Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem winners Science fiction critics Steampunk writers Weird fiction writers World Fantasy Award-winning writers Writers of books about writing fiction