John Joseph Vincent Kessel (born September 24, 1950) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. He is a prolific short story writer, and the author of four solo novels, '' Good News From Outer Space'' (1989), ''Corrupting Dr. Nice'' (1997), ''

The Moon and the Other ''The Moon and the Other'' is a science fiction novel by American writer John Kessel. Plot In the twenty-second century, millions live in underground cities under the Moon’s surface. One city-state, the Society of Cousins, is a matriarchy ...

'' (2017), and ''Pride and Prometheus'' (2018), and one novel, ''Freedom Beach'' (1985) in collaboration with his friend

James Patrick Kelly James Patrick Kelly (born April 11, 1951 in Mineola, New York) is an American science fiction author who has won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. Biography Kelly made his first fiction sale in 1975. He graduated magna cum laude fr ...

. Kessel is married to author

Therese Anne Fowler Therese Anne Fowler (born April 22, 1967) is a contemporary American author. She is best known for '' Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald'', published in 2013. The work has been adapted for television by Killer Films and Amazon Studios, with Christi ...

Education

Kessel obtained a B.A. in Physics and English from the University of Rochester in 1972, followed by a M.A. in English from University of Kansas in 1974, and a Ph.D. in English from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

in 1981, where he studied under science fiction writer and scholar

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with '' Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a direct ...

. Since 1982 Kessel has taught classes in American literature, science fiction, fantasy, and fiction writing at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universi ...

, and helped organize the MFA Creative Writing program at NCSU, serving as its first director.

Publications

Kessel won a Nebula Award in 1982 for his novella "Another Orphan", in which the protagonist finds himself living inside the novel ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant white ...

'', and a second for his 2008 novelette "Pride and Prometheus", a story melding the tales of Jane Austen's ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is an 1813 novel of manners by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreci ...

'' and

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

's ''Frankenstein''. This novelette also won a 2009

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 ...

. The intervening 26 years was the longest gap between competitive awards in Nebula history. His short story "Buffalo" won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award and the Locus poll in 1992. His novella "Stories for Men" shared the 2002

James Tiptree, Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, formerly known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science f ...

for science fiction dealing with gender issues with M. John Harrison's novel ''Light''. He has been nominated three times for a World Fantasy Award: 1993 for the ''Meeting in Infinity'' collection, 1999 for the short fiction "Every Angel is Terrifying", and 2009 for the short story "Pride and Prometheus". Kessel is also a widely published science fiction and fantasy critic. His works of criticism include the 2004 essay on Orson Scott Card's novel ''Ender's Game''
"Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality".
With Mark L. Van Name, Kessel created the

Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop is an annual workshop for science fiction writers. Since its origin in 1985, it has been held in Raleigh, North Carolina; Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; and most recently in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. Currently or ...

. Kessel has also edited, with Kelly, three collections of contemporary sf short stories, ''Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology'', ''Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology'', and ''The Secret History of Science Fiction''. In 1994 his play ''Faustfeathers'' received the Paul Green Playwrights' Prize. In 2007 his story "

A Clean Escape ″A Clean Escape″ is a 1985 science fiction short story by American writer John Kessel. The story was first published in ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'' in May 1985, and later adapted into a play by author in 1986. It features a psyc ...

" (previously adapted by Kessel as a one-act play in 1986) was adapted by Sam Egan for ABC's science fiction anthology series '' Masters of Science Fiction''.

Bibliography

Novels

* 1985 ''Freedom Beach'' (with

) * 1989 '' Good News From Outer Space'' ( Nebula Award Nominee) * 1997 '' Corrupting Dr. Nice'' * 2017 ''

'' * 2018 ''Pride and Prometheus''

Short fiction

;Collections * 1992 ''

Meeting in Infinity ''Meeting in Infinity'' is a collection of science fiction stories by American writer John Kessel. It was released in 1992 and was the author's first book published by Arkham House . It was published in an edition of 3,547 copies. Most of the ...

'' (World Fantasy Award Nominee) * 1997 ''The Pure Product'' * 2008 ''The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories'' ;Stories * 1988 "Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner" (June, ''Asimov's SF'') - Nebula Award Nominee * 1991 "Buffalo" (January, '' Fantasy and Science Fiction'') - Sturgeon Award Winner,

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 ...

Winner, Hugo Award Nominee, Nebula Award NomineeReprinted in ''The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology,'' ed. Gordon Van Gelder. San Francisco:

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. ...

(), 2009. * 1993 "The Franchise" (August, ''Asimov's SF'') - Nebula Award nominee, Hugo Award nominee, novelette * 1996 "The Miracle of Ivar Avenue" (from ''Intersections'') - Nebula Award nominee, novelette * 1998 "Every Angel is Terrifying" (October–November, ''Fantasy and Science Fiction'') - World Fantasy Award nominee * 1999 "Ninety Percent of Everything" with

Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His first novel, '' Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was publi ...

and

(September, '' Fantasy and Science Fiction'') - Nebula Award nominee, novella * 2002 "Stories for Men" (October–November, ''Asimov's SF'') -

Winner, Nebula Award Nominee

Anthologies and collections (edited)

* 1996 ''Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology'' (with Mark L. Van Name and Richard Butner) * 1998 ''Memory's Tailor'' (by Laurence Rudner. Kessel was the literary executor after Rudner's death in 1995.) * 2006 ''Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology'' (with James Patrick Kelly) Features stories by Aimee Bender, Michael Chabon, Ted Chiang, Carol Emshwiller, Jeffrey Ford, Karen Joy Fowler, Theodora Goss,

, Kelly Link, M. Rickert, Benjamin Rosenbaum, George Saunders, Bruce Sterling,

Jeff VanderMeer 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 t ...

, and Howard Waldrop * 2007 '' Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology'' (coedited with

) (''

'') * 2009 ''The Secret History of Science Fiction'' (coedited with

) (''

'') * 2011 ''Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka'' (coedited with

) (''

'') * 2012 '' Nebula Awards Showcase 2012'' (coedited with

(Pyr) * 2012 ''Digital Rapture: The Singularity Anthology'' (coedited with

(''

'')

Plays

* 1986 ''

'' * 1994 ''Faustfeathers'' (Paul Green Playwrights' Prize Winner)

Book reviews

References

External links

John Kessel's home page
*
John Kessel Papers, MS 358
at th
Kenneth Spencer Research Library
University of Kansas
Guide to the John Kessel Collection of Science Fiction Magazines 1951-2011

* ttp://www.depauw.edu/sfs/interviews/feehan59interview.htm An interview with John Kesselconducted by Fiona Kelleghan writing as Ellen Feehan
Free download of ''The Baum Plan for Financial Independence'' from the publisher
*
Talk: "The Future as Mirror: How SF Uses the Tomorrow to Understand Today" - Fractal'11 conference

A July 2017 podcast with John Kessel conducted by David Barr Kirtley

A July 2017 podcast with John Kessel conducted by Scott Edelman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessel, John 1950 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American short story writers American male dramatists and playwrights American male novelists American male poets American male short story writers American science fiction writers The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Nebula Award winners North Carolina State University faculty Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from North Carolina Writers from Buffalo, New York