Judith Moffett (born 1942) is an

American author American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

and academic. She has published poetry, nonfiction, science fiction, and translations of Swedish literature. She has been awarded grants and fellowships from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

and the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

and presented a paper on the translation of poetry at a 1998 Nobel Symposium. She began her career writing poetry and about poets, including a 1984 book about

James Merrill James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 – February 6, 1995) was an American poet. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1977 for ''Divine Comedies.'' His poetry falls into two distinct bodies of work: the polished and formalist lyri ...

, who was both her friend and mentor. Moffett still writes for organizations such as the

Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is a national, member-supported organization that promotes poets and the art of poetry. The nonprofit organization was incorporated in the state of New York in 1934. It fosters the readership of poetry through outreac ...

. She did not publish science fiction until 1986, but gained almost immediate attention by winning the first

Theodore Sturgeon Award The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story ...

in 1987. Her first novel, '' Pennterra'' in 1987, further enhanced her reputation. It is noted both for its treatment of alien sexuality and as an example of

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

in science fiction.Article Title
/ref> In the following year, 1988, she won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction. In 1989 her novella "Tiny Tango" also received award nominations.

Bibliography

Novels

*'' Pennterra'' (Congdon & Weed, 1987; reprint edition, Fantastic Books, 2009; ebook editions: SF Gateway/Orion Publishing Group, 2015) *''The Ragged World'' (Holy Ground Trilogy, Book 1, St. Martin's Press, 1991; ebook editions: SF Gateway/Orion Publishing Group, 2015) *''Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream'' (Holy Ground Trilogy, Book 2, St. Martin's Press, 1992; ebook editions: SF Gateway/Orion Publishing Group, 2015) *''The Bird Shaman'' (Holy Ground Trilogy, Book 3, Bascom Hill Publishing Group, 2008; ebook editions: SF Gateway/Orion Publishing Group, 2015)

Collections

*''Keeping Time: Poems'' (LSU Press, 1976, poems) *''Whinny Moor Crossing'' (Princeton University Press, 1984, poems) *''Two that Came True'' (Pulphouse Publishing, Author's Choice Monthly #19, 1991, science-fiction stories; ebook edition: SF Gateway/Orion Publishing Group, 2015) *''Tarzan in Kentucky'' (David Robert Books, 2015, poems) *''The Bear's Baby and Other Stories'' (SF Gateway/Orion Publishing Group, 2017, ebook edition, short stories)

Chapbooks

*''Tiny Tango'' (Amazon Digital Publishing ebook, 2014)

Translations from the Swedish

*''Gentleman, Single, Refined and Selected Poems, 1937-1959 by

Hjalmar Gullberg Hjalmar Gullberg (30 May 1898 – 19 July 1961) was a Swedish poet and translator. Career Gullberg was born in Malmö, Scania. As a student at Lund University, he was the editor of the student magazine Lundagård. He was the manager of t ...

'' (LSU Press, 1979) *''The North! To The North! Five Swedish Poets of the Nineteenth Century'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 2001)

Short stories

* "After Three Wordsworths" (''Shenandoah'', March 1980) * "Surviving" (''F&SF'', June 1986) * "The Hob" (''Asimov's'', May 1988) * "Tiny Tango" (''Asimov's'', February 1989) * "Not Without Honor" (''Asimov's'', May 1989) * "Remembrance of Things Future" (''Asimov's'', December 1989) * "I, Said the Cow" (''F&SF'', January 1990) * "Final Tomte" (''F&SF'', June 1990) * "The Ragged Rock" (''Asimov's'', December 1990) * "Chickasaw Slave" (''Asimov's'', September 1991) (collected in

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct ...

's anthology

Alternate Presidents ''Alternate Presidents'' is an alternate history anthology edited by Mike Resnick, published in the United States by Tor Books. There are 28 stories in the anthology, including Resnick's own "The Bull Moose at Bay". The other remaining storie ...

in 1992) * "The Realms of Glory" (''Heaven Sent'', Peter Crowther and Martin H. Greenberg, eds, DAW Books, 1995) * "The Bradshaw" (''F&SF'', October 1998) * "The Bear's Baby" (''F&SF'', October/November 2003) * "The Bird Shaman's Girl" (''F&SF'', October/November 2007) * "The Middle of Somewhere" (''Welcome to the Greenhouse'', Gordon Van Gelder, ed, OR Books, 2011) * "Ten Lights and Darks" (''F&SF'', January/February 2013) * "Space Ballet"
''Tor.com''
February 4, 2014)

Non-fiction

"The Habit of Imagining"
(essay about The Golden Rule, ''

The Christian Century ''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and reviews ...

'', Vol. 92, December 24, 1975) *''James Merrill: An Introduction to the Poetry'' (Columbia University Press, 1984)
"Confessions of a Metamorph"
(essay, ''

Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, US, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ...

'', New Series, Vol. 15, Fall 1993) *''Homestead Year: Back to the Land in Suburbia'' (Lyons & Burford, 1995; revised trade paperback edition, iUniverse, 2011)
"Days of 1973: A Week in Athens"
(an excerpt from a James Merrill memoir, '' Notre Dame Review'', Summer/Fall 2012)
"Strange Attractor: On James Merrill (and myself) in and out of the classroom,"
''The Smart Set'',

Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...

, 07/23/2015
"Mixed Messages"
(an excerpt from ''Unlikely Friends: A Memoir''; begins on page 17 at the link) *''Unlikely Friends - James Merrill and Judith Moffett: A Memoir'' (Amazon Digital Services, 2019; ebook and print editions)

Awards, honors, and recognitions

* 1967 Fulbright Teaching Fellowship to the University of Lund, Sweden * 1971 First prize, Graduate Division, in the Academy of American Poets Contest at the University of Pennsylvania * 1973 Fulbright Travel Grant to Sweden * 1973 Eunice Tietjens Prize from ''

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

'' magazine * 1976 First

Ingram Merrill Foundation The Ingram Merrill Foundation was a private foundation established in the mid-1950s by poet James Merrill (1926-1995), using funds from his substantial family inheritance.J. D. McClatchyBraving the Elements ''The New Yorker'', 27 March 1995. Retrie ...

Grant in poetry * 1976 Levinson Prize from ''Poetry'' magazine * 1978

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Translation Center Award * 1980 Second Ingram Merrill Foundation Grant * 1981 Poem "Scatsquall in Spring" included in '' Pushcart IV: Best of the Small Presses'' annual collection * 1982 Annual Translation Prize of the

Swedish Academy The Swedish Academy ( sv, Svenska Akademien), founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden, Gustav III, is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish lang ...

* 1983

Translation Grant * 1984

Creative Writing Fellowship Grant * 1987 "Surviving": won the

Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story ...

for the best science fiction story of the year; also a finalist for a 1986

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 novelette category * 1988 Received the

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer The ''Astounding'' Award for Best New Writer (formerly the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer) is given annually to the best new writer whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the two previous ...

at the

World Science Fiction Convention Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

in New Orleans * 1989 "The Hob": a finalist for the 1988 Nebula Award in the novelette category * 1990 "Tiny Tango": a finalist for the 1989 Nebula Award and the 1990

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 ...

in the novella category * 1991 Third Ingram Merrill Foundation Grant for poetry and translation * 1991 ''The Ragged World'': a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' Notable Book * 1992 ''Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream'': a ''New York Times'' Notable Book and shortlisted for the

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 ...

* 1994 Translation grant from the

* 1998 Presenter at the Nobel Symposium on Translation of Poetry and Poetic Prose * 1999 One-year stipend from the Swedish Authors' Fund * 2015 Presenter, "Mixed Messages" (an excerpt from ''Unlikely Friends: A Memoir''), at the James Merrill Symposium, Washington University in St. Louis

References

External links

* Finding aid to th
Daniel Hoffman letters to Judith Moffett, 1970-2012, Ms. Coll. 1026
at th
University of Pennsylvania LibrariesAuthor's Official SiteJudith Moffett Literary Correspondence Collection
at Western Michigan University
The Judith Moffett Papers
at Hanover College

conducted by academic and critic

Farah Mendlesohn Farah Jane Mendlesohn (born 27 July 1968) is a British academic historian, writer on speculative fiction, and active member of science fiction fandom. Mendlesohn is best-known for their 2008 book '' Rhetorics of Fantasy'', which classifies fanta ...

Judith Moffett
at SF Gateway/

Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...

Judith Moffett
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 ...

* *Judith Moffett a
Fantastic Fiction
*Beth Fish Reads blo

February 15, 2010 �
2020 Author Interview
conducted by Rhett Morgan for ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Moffett, Judith 1942 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American science fiction writers American women short story writers American women novelists John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer winners Women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers