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Jo Walton (born 1964) is a Welsh and Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel '' Among Others'', which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and '' Tooth and Claw'', a Victorian era novel with dragons which won the World Fantasy Award in 2004. Other works by Walton include the ''Small Change'' series, in which she blends
alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
with the cozy mystery genre, comprising '' Farthing'', '' Ha'penny'' and '' Half a Crown''. Her fantasy novel '' Lifelode'' won the 2010
Mythopoeic Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...
, and her alternate history '' My Real Children'' received the 2015 Tiptree Award. Walton is also known for her non-fiction, including book reviews and SF commentary in the magazine ''
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...
''. A collection of her articles were published in ''What Makes This Book So Great'' (2014), which won the Locus Award for Best Non-Fiction.


Background

Walton was born in 1964 in
Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydfi ...
, a town in the
Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. Cynon Valley lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash is in the south of t ...
of Wales.Jo Walton's Among Others: 'It's a mythologisation of part of my life'
at the Guardian; by David Barnett; published 2 October 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2013
She went to Park School in Aberdare, then Aberdare Girls' Grammar School. She lived for a year in Cardiff, went to Howell's School Llandaff and finished her education at
Oswestry School Oswestry School is an ancient public school (English independent day and boarding school), located in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. It was founded in 1407 as a 'free' school, being independent of the church. This gives it the distinction of b ...
in Shropshire and at the
University of Lancaster , mottoeng = Truth lies open to all , established = , endowment = £13.9 million , budget = £317.9 million , type = Public , city = Bailrigg, City of Lancaster , country = England , coor = , campus = Bailrigg , faculty = ...
. She lived in London for two years and lived in Lancaster until 1997. She then moved to Swansea, where she lived until she moved to Canada in 2002. Walton is Welsh-Canadian. Walton speaks Welsh: "It's the second language of my family of origin, my grandmother was a well known Welsh scholar and translator, I studied it in school from five to sixteen, I have a ten year old's fluency on grammar and vocab but no problem whatsoever with pronunciation."


Writing career

Walton has been writing since she was 13, but her first novel was not published until 2000. Before that, she had been published in a number of role-playing game publications, such as '' Pyramid'', mostly in collaboration with her husband at the time, Ken Walton, co-founder of the Cakebread & Walton games company. Walton was also active in online science fiction fandom, especially in the Usenet groups ''rec.arts.sf.written'' and ''rec.arts.sf.fandom''. Her poem "The Lurkers Support Me in E-Mail" is widely quoted on it and in other online arguments, often without her name attached. Walton's first three novels, '' The King's Peace'' (2000), '' The King's Name'' (2001), and '' The Prize in the Game'' (2002) were all fantasy and set in the same world, which is based on
Arthurian King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
Britain and the Táin Bó Cúailnge's Ireland. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2002. Her next novel, '' Tooth and Claw'' (2003) was intended as a novel
Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves arou ...
could have written, but about dragons rather than humans. '' Farthing'' was her first science fiction novel, placing the genre of the cozy mystery firmly inside an
alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
in which the United Kingdom made peace with
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
before the involvement of the United States in World War II. It was nominated for a Nebula Award, a Quill Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel, and the
Sidewise Award for Alternate History The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year. Overview The awards take their name from the 1934 short story "Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in wh ...
. A sequel, '' Ha'penny'', was published in October 2007 by Tor Books, with the final book in the trilogy, '' Half a Crown,'' published in September 2008. ''Ha'penny'' won the 2008 Prometheus Award (jointly with
Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...
's novel ''The Gladiator'') and has been nominated for the
Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...
. In April 2007, Howard V. Hendrix stated that professional writers should never release their writings online for free, as this made them equivalent to scabs.Hendrix's "webscabs" post on LiveJournal
, April 2007
Walton responded to this by declaring 23 April as
International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day is a commemoration declared by author Jo Walton, held on April 23 and first celebrated in 2007, in response to remarks made by Howard V. Hendrix stating that he was opposed "to the increasing presence ...
, a day in which writers who disagreed with Hendrix could release their stories online en masse. In 2008 Walton celebrated this day by posting several chapters of an unfinished sequel to ''Tooth and Claw'', ''Those Who Favor Fire.'' In 2008, Walton began writing an online column for
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...
, mostly retrospective reviews of older books. A collection of these blog posts were published in ''What Makes This Book So Great'' (2014). She also wrote a series of articles revisiting the Hugo award nominees for each year from 1953 to 2000, which were later collected as '' An Informal History of the Hugos'' (2018). Her book, '' Among Others'' (2012), won several awards, including both the Hugo Award for Best Novel and
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 ...
. Her recent works include the alternate history '' My Real Children'' (2014), which won the Tiptree Award; the '' Thessaly'' trilogy (2015–16), a science fiction/fantasy series involving the Greek Gods and a re-imagining of Plato's ''Republic''; and the historical fantasy '' Lent'' (2019), set in renaissance Italy. Her 2020 novel '' Or What You Will'' is a meta-fictional novel about immortality and creativity, featuring an ageing fantasy novelist writing a book set in renaissance Florence. In February 2018, Walton was the Literary/Fan Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 36th annual
Life, the Universe, & Everything ''Life, the Universe, & Everything: The Marion K. "Doc" Smith Symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy'' is an academic conference held annually since 1983 in Provo, Utah. It is the longest-running science fiction and fantasy convention in Utah, ...
professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium. In November 2022, Walton released her original audio drama ''Heart's Home'', based on a Welsh folk tale, with Odyssey Theatre as part of '' The Other Path'' podcast.


Awards


Personal life

Walton moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, after her first novel was published. She is married to Emmet A. O'Brien. She has one child, a son, Alexander, born 1990.


Bibliography


Novels

* '' Tooth and Claw'' (November 2003, Tor Books, ) Won the World Fantasy Award. * '' Lifelode'' (February 2009,
NESFA Press NESFA Press is the publishing arm of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. The NESFA Press primarily produces three types of books: * Books honoring the guest(s) of honor at their annual convention, Boskone, and at some Worldcons and ...
, ) * '' Among Others'' (January 2011, Tor Books );
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 ...
2011, Hugo Award for Best Novel 2012, World Fantasy Award nominee * '' My Real Children'' (May 2014, Tor Books, ); Tiptree Award 2014, World Fantasy Award nominee,The 2015 World Fantasy Award Nominees Have Been Announced!
at
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...
; published 8 July 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015
Aurora Award The Aurora Awards (french: Prix Aurora-Boréal) are a set of primarily literary awards given annually for the best Canadian science fiction or fantasy professional and fan works and achievements from the previous year."Literary glow of Auroras lure ...
nominee2015 Aurora Awards Nominees
at ''
Locus Online ''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy fiel ...
''; published 26 May 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015
* '' Lent'' (May 2019, Tor Books, ) * '' Or What You Will'' (July 2020, Tor Books, ) ;Sulien series * '' The King's Peace'' (2000, Tor Books) * '' The King's Name'' (December 2001, Tor Books, ) * '' The Prize in the Game'' (December 2002, Tor Books, ) ;Small Change trilogy * '' Farthing'' (August 2006, Tor Books, ) * '' Ha'penny'' (October 2007, Tor Books, ) * '' Half a Crown'' (August 2008, Tor Books, ) ;Thessaly trilogy * ''
The Just City ''The Just City'' is a science fiction/fantasy novel by Jo Walton, published by Tor Books in January 2015. It is the first book of the '' Thessaly trilogy''. The sequel '' The Philosopher Kings'' was published in June 2015, and the final volume, ...
'' (January 2015, Tor Books, ) * ''
The Philosopher Kings The Philosopher Kings are a Canadian band. The band was most commercially successful in the late 1990s and have been nominated for five Juno Awards, winning one in 1996 for "Best New Group". Most of the band members, current and former, have also ...
'' (June 2015, Tor Books, ) * '' Necessity'' (July 2016, Tor Books, )


Other works

* '' GURPS Celtic Myth'' (with Ken Walton) (1995, roleplaying supplement) * ''The End of the World in Duxford'' (1997), a poem inspired by Larry Niven's short story
Inconstant Moon ''Inconstant Moon'' is a science fiction short story collection by American author Larry Niven that was published in 1973. "Inconstant Moon" is also a 1971 short story that is included in the collection. The title refers to "O, swear not by the ...
* ''Muses and Lurkers'' (2001, poetry chapbook, edited by Eleanor Evans) * ''Realms of Sorcery'' (with Ken Walton) (2001, roleplaying supplement for Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play) * ''Sybils and Spaceships'', poetry chapbook (2009, NESFA Press) * ''What Makes This Book So Great,'' collected essays and book reviews (2014, Tor Books, ) * ''Starlings'', short story and poetry collection (2018,
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 anthologie ...
) * '' An Informal History of the Hugos'', collected essays and book reviews (2018, Tor Books)


Short stories

* "Sleeper" (2014,
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...
)
"Escape to Other Worlds with Science Fiction"
(2009,
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...
) * "The Jump Rope Rhyme" (2017,
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...
) * "A Burden Shared" (2017,
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...
)


Essays

* "Story behind ''Ha'Penny'' by Jo Walton" (2013), from ''Story Behind the Book : Volume 1''''Story Behind the Book : Volume 1 – Essays on Writing Speculative Fiction''


References


External links

*
Jo Walton's LiveJournal
(deleted 10 April 2017; see Walton's note a


Jo Walton's page at Tor.com
with links to her reviews
Searchable Index of Jo Walton's Tor.com posts
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Jo 1964 births Living people 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Welsh women writers 21st-century Welsh novelists 21st-century Welsh women writers Alumni of Lancaster University Anglo-Welsh novelists British alternative history writers British science fiction writers British women bloggers Canadian alternative history writers Canadian fantasy writers Canadian science fiction writers Canadian women bloggers Canadian women novelists Chapbook writers Hugo Award-winning writers John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer winners Nebula Award winners People educated at Howell's School Llandaff People educated at Oswestry School People from Aberdare Science fiction fans Usenet people Welsh bloggers Welsh emigrants to Canada Welsh fantasy writers Welsh science fiction writers Welsh women novelists Women historical novelists Women science fiction and fantasy writers World Fantasy Award-winning writers Writers of modern Arthurian fiction