Mary Soon Lee (born 1965) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

writer and poet.

Biography

Early life

Mary Soon Lee was born in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

, to a Malaysian Chinese father and an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

mother. As a child, she enjoyed reading science fiction and fantasy, especially the works of

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

and

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

. She cites J.R.R. Tolkien's ''

Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'' and the fantasy poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, among others, as works that influenced her relationship to literature from an early age. As a child, Soon Lee wanted to be a scientist, but her focus narrowed to mathematics in her teenage years.

Education and career

Soon Lee earned a Master of Arts in mathematics and a diploma in computer science from

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. She also holds a Master of Science in Astronautics and Space Engineering from Cranfield University. In 1990, Soon Lee moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She began writing television scripts and short stories shortly thereafter, making her first professional sale in 1993. Since that time, her poems and short stories, mostly pertaining to the genres of science fiction or fantasy, have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and she has published collections of her work.

Marriage and children

Soon Lee currently resides in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

with her husband and daughter, both of whom occasionally act as first readers for her work. She also has a son.

Recognition

Poems by Mary Soon Lee placed first in the

Rhysling Awards __NOTOC__ The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best speculative poetry, 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 ...

for speculative poetry in the Long category in 2014 and in the Short category in 2018. Poems of hers placed third in the Long category of the Rhyslings in 2017 and 2018, and her work was nominated for both categories of the award on several other occasions. Soon Lee's poetry collections ''Crowned: The Sign Of The Dragon Book 1'' and ''Elemental Haiku'' placed first in 2016 and second in 2020, respectively, in the annual

Elgin Awards The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) is a society based in the United States with the aim of fostering an international community of writers and readers interested in poetry pertaining to the genres of science fiction, fantasy, ...

for best SFF poetry book. Her fiction has been widely anthologized, including appearances in volumes 4 and 5 of ''

Year's Best SF ''Year's Best SF'' was a science fiction anthology series edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer. Hartwell started the series in 1996, and co-edited it with Cramer from 2002 until the final volume in 2013. It was published by HarperCollin ...

'' and honorable mentions in volumes 16 and 18 of ''

The Year's Best Science Fiction ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' was a series of science fiction anthology, anthologies edited by American Gardner Dozois until his death in 2018. The series, which is unrelated to the similarly titled and themed ''Year's Best SF'', was publish ...

''.

Bibliography

Short fiction

;Collections * ''Winter Shadows and Other Tales'' (2001) * ''Ebb Tides and Other Tales'' (2002)

Poetry

;Collections * ''Crowned'' (2015) * ''Elemental Haiku'' (2019) * ''The Sign of the Dragon'' (2020) ;List of poems

References

External links

*
Bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Mary Soon 1965 births Living people 20th-century American women writers 20th-century British short story writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century British short story writers Alumni of the University of Cambridge American short story writers American women short story writers British fantasy writers British science fiction writers British women short story writers The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Women science fiction and fantasy writers Writers from London Writers from Pennsylvania