Monica Hughes (November 3, 1925 – March 7, 2003) was an

English-Canadian English Canadians (french: Canadiens anglais or ), or Anglo-Canadians (french: Anglo-Canadiens), refers to either Canadians of English ethnic origin and heritage or to English-speaking or Anglophone Canadians of any ethnic origin; it is us ...

author of books for children and young adults, especially

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

. She also wrote

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

and historical novels set in Canada, and the text for some children's picture books. She may be known best for the Isis trilogy of young-adult science fiction novels (1980–1982).

Life

Monica Hughes lived in many different countries, including

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, Scotland, England and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. She was the daughter of Phylis Fry and E.L Ince. Both her parents worked at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

, where her father was a mathematician and her mother a biologist. In her school years, her teachers always encouraged her to write and join essay writing

competitions Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

. Hughes attended

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

from 1942 to 1943. While in school, Hughes' academic studies were interrupted as a result of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She joined the

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

service, the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the ...

, from the years 1943–1946, cracking German codes. After returning from the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, Hughes went back to school to study

Meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

. She married Glen Hughes on April 22, 1957, and together they had 4 children. Before becoming a writer, Hughes had many other careers. She was a dress designer in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

England, and

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...

between the years 1948–1949. She was also a bank clerk in 1951, and a laboratory technician from 1952 to 1957. Having written over 35 books for young people, Monica Hughes is known as one of Canada's best writers for children and young adults. Many of her books are

. Monica Hughes has repeatedly been called "Canada's finest writer of science fiction for children", by critic Sarah Ellis in ''The

Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

''. When not writing or not in school, Hughes was said to enjoy swimming, walking, gardening and beachcombing.

Writer

Hughes wrote about 40 books including more than 20 that

ISFDB The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...

covers as speculative fiction novels. Although she spent a large part of her life writing, she was almost fifty when her first book was published. That was ''Gold-Fever Trail: A Klondike Adventure'', a Canadian historical novel (see Klondike Gold Rush). The Isis trilogy comprises ''The Keeper of the Isis Light'' and two sequels, originally published by Hamish Hamilton of London, 1980 to 1982. Accepting the Phoenix Award for ''Keeper'' twenty years later, Hughes discussed her writing process in general and specifically for that work.

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

reports that ''Invitation to the Game'' (Toronto: HarperCollins, 1990) is her work most widely held in participating libraries, by a wide margin. It is a dystopian novel set on Earth in year 2154. Her last book was ''The Maze'' (2002). It features a female protagonist and two bullies magically placed in a maze, where they all depend on her for rescue.

Awards

''The Keeper of the Isis Light'' won the 2000

Phoenix Award The Phoenix Award annually recognizes one English-language children's book published twenty years earlier that did not then win a major literary award. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix that is reborn from its own ashes, signifying the ...

from the

Children's Literature Association The Children's Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association, based in the United States, of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers, and institutions dedicated to studying children's literature.Margaret W. Denman- ...

as the best English-language children's book that did not win a major award when it was originally published twenty years earlier. That is named for the mythical bird phoenix, which is reborn from its ashes, to suggest the book's rise from obscurity. ''Invitation to the Game'' (Toronto: HarperCollins, 1990) won the Hal Clement Award as the year's best science fiction novel for young adults."1992 Golden Duck Awards"
. The Locus Index to SF Awards.

Locus Publications ''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 fields ...

. Retrieved 2012-12-13. Hughes also won the Vicky Metcalf Award, Alberta Culture Juvenile Novel Award, Bay's Beaver Award, and Alberta R. Ross Annett Award.

Works

References

External links

Monica Hughes
at Fantastic Fiction * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Monica 1925 births 2003 deaths Canadian science fiction writers English science fiction writers Canadian children's writers English children's writers Officers of the Order of Canada British emigrants to Canada Writers from Edmonton Novelists from Liverpool Women science fiction and fantasy writers British women children's writers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British women writers