Nancy Anne Kress (born January 20, 1948) is an American

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 ...

writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her

Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...

- and Nebula-winning 1991 novella ''

Beggars in Spain ''Beggars in Spain'' is a 1993 science fiction novel by American writer Nancy Kress. It was originally published as a novella with the same title in ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'' and as a limited edition paperback by Axolotl Press ...

'', which became a novel in 1993. She also won the

Nebula Award for Best Novella The Nebula Award for Best Novella is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novellas. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novella if it is between 17,500 and 4 ...

in 2013 for ''After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall'', and in 2015 for ''Yesterday's Kin''. In addition to her novels, Kress has written numerous short stories and is a regular columnist for ''

Writer's Digest ''Writer's Digest'' is an American magazine aimed at beginning and established writers. It contains interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles. History ''Writer's Digest'' was first published in December 1920 under ...

''. She is a regular at Clarion writing workshops. During the winter of 2008/09, Nancy Kress was the Picador Guest Professor for Literature at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

's Institute for American Studies in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, Germany.

Biography

Born Nancy Anne Koningisor in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, she grew up in East Aurora and attended college at

SUNY Plattsburgh The State University of New York College at Plattsburgh (SUNY Plattsburgh) is a public college in Plattsburgh, New York. The college was founded in 1889 and officially opened in 1890. The college is part of the State University of New York (SUN ...

and graduated with an M.A. in English. Before starting her writing career she taught elementary school and then college English. In 1973, she moved to

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

to marry Michael Joseph Kress. They had two sons, and divorced in 1984. At that time, she went to work at Stanton and Hucko, an

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

. She was married to Marcos Donnelly from 1988 to 1994. In 1998, she married fellow author

Charles Sheffield Charles Sheffield (25 June 1935 – 2 November 2002), an English-born mathematician, physicist and science-fiction writer, served as a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society. ...

, who died in 2002 of a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

. Kress moved back to

, New York, to be near her grown children. In 2009, she moved to Seattle. In February 2011, she married author Jack Skillingstead.

Work

Kress tends to write

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

, or technically realistic stories, often set in a fairly near future. Her fiction often involves genetic engineering and, to a lesser degree,

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

. There are many invented technologies shared between her stories, including "genemod", to refer to genetic engineering, and "foamcast", a lightweight and sturdy building material that appears in many of her novels and short stories. By conducting extensive research, she keeps her topics within the realm of possibility; however, as Kress clarified for one ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'' interviewer, with regards to her partner and fellow science fiction writer, " heffieldpronounces it ''

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

'' fiction, and I pronounce it science '' fiction''." Kress also loves

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, and has written stories around it.

Awards

Nebula Awards 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 ...

**Best Short Story winner (1986): " Out of All Them Bright Stars", ''F&SF'' March 1985 **Best Novella (1991): ''Beggars in Spain'' (Axolotl Press / Pulphouse Feb. 1991) / ''Asimov's'' April 1991 **Best Novelette (1998): "The Flowers of Aulit Prison", ''Asimov's'' Oct./Nov. 1996 **Best Novella (2007): " Fountain of Age", ''Asimov's'' July 2007 **Best Novella (2012): "After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall", Tachyon Publications **Best Novella (2014): "Yesterday's Kin", Tachyon Publications * Hugo Award ** Best Novella (1992): ''Beggars in Spain'' (Axolotl Press / Pulphouse Feb. 1991) / ''Asimov's'' April 1991 **Best Novella (2009): "The Erdmann Nexus", ''Asimov's'' Oct./Nov. 2008 * John W. Campbell Memorial Award **Best Novel (2003): ''Probability Space'', (Tor Sep. 2002) *

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 ...

**Best Short Science Fiction (1997): "The Flowers of Aulit Prison", ''Asimov's'' Oct./Nov. 1996

Biography

Work

Awards

Bibliography

References

External links