Nancy Farmer is an American author of

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

and young adult books and science fiction. She has written three

Newbery Honor Book The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...

s and won the U.S.

National Book Award for Young People's Literature The National Book Award for Young People's Literature is one of five annual National Book Awards, which are given by the National Book Foundation (NBF) to recognize outstanding literary work by US citizens. They are awards "by writers to writers".< ...

for ''

The House of the Scorpion ''The House of the Scorpion'' is a 2002 science fiction young adult novel by Nancy Farmer. It is set in the future and mostly takes place in Opium, a country which separates Aztlán (formerly Mexico) and the United States. The main character Matteo ...

'', published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers in 2002.

Biography

Farmer was born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. She earned her B.A. at

Reed College Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus in the Eastmoreland neighborhood, with Tudor-Gothic style architecture, and a forested canyon nature preserve at ...

(1963) and later studied chemistry and entomology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

"Bio"
(no date). She enlisted in the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

(1963–1965), and subsequently worked in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

(present-day

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 Mozam ...

), where she studied biological methods of controlling the

tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies), are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glo ...

between 1975–1978. She met her future husband, Harold Farmer, at the University of Rhodesia (now the

University of Zimbabwe The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University o ...

). They married after a week-long courtship. As of 2010, Farmer lives in Arizona's

Chiricahua Mountains The Chiricahua Mountains massif is a large mountain range in southeastern Arizona which is part of the Basin and Range province of the west and southwestern United States and northwest Mexico; the range is part of the Coronado National Forest. ...

with her husband. They have one son, Daniel.

"Moving"
(June 17, 2010).

Bibliography

Novels

* ''Lorelei: The Story of a Bad Cat'' (Harare, Zimbabwe: College Press, 1987) * ''The Eye, the Ear, and the Arm'' (College Press, 1989)"The eye, the ear, and the arm"
(1989 printing). Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved 2013-11-23. Catalog records show ''The Eye ...'', 1989, 160 pages; ''The Ear ...'', 1994, 311 pages. * ''Tapiwa's Uncle'' (College Press, 1993) * ''Do You Know Me'', illustrated by

Shelley Jackson Shelley Jackson (born 1963) is an American writer and artist known for her cross-genre experimental works. These include her hyperfiction ''Patchwork Girl'' (1995) and her first novel, ''Half Life'' (2006). Biography In her own words: "Shelley ...

(

Orchard Books Grolier was one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including ''The Book of Knowledge'' (1910), ''The New Book of Knowledge'' (1966), ''The New Book of Popular Science'' (1972), ''Encyclopedia Americana'' (1945), ''Acade ...

, 1993) * '' The Ear, the Eye and the Arm'' (Orchard, 1994) * ''The Warm Place'' (Orchard, 1995) * '' A Girl Named Disaster'' (Orchard, 1996) * ''

'' (

Atheneum Books Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since its acquisition of Macmillan in 1994 and it created Athen ...

, 2002) * ''A New Year's Tale'' (2013) – paperback and e-book for adults

"Home"
(2013). * '' The Lord of Opium'' (2013) – sequel to ''The House of the Scorpion''

The Sea of Trolls trilogy

* '' The Sea of Trolls'' (Atheneum, 2004) * ''

The Land of the Silver Apples ''The Land of the Silver Apples'' is a fantasy novel for children, written by Nancy Farmer Nancy Farmer is an American author of children's and young adult books and science fiction. She has written three Newbery Honor Books and won the U.S. ...

'' (Atheneum, 2007) * '' The Islands of the Blessed'' (Atheneum, 2009)

Picture books

* ''Runnery Granary'', illus. Jos. A. Smith (

Greenwillow Books HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...

, 1996) – A Mystery Must Be Solved—Or the Grain is Lost! * ''Casey Jones's Fireman: The Story of Sim Webb'', illus. James Bernardin (New York: Phyllis Fogelman Books, 1999) * ''Clever Ali'', illus. Gail De Marcken (Orchard, 2006)

Short stories

* "The Mirror", ''L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume IV'' (1988), pp. 35–65 – collection of twelve 1987 finalists; "The Mirror" won the grand prize * "Tapiwa's Uncle", ''

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

'' (February 1992) * "Origami Mountain", ''

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror ''Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'' was a reprint anthology published annually by St. Martin's Press from 1987 to 2008. In addition to the short stories, supplemented by a list of honorable mentions, each edition included a number of retrospective ...

: Sixth Annual Collection'' (1992) * "Falada: the Goose Girl's Horse", ''A Wolf At the Door'', eds.

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

and

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958 in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram S ...

(2000) * "Remember Me", '' Firebirds: An Anthology of Original Fantasy and Science Fiction'', ed.

Sharyn November Sharyn November is an American writer and an editor of books for children and teenagers. Until March 2016 she was Senior Editor for Viking Children's Books and Editorial Director of Firebird Books, which is a mainly paperback (reprint) imprint p ...

(2003) * "Bella's Birthday Present", ''Can You Keep a Secret'', ed. Lois Metzger (2007) * "The Mole Cure", ''

Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...

'' (August 2007) * "Ticket to Ride", ''Firebirds Soaring: An Anthology of Original Speculative Fiction'', ed. Sharyn November (2008) * "Castle Othello", ''Troll's Eye View'', eds. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2009)

Awards

"The Mirror" (1987) * 1988,

Writers of the Future Writers of the Future (WOTF) is a science fiction and fantasy story contest that was established by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s. A sister contest, Illustrators of the Future, presents awards for science fiction art. Hubbard characterized th ...

Grand Prize ''The Ear, the Eye and the Arm'' (1994) * 1995

(a Newbery Medal runner-up)"Newbery Medal and Honor Books, 1922–Present"

Association for Library Service to Children The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association, and it is the world's largest organization dedicated to library service to children. Its members are concerned with creating a better future ...

. (ALSC).

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

(ALA).

"The John Newbery Medal"
ALSC. ALA. Retrieved 2012-04-15. * 1995, Hal Clement Award (

Golden Duck Award The Golden Duck Awards for Excellence in Children's Science Fiction were given annually from 1992 to 2017. The awards were presented every year at either Worldcon or the North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC). In 2018 they were replace ...

, Young Adult) ''A Girl Named Disaster'' (1996) *1996,

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

(U.S.) finalist, Young People's Literature"National Book Awards – 1996"
NBF. Retrieved 2012-01-26. *1997, Newbery Honor ''The House of the Scorpion'' (2002) *2002,

"National Book Awards – 2002"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

(NBF). Retrieved 2012-01-26.
(With acceptance speech by Farmer and introduction by panelist

Han Nolan Han Nolan (born August 25, 1956) is an American writer of young adult fiction. She has published nine young adult novels. She won the U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 1997 for the novel ''Dancing on the Edge''.

, who remarked: "this year perhaps more than any other year obliterated any boundaries left between the young adult and adult novel.") *2003, Newbery Honor *2003, Buxtehuder Bulle (Germany) *2003, Printz Honor ''The Land of the Silver Apples'' (2007) * 2007, Emperor Norton Award ("extraordinary invention and creativity unhindered by the constraints of paltry reason")

References

* Farmer. ''Nancy Farmer's official home page'' (nancyfarmerwebsite.com). 2008–present. Retrieved 2013-11-23.

External links

*
Excerpts from a ''Locus'' magazine interview with Nancy Farmer
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, Nancy 1941 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers American children's writers American fantasy writers American science fiction writers American women children's writers American women novelists American women short story writers Living people National Book Award for Young People's Literature winners Newbery Honor winners Novelists from Arizona Reed College alumni Women science fiction and fantasy writers Writers of young adult science fiction