Sarah Pinsker is an American science fiction and fantasy author. A nine-time finalist for the

Nebula Award 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 ...

, Pinsker's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

'' A Song for a New Day'' won the 2019 Nebula for Best Novel2019 Nebula Awards Winners
Locus Magazine, May 30, 2020. while her story ''Our Lady of the Open Road'' won 2016 award for Best Novelette.People Want These Stories': Women Win Big At The Nebula Awards
by K. Tempest Bradford. NPR, May 16, 2016. Her novelette "Two Truths and a Lie" received both the

and the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

. Her fiction has also won the

Philip K. Dick Award The Philip K. Dick Award is an American science fiction award given annually at Norwescon and sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005) the Philip K. Dick Trust. Named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, ...

, the

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 ...

and been a finalist for the

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 ...

, World Fantasy, and

Tiptree Tiptree is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Essex, situated south-west of Colchester and around north-east of London. Surrounding villages include Messing, Essex, Messing, Tolleshunt Knights, Toll ...

Awards.

Life

Pinsker was born in New York and lived in several places of the United States including

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. When she was 14, her family settled in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. She returned to the US to attend college. She currently lives in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland, where she has managed grants for a nonprofit. In addition to writing fiction she is a singer-songwriter with the band Stalking HorsesSarah Pinsker Interview – Award Winning Short Story Author
by Jean Marie Ward, Buzzy Mag, February 20, 2015. and has had multiple albums released through independent labels.Destroying Science Fiction: An Interview with Nebula Award Winning Writer, Sarah Pinsker
by Michael B. Tager, What Weekly, September 22, 2016. She also volunteers as director at large for the

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While ...

(SFWA) and hosts the

Baltimore Science Fiction Society The Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) is a literary organization focusing on science fiction, fantasy and related genres. A 501c3 literary society based in Baltimore, Maryland, the BSFS sponsors Balticon, the Maryland Regional Science Fict ...

's Dangerous Voices Variety Hour reading series.Interview with Sarah Pinsker
by Andrea Johnson,

Apex Magazine ''Apex Magazine'', also previously known as ''Apex Digest'', is an American horror and science fiction magazine. This subscription webzine, ''Apex Magazine'', contains short fiction, reviews, and interviews. It has been nominated for several awa ...

, May 5, 2015.

Writing

Pinsker says her writing is heavily influenced by the science fiction and literary fiction which filled her parents' home, adding she is one of the rare authors who read "short stories as much as novels" when she was young. Among her early influences as an author were 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

Kate Wilhelm Kate Wilhelm (June 8, 1928 – March 8, 2018) was an American author. She wrote novels and stories in the science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres, including the Hugo Award–winning ''Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang''. Wilhelm established ...

. Later influences on her fiction include

Octavia Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. ...

Karen Joy Fowler Karen Joy Fowler is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation. She is best known as the author of the best-selling novel ''The Jan ...

, Kij Johnson, and

Kelly Link Kelly Link (born July 19, 1969) is an American editor and author of short stories. While some of her fiction falls more clearly within genre categories, many of her stories might be described as slipstream or magic realism: a combination of sci ...

. Pinsker started out publishing her short fiction in magazines such as''

Asimov's Science Fiction ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publication ...

'', ''

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

'', ''Lightspeed'', ''

Strange Horizons ''Strange Horizons'' is an online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and nonfiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in September 2000, and ...

'', ''Daily Science Fiction'', the'' Journal of Unlikely Cartography'', and ''Fireside''. Anthologies containing her stories include ''Long Hidden'', ''How to Live on Other Planets'', ''Queers Destroy Science Fiction'',Summary Bibliography: Sarah Pinsker
ISFDB. Retrieved October 6, 2020. and ''Whose Future is It?''."Sarah Pinsker" in ''Cellarius Stories, Volume 1''. Cellarius, Ed., New York: 2018, . Retrieved December 17, 2018. Among the collections of the "year's best" stories which include her stories are ''The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 2'', ''Year's Best Weird Fiction Vol 2'', ''Year's Best Young Adult Speculative Fiction 2015'', ''The Year's Best YA Speculative Fiction'' and ''The Year's Best Military and Adventure Fiction 2015''. In 2019, her debut novel '' A Song for a New Day'' was published. The novel follows the life of a musician in a future where pandemics and terrorism makes public events such as concerts illegal. In 2020, it won the

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 ...

of 2019. Pinsker's fiction has been called "thoughtful, subtle", "creepy" and "dreamlike". Speaking of her fiction, Pinsker says "It is a good time to be someone who has something to say about a group or a personal experience that hasn't been touched on before. Science fiction looks at the world through a slightly different lens, so it's fun to put that lens onto new experiences."

Awards

Pinsker has been nominated nine times for the

, winning in the categories of Best Novel and Best Novelette (twice) as well as Best Short Story. For "Two Truths and a Lie" she was afforded the

in the category of Best Novelette in addition to the Nebula Award for the corresponding category, respectively, and in which she came 2nd place in the

Locus Awards The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

. She has also won the

and the

along with being a five-time finalist for the

through other works and a finalist for the World Fantasy and Otherwise Awards. Source: Additionally, * "No Lonely Seafarer" (short story in '' Lightspeed'', Sept. 2014) selected as an honorable mention for the 2014

Otherwise Award The Otherwise Award, formerly known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science f ...

Bibliography

Novels

* *

Chapbook form

* *

Short story collections

Short fiction

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinsker, Sarah 21st-century American women Asimov's Science Fiction people American science fiction writers American women short story writers Hugo Award-winning writers Living people Nebula Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)