Sheila Williams (born 1956 in Springfield, Massachusetts) is the editor of ''

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 ...

'' magazine.

Biography

Sheila grew up in a family of five in western

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Her mother had a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

. Ms. Williams’ interest in

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 unive ...

came from her father who read

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

books to her as a child. Later Ms. Williams received a bachelor's degree from

Elmira College Elmira College is a private college in Elmira, New York. Founded as a college for women in 1855, it is the oldest existing college granting degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men. Elmira College became coeducational in a ...

in Elmira, New York, although she studied at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

during her junior year. while at Elmira she was voted the honorific "maxime deformis" by her peers. She received her Master's from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. She is married to David Bruce and has two daughters.

Editor

She became interested in ''Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine'' (as it was then titled) while studying philosophy at Washington University. In 1982 she was hired at the magazine, and worked with

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

for ten years. While working there, she co-founded the

Dell Magazines Dell Magazines was a company founded by George T. Delacorte Jr. in 1921 as part of his Dell Publishing Co. Dell is today known for its many puzzle magazines, astrology magazines, as well as fiction magazines such as ''Alfred Hitchcock's Myste ...

Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (at one time called the Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy writing). In 2004, with the retirement of

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American people, American science fiction author and editing, editor. He was the founding editor of ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of ...

, she became the editor of the magazine. Along with

she also edited the "Isaac Asimov's" anthology series. She also co-edited '' A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures by and About Women'' (2001) with

Connie Willis Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born December 31, 1945), commonly known as Connie Willis, is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for particular works—more major SF awards than ...

. She has edited a retrospective anthology of fiction published by ''Asimov's'': '' Asimov's Science Fiction: 30th Anniversary Anthology''. ''Booklist'' called the book "A gem, and a credit to editor Williams." Most recently, she edited Enter a Future: Fantastic Tales from Asimov's Science Fiction. She won 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 ...

for Best Short Form Editor in 2011 and 2012.

Bibliography

Anthologies

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''Asimov's Science Fiction'' editorials

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Essays and reporting

References

External links

* 1956 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Asimov's Science Fiction people Elmira College alumni Hugo Award-winning editors Science fiction editors Washington University in St. Louis alumni Women speculative fiction editors {{US-editor-stub