Teresa Nielsen Hayden (born March 21, 1956) 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 ...

editor, fanzine writer,

essayist An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal ...

, and workshop instructor. She is a consulting editor for

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese sci ...

and is well known for her

weblog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

, ''Making Light''. She has also worked for Federated Media Publishing, when in 2007 she was hired to revive the comment section for the blog

Boing Boing ''Boing Boing'' is a website, first established as a zine in 1988, later becoming a group blog. Common topics and themes include technology, futurism, science fiction, gadgets, intellectual property, Disney, and left-wing politics. It twic ...

. Nielsen Hayden has been nominated for Hugo Awards five times.

Early life

Born Teresa Nielsen, she grew up in a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

household in

Mesa A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Career

From 1985 to 1989, she served on the editorial board of ''The Little Magazine'', a poetry magazine. Excerpt including relevant biographical information at She is a former managing editor and a former consulting editor at

. In 1994, a collection of her essays, ''Making Book'' (), was published by

NESFA Press NESFA Press is the publishing arm of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. The NESFA Press primarily produces three types of books: * Books honoring the guest(s) of honor at their annual convention, Boskone, and at some Worldcons and ...

. It is now in its third printing. The second printing is the preferred edition. She is also one of the regular instructors for the writing workshop Viable Paradise. Nielsen Hayden is well known for her

, ''Making Light'', where she writes about subjects such as animal hoarding, publishing scams, astroturfing, and global political events. She is the first recorded Internet editor to practice

disemvoweling Disemvoweling, disemvowelling (see doubled ''L''), or disemvowelment of a piece of alphabetic text is rewriting it with all the vowel letters elided. Disemvoweling is a common feature of SMS language as disemvoweling requires little cognitive ef ...

of the entire text of offensive posts; the term itself was coined in a ''Making Light'' post by Arthur Hlavaty. She was the first lead comments moderator at the popular blog

when it reopened its comments feature in 2007. In June 2008, a controversy on Boing Boing concerning the "unpublication" of all articles that mention sex columnist

Violet Blue Violet Blue is an American journalist, author, editor, advisor, and educator. Blue wrote a weekly sex column for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' until 2010. In her podcast, Open Source Sex, she reads erotica and discusses topics such as feti ...

generated criticism of some of her moderation techniques, including disemvowelment.

Personal life

Teresa Nielsen appended Hayden to her name upon marrying the former Patrick Hayden in 1979; he also took her name, becoming

Patrick Nielsen Hayden Patrick James Nielsen Hayden (born Patrick James Hayden January 2, 1959), is an American science fiction editor, fan, fanzine publisher, essayist, reviewer, anthologist, teacher and blogger. He is a World Fantasy Award and Hugo Award winner ...

. The two of them were active members of

science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

and collaborated on various

fanzines A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share ...

, including the Hugo-nominated '' Izzard''. In 1985, Nielsen Hayden and her husband were

TransAtlantic Fan Fund The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, often known as ''TAFF'', is a crowdfunding project created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular members of science fiction fandom familiar to fans on both sides of the ocean, acro ...

delegates to Europe for

Eastercon Eastercon is the common name for the annual British national science fiction convention. The convention is organised by voluntary self-organising committees, rather than a permanent entity. Organisation Groups of fans (typically 5–8 in n ...

. Over the next few years, the Nielsen Haydens published at least three TAFF trip reports. She was excommunicated from

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

in 1980 for her support of the Equal Rights Amendment. In her youth, she served as a page in the Arizona House of Representatives. Nielsen Hayden has

narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a long-term neurological disorder that involves a decreased ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles. Symptoms often include periods of excessive daytime sleepiness and brief involuntary sleep episodes. About 70% of those affect ...

, for which she had been taking

pemoline Pemoline, sold under the brand name Cylert among others, is a stimulant medication which has been used in the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It has been discontinued in most countries to due to rare ...

until the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

withdrew the drug from the marketplace. In September 2008 she had what appeared to be a heart attack; paramedics were summoned immediately, and she made a full recovery.

Hugo Award nominations

* 1995 nominee for

Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book The Hugo Award for Best Related Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for primarily non-fiction works related to science fiction or fantasy, published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The Hugo Awards have bee ...

for ''Making Book'' * 1991 nominee for

Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer The Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer is the Hugo Award given each year for writers of works related to science fiction or fantasy which appeared in low- or non-paying publications such as semiprozines or fanzines or in generally available electroni ...

* 1989 co-nominee for

Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine The Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine is given each year to a periodical publication related to science fiction or fantasy that meets several criteria having to do with the number of issues published and who, if anyone, receives payment. The awar ...

for ''

The New York Review of Science Fiction ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' is a monthly literary magazine of science fiction that was established in 1988. It includes works of science fiction criticism, essays, and in-depth critical reviews of new works of fiction and scholarsh ...

'' * 1984 nominee for

* 1984 co-nominee, with Patrick Nielsen Hayden, for

Hugo Award for Best Fanzine The Hugo Award for Best Fanzine is given each year for non professionally edited magazines, or "fanzines", related to science fiction or fantasy which has published four or more issues with at least one issue appearing in the previous calendar y ...

for ''Izzard''

Books edited

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...

: ''Alight in the Void'' * Steven Brust: '' Dragon'', ''

Issola Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He is best known for his series of novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos, one of a disdained minority group of humans livi ...

'', '' Dzur'', '' The Paths of the Dead'', '' The Lord of Castle Black'', ''

Sethra Lavode ''The Viscount of Adrilankha'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Steven Brust, published in three volumes. Collectively, the three books form the third novel in the Khaavren Romances series. It is set in the fantasy world of Dragaera. Like th ...

'', '' Jhegaala'', '' Iorich'', '' Tiassa'', ''

The Incrementalists Skyler White is a writer of fantasy and science fiction, including the novel ''The Incrementalists'' co-authored with Steven Brust. She is also the author of two novels in the genres of romance and erotica. Biography Early life and influenc ...

'', '' Hawk'' *

Avram Davidson Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...

: ''The Avram Davidson Treasury'' (''Locus'' poll winner, Best Collection, 1999) * Samuel R. Delany: ''Wagner/Artaud: A Play of 19th and 20th Century Critical Fictions'' (published with

under the imprint Ansatz Press, 1988) * John M. Ford: ''The Last Hot Time'' * Shariann Lewitt: ''Memento Mori'', ''Interface Masque'', ''Rebel Sutra'' *

Jane Lindskold Jane M. Lindskold is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels. Early life Jane M. Lindskold was born on 15 September 1962, and grew up in Washington, D.C., and the Chesapeake Bay area. Jane is the first of fo ...

: ''The Buried Pyramid'', ''Child of a Rainless Year'', ''Through Wolf's Eyes'', ''Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart'', ''The Dragon of Despair'', ''Wolf Captured'', ''Wolf Hunting'', ''Wolf's Blood'' * James D. Macdonald and Debra Doyle: ''The Stars Asunder'' * Terry McGarry: ''The Binder's Road'', ''Triad'' * Douglas Morgan: ''Tiger Cruise'' *

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...

: ''

Conan of Venarium ''Conan of Venarium'' is a fantasy literature, fantasy novel by American writer Harry Turtledove, edited by Teresa Nielsen Hayden, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in hardcover by To ...

'', ''The Breath of God'' * James White: ''The Galactic Gourmet'', ''Mind Changer'', ''Final Diagnosis'', ''Double Contact'' *

Charles Vess Charles Vess (born June 10, 1951) is an American fantasy artist and comics artist who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His influences include British "Golden Age" book illustrator Arthur Rackham, Czech Art Nouveau ...

: ''The Book of Ballads'' *

Robert Charles Wilson Robert Charles Wilson (born December 15, 1953 ) is an American-Canadian science fiction author. Career Wilson was born in the United States in California, but grew up near Toronto, Ontario. Apart from another short period in the early 1970s ...

: '' Darwinia'' ( Prix Aurora Award winner, 1999), '' Blind Lake'' ( Prix Aurora Award winner, 2004), '' Spin'' ( Hugo Award winner, 2006), ''

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

'', '' Julian Comstock'', ''

Vortex In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in ...

'', ''Burning Paradise''

Bibliography

* * * *

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen Hayden, Teresa 1956 births American bloggers American literary critics Women literary critics American people of Danish descent American political blogs American speculative fiction critics American speculative fiction editors Former Latter Day Saints Living people People excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Writers from Mesa, Arizona People with narcolepsy Science fiction critics Science fiction editors Science fiction fans Writers from Arizona Writers from New York City 21st-century American non-fiction writers Women speculative fiction editors American women critics