John Joseph Vincent Kessel (born September 24, 1950) is an

American author American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

of science fiction and fantasy. He is a prolific short story writer, and the author of four solo novels, '' Good News From Outer Space'' (1989), ''Corrupting Dr. Nice'' (1997), '' The Moon and the Other'' (2017), and ''Pride and Prometheus'' (2018), and one novel, ''Freedom Beach'' (1985) in collaboration with his friend

James Patrick Kelly James Patrick Kelly (born April 11, 1951 in Mineola, New York) is an American science fiction author who has won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. Biography Kelly made his first fiction sale in 1975. He graduated magna cum laude from ...

. Kessel is married to author Therese Anne Fowler.

Education

Kessel obtained a B.A. in Physics and English from the University of Rochester in 1972, followed by a M.A. in English from University of Kansas in 1974, and a Ph.D. in English from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in 1981, where he studied under science fiction writer and scholar

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a directo ...

. Since 1982 Kessel has taught classes in American literature, science fiction, fantasy, and fiction writing at North Carolina State University, and helped organize the MFA Creative Writing program at NCSU, serving as its first director.

Publications

Kessel won a Nebula Award in 1982 for his novella "Another Orphan", in which the protagonist finds himself living inside the novel ''

Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

'', and a second for his 2008 novelette "Pride and Prometheus", a story melding the tales of Jane Austen's '' Pride and Prejudice'' and

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

's ''Frankenstein''. This novelette also won a 2009

Shirley Jackson Award The Shirley Jackson Awards are literary awards named after Shirley Jackson in recognition of her legacy in writing. These awards for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror and the dark fantastic are presented a ...

. The intervening 26 years was the longest gap between competitive awards in Nebula history. His short story "Buffalo" won 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 the Locus poll in 1992. His novella "Stories for Men" shared the 2002 James Tiptree, Jr. Award for science fiction dealing with gender issues with

M. John Harrison Michael John Harrison (born 26 July 1945), known for publication purposes primarily as M. John Harrison, is an English author and literary critic.Kelley, George. "Harrison, M(ichael) John" in Jay P. Pederson (.ed) ''St. James guide to sci ...

's novel ''Light''. He has been nominated three times for a

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

: 1993 for the ''Meeting in Infinity'' collection, 1999 for the short fiction "Every Angel is Terrifying", and 2009 for the short story "Pride and Prometheus". Kessel is also a widely published science fiction and fantasy critic. His works of criticism include the 2004 essay on Orson Scott Card's novel ''Ender's Game''
"Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality".
With Mark L. Van Name, Kessel created the Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop. Kessel has also edited, with Kelly, three collections of contemporary sf short stories, ''Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology'', ''Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology'', and ''The Secret History of Science Fiction''. In 1994 his play ''Faustfeathers'' received the Paul Green Playwrights' Prize. In 2007 his story " A Clean Escape" (previously adapted by Kessel as a one-act play in 1986) was adapted by

Sam Egan Sam Egan is a journalist, and a screenwriter and producer for television. Career His credits include writing and producing for such shows as '' Quincy, M.E.'', '' The Incredible Hulk'', ''The Fall Guy'', ''Northern Exposure'', '' The Outer Limi ...

for ABC's science fiction anthology series ''

Masters of Science Fiction ''Masters of Science Fiction'' is a television anthology series by some of the producers of '' Masters of Horror''. The show debuted on ABC on August 4, 2007, at 10PM for a run of four episodes. It was originally scheduled to run in six parts, b ...

''.

Bibliography

Novels

* 1985 ''Freedom Beach'' (with

) * 1989 '' Good News From Outer Space'' ( Nebula Award Nominee) * 1997 ''

Corrupting Dr. Nice ''Corrupting Dr. Nice'' is a science fiction novel by American writer John Kessel, published in 1997. It is a time travel novel modeled on the screwball comedies of the 1930s. The story follows the rich and klutzy Owen Vannice ("Dr. Nice") as ...

'' * 2017 '' The Moon and the Other'' * 2018 ''Pride and Prometheus''

Short fiction

;Collections * 1992 '' Meeting in Infinity'' (World Fantasy Award Nominee) * 1997 ''The Pure Product'' * 2008 ''The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories'' ;Stories * 1988 "Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner" (June, ''Asimov's SF'') - Nebula Award Nominee * 1991 "Buffalo" (January, ''

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 ...

'') - Sturgeon Award Winner,

Locus Award 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 ...

Winner, Hugo Award Nominee, Nebula Award NomineeReprinted in ''The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology,'' ed. Gordon Van Gelder. San Francisco:

Tachyon Publications Tachyon Publications is an independent press specializing in science fiction and fantasy books. Founded in San Francisco in 1995 by Jacob Weisman, Tachyon books have tended toward high-end literary works, short story collections, and anthologies ...

(), 2009. * 1993 "The Franchise" (August, ''Asimov's SF'') - Nebula Award nominee, Hugo Award nominee, novelette * 1996 "The Miracle of Ivar Avenue" (from ''Intersections'') - Nebula Award nominee, novelette * 1998 "Every Angel is Terrifying" (October–November, ''Fantasy and Science Fiction'') -

nominee * 1999 "Ninety Percent of Everything" with Jonathan Lethem and

(September, ''

'') - Nebula Award nominee, novella * 2002 "Stories for Men" (October–November, ''Asimov's SF'') - James Tiptree, Jr. Award Winner, Nebula Award Nominee

Anthologies and collections (edited)

* 1996 ''Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology'' (with Mark L. Van Name and Richard Butner) * 1998 ''Memory's Tailor'' (by Laurence Rudner. Kessel was the

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed w ...

after Rudner's death in 1995.) * 2006 ''Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology'' (with James Patrick Kelly) Features stories by

Aimee Bender Aimee Bender (born June 28, 1969) is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her surreal stories and characters. She is a 2011 recipient of the Alex Awards. Biography Born to a Jewish family, Bender received her undergraduate de ...

Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...

Ted Chiang Ted Chiang (born 1967) is an American science fiction writer. His work has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and six Locus awards. His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis of the ...

Carol Emshwiller Carol Emshwiller (April 12, 1921 – February 2, 2019) was an American writer of avant garde short stories and science fiction who has won prizes ranging from the Nebula Award to the Philip K. Dick Award. Ursula K. Le Guin has called her "a ma ...

Jeffrey Ford Jeffrey Ford (born November 8, 1955) is an American writer in the fantastic genre tradition, although his works have spanned genres including fantasy, science fiction and mystery. His work is characterized by a sweeping imaginative power, humo ...

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 ...

Theodora Goss Theodora Goss (born September 30, 1968) is a Hungarian-American fiction writer and poet. Her writing has been nominated for major awards, including the Nebula, Locus, Mythopoeic, World Fantasy, and Seiun Awards. Her short fiction and poetry ...

, Jonathan Lethem,

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 ...

M. Rickert Mary Rickert, known as M. Rickert (born December 11, 1959 in Port Washington, Wisconsin), is an American writer of fantasy fiction. Many of her stories have been published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction''. Her first collection, ...

Benjamin Rosenbaum Benjamin Rosenbaum (born August 23, 1969) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction writer and computer programmer, whose stories have been finalists for the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award, the BSFA ...

George Saunders George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels. His writing has appeared in ''The New Yorker'', '' Harper's'', ''McSweeney's'', and '' GQ''. He also contributed a w ...

, Bruce Sterling, Jeff VanderMeer, and

Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop (born September 15, 1946) is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021. Personal life Though born in Houston, Mississippi, Waldrop has spent ...

* 2007 '' Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology'' (coedited with

) (''

'') * 2009 ''The Secret History of Science Fiction'' (coedited with

) (''

'') * 2011 ''Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka'' (coedited with

) (''

'') * 2012 ''

Nebula Awards Showcase 2012 ''Nebula Awards Showcase 2012'' is an anthology of science fiction short works edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel. It was first published in trade paperback by Pyr in May 2012.

'' (coedited with

(Pyr) * 2012 ''Digital Rapture: The Singularity Anthology'' (coedited with

(''

'')

Plays

* 1986 '' A Clean Escape'' * 1994 ''Faustfeathers'' (Paul Green Playwrights' Prize Winner)

Book reviews

References

External links

John Kessel's home page
*
John Kessel Papers, MS 358
at th
Kenneth Spencer Research Library
University of Kansas
Guide to the John Kessel Collection of Science Fiction Magazines 1951-2011

* ttp://www.depauw.edu/sfs/interviews/feehan59interview.htm An interview with John Kesselconducted by Fiona Kelleghan writing as Ellen Feehan
Free download of ''The Baum Plan for Financial Independence'' from the publisher
*
Talk: "The Future as Mirror: How SF Uses the Tomorrow to Understand Today" - Fractal'11 conference

A July 2017 podcast with John Kessel conducted by David Barr Kirtley

A July 2017 podcast with John Kessel conducted by Scott Edelman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessel, John 1950 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American short story writers American male dramatists and playwrights American male novelists American male poets American male short story writers American science fiction writers The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Nebula Award winners North Carolina State University faculty Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from North Carolina Writers from Buffalo, New York