Michael Swanwick (born 18 November 1950) is an American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

and

science fiction author This is a list of noted science-fiction authors (in alphabetical order): A *Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960) * Alexander Abasheli (1884–1954) *Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926) *Kōbō Abe (1924–1993) * Robert Abernathy (1924–1990) *Dan Ab ...

who began publishing in the early 1980s.

Writing career

Swanwick's fiction writing began with short stories, starting in 1980 when he published "Ginungagap" in ''

TriQuarterly ''TriQuarterly'' is a name shared by an American literary magazine and a series of books, both operating under the aegis of Northwestern University Press. The journal is published twice a year and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, liter ...

'' and "The Feast of St. Janis" in ''New Dimensions 11''. Both stories were nominees for the

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short sto ...

in 1981. His first novel was '' In the Drift'' (an Ace Special, 1985), a look at the results of a more catastrophic Three Mile Island incident, which expands on his earlier short story "Mummer's Kiss". This was followed in 1987 by '' Vacuum Flowers'', an adventurous tour of an inhabited Solar System, where the people of Earth have been subsumed by a cybernetic mass-mind. Some characters’ bodies contain multiple personalities, which can be recorded and edited (or damaged) as if they were wetware. In the 1990s, Swanwick moved towards the intersection between

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 ...

and

Magical Realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

. '' Stations of the Tide'' (1991) is the story of a bureaucrat's pursuit of a magician on a world soon to be altered by its 50-year tide swell; it is set far in the future, blurring the line between magic and technology. '' The Iron Dragon's Daughter'' (1993) is a fantasy set in a

Fairyland Fairyland (''Faerie'', Scottish ''Elfame'', c.f. Old Norse '' Álfheimr'') in English and Scottish folklore is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or ''fays''. Old French (Early Modern English ) referred to an illusion or enchantment, the land ...

based on modern America, with elves wearing Armani suits and dragons serving as jet fighters. The main character, a

changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairi ...

stolen from the real world, struggles to survive a factory, a high school, and a university, all the while being manipulated by a dragon. In '' Jack Faust'' (1997), a retelling of the

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

legend, the scholar does not gain magical power but modern scientific knowledge with which he begins the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

centuries early. In the 2000s, Swanwick wrote several series of

flash fiction Flash fiction is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story; the 280-character story (also known as "twitterature"); ...

s, beginning with ''

Puck Aleshire's Abecedary ''Puck Aleshire’s Abecedary'' (2000) by Michael Swanwick, a collection of short-short stories (one for each letter of the alphabet), initially ran in '' The New York Review of Science Fiction'' at a rate of one per month for 26 months starting ...

'', a collection of 26 stories, each titled for a different letter of the alphabet. Other series included ''

The Periodic Table of Science Fiction ''The Periodic Table of Science Fiction'' is a collection of 118 very short stories by science fiction author Michael Swanwick. Each story is named after an element in the periodic table, including the then-undiscovered element 117. The stories ...

'', 118 stories each themed about a different chemical element. These were originally published in Sci Fiction. Later, ''The Infinite Matrix'' published ''The Sleep of Reason'', in which each story was based on one of

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and e ...

’s '' caprichos''. In this period, he won several awards for short fiction; between 1999 and 2003, he had nine stories shortlisted for the

Hugo Award for Best Short Story The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction of ...

, and won in 1999, 2000, and 2002. He also continued to write novels. ''

Bones of the Earth ''Bones of the Earth'' is a 2002 science fiction novel by Michael Swanwick. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2002, and the Hugo, Campbell, and Locus Awards in 2003. Plot introduction Expanded from his Hugo Award-win ...

'' (2002) is a

time-travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

story involving

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s. ''

The Dragons of Babel ''The Dragons of Babel'' is a 2008 science fantasy novel by American author Michael Swanwick, set in the same world as his earlier work '' The Iron Dragon's Daughter'' (1993). It follows the plight of a young man named Will Le Fey after a crippl ...

'' (2008) is set in the same world as ''The Iron Dragon's Daughter'', although the setting and characters are different; ''The Iron Dragon’s Mother'' (2019) was a third volume in the series. He has written two novels featuring the

posthuman Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept aims at addressing a variety of ...

rogues Darger and Surplus, who had already appeared in short stories: ''Dancing with Bears'' (2011) concerns their adventures in post-Utopian Russia, and in “Chasing the Phoenix” (2015) they travel to China. After Gardner Dozois's death, Swanwick completed his unfinished novel ''City Under the Stars''. His short fiction has been collected in '' Gravity's Angels'' (1991), '' Moon Dogs'' (2000), '' Tales of Old Earth'' (2000), '' Cigar-Box Faust and Other Miniatures'' (2003), '' The Dog Said Bow-Wow'' (2007), and '' The Best of Michael Swanwick'' (2008). A novella, ''Griffin's Egg'', was published in book form in 1991 and is also collected in ''Moon Dogs''. He has collaborated with other authors on several short works, including

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

("Ancestral Voices", "City of God", "Snow Job") and

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, hi ...

Dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

"). ''Stations of the Tide'' won the

Nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

for best novel in 1991, and several of his shorter works have won awards as well: the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for "The Edge of the World" in 1989, the World Fantasy Award for "

Radio Waves Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz ( GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (s ...

" in 1996, and Hugos for " The Very Pulse of the Machine" in 1999, " Scherzo with Tyrannosaur" in 2000, " The Dog Said Bow-Wow" in 2002, "

Slow Life ''Slow Life'' is an EP by the Welsh alternative rock band Super Furry Animals, released in 2004. The EP was made available as a free download and also saw a limited CD release, bundled with remix album '' Phantom Phorce''. Lead track "Slow Life" ...

" in 2003, and "Legions in Time" in 2004. Michael Swanwick 2005

Nonfiction writing

Swanwick has written about the field as well. He published two long essays on the state of the science fiction (" The User's Guide to the Postmoderns", 1986) and fantasy ("In the Tradition...", 1994), the former of which was controversial for its categorization of new SF writers into "cyberpunk" and "literary humanist" camps. Both essays were collected together in '' The Postmodern Archipelago'' 1997. A book-length interview with Gardner Dozois, '' Being Gardner Dozois'', was published in 2001. He is a prolific contributor to 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 Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative ...

. Swanwick wrote a monograph on

James Branch Cabell James Branch Cabell (; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and ''belles-lettres''. Cabell was well-regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, and Sinclair Lewis. His work ...

, ''What Can Be Saved From the Wreckage?'', which was published in 2007 with a preface by

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film pr ...

, and a short literary biography of

Hope Mirrlees (Helen) Hope Mirrlees (8 April 1887 – 1 August 1978) was a British poet, novelist, and translator. She is best known for the 1926 ''Lud-in-the-Mist'', a fantasy novel and influential classic, David Langford and Mike Ashley, "Mirrlees, Hope", ...

, ''Hope-in-the-Mist'', which was published in 2009.

Television and film

Swanwick's short stories "Ice Age" and "The Very Pulse of the Machine" from ''Tales of Old Earth'' were adapted for the Netflix series '' Love, Death + Robots'' (2019) for its first and third seasons respectively. Michael Swanwick 2007

Personal life

Swanwick thanks his wife, Marianne C. Porter, in all his books, referring to her as "the M. C. Porter Endowment for the Arts". He was a friend of

and Susan Caspar for many years. From this friendship grew ''Being Gardner Dozois'' and several collaborations, including the novel ''City Under the Stars''.

Bibliography

Novels

* * * '' Stations of the Tide'' (1991),

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 prof ...

winner; 1991; Hugo and Campbell Awards nominee, 1992; Clarke Award nominee, 1993 * '' The Iron Dragon's Daughter'' (1993), Clarke, Locus Fantasy, and World Fantasy Awards nominee, 1994 * '' Jack Faust'' (1997), BSFA nominee, 1997; Hugo and Locus Fantasy Awards nominee, 1998 * ''

'' (2002), Nebula Award nominee, 2002; Hugo, Locus SF, and Campbell Awards nominee, 2003 * ''

'' (2008), Locus Fantasy Award nominee, 2009 * ''The Iron Dragon's Mother'' (2019) * ''City Under the Stars'' (2020) - with Gardner Dozois ;Darger and Surplus series # ''Dancing With Bears'' (2011) #

Short fiction

;Collections * '' Gravity's Angels'' (1991)

Arkham House Publishers Arkham House is an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had pr ...

* '' A Geography of Unknown Lands'' (1997) * '' Moon Dogs'' (2000) * ''

'' (2000) * ''Tales of Old Earth'' (2000)

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 ...

* ''Cigar-Box Faust and Other Miniatures'' (2003)

* ''Michael Swanwick's Field Guide to the Mesozoic Megafauna'' (2004)

* ''

'' (2005) * '' The Dog Said Bow-Wow'' (2007)

* ''The Best of Michael Swanwick'' (2008) * '' Not So Much, Said the Cat'' (2016)

;Short stories * "The Feast of Saint Janis" (1980) * "Walden Three" (1981) * "The Man Who Met Picasso" (1982) * "The Transmigration of Philip K." (1985) * "The Gods of Mars" (1985) (with

and

Jack Dann Jack Dann (born February 15, 1945) is an American writer best known for his science fiction, an editor and a writing teacher, who has lived in Australia since 1994. He has published over seventy books, in the majority of cases as editor or co-edit ...

) * "

" (1985) (with

) * "The Edge of the World" (1989) (Sturgeon Award winner) * " Griffin's Egg" (1991), long novella * " The Dead" (1996) * " The Very Pulse of the Machine" (1998) (

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 ...

winner ) * " Radiant Doors" (1999) (

nominee) * " Ancient Engines" (1999) (

nominee) * " Scherzo with Tyrannosaur" (1999) (

winner ) * " The Dog Said Bow-Wow" (2001) (

winner ) * "

" (2002) (

winner) * " 'Hello,' Said the Stick" (2002) (

nominee) * " Legions in Time" (2003) (

winner) * "Tin Marsh" (2006) * "Urdumheim" (2007) * "The Little Cat Laughed to See Such Sport" (2008) - a Darger and Surplus tale * "For I Have Lain Me Down on the Stone of Loneliness and I'll Not Be Back Again" (2011) *"The Dala Horse" (2011), 3 "Best of" reprints * The Mongolian Wizard series **" The Mongolian Wizard" (2012)The Mongolian Wizard
at

Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...

**"The Fire Gown" (2012) **"Day of the Kraken" (2012) **"House of Dreams" (2013) **"The Night of the Salamander" (2015) **"The Pyramid of Krakow" (2015) **"The Phantom in the Maze" (2015) **"Murder in the Spook House" (2019) **"The New Prometheus" (2019)

Essays

* "User's Guide to the Postmoderns",

Asimov's ''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 ...

, 1986 * "The Postmodern Archipelago" (1997)

* ''What Can Be Saved from the Wreckage? James Branch Cabell in the 21st Century'' (2007) * ''Hope-in-the-Mist: The Extraordinary Career & Mysterious Life of Hope Mirrlees'' (2011)

Critical studies and reviews of Swanwick's work

;''Chasing the Phoenix'' *

References

External links

Swanwick's weblog
*

at Free Speculative Fiction Online
"October Leaves"
a photo-story at

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and profession ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanwick, Michael Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers American speculative fiction critics Asimov's Science Fiction people Hugo Award-winning writers The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Nebula Award winners Novelists from Pennsylvania Science fiction critics World Fantasy Award-winning writers Writers from Philadelphia 1950 births