Patricia Anne McKillip (February 29, 1948 – May 6, 2022) was an American author of

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 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 ...

. She has been called "one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy genre", and wrote predominantly standalone fantasy novels. Her work won numerous awards, including the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008.

Personal life

McKillip was born in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary bet ...

to Wayne and Helen ( Roth) McKillip. She grew up in Oregon, Great Britain, and Germany. She attended the College of Notre Dame (

Belmont, California Belmont is a city in San Mateo County in the U.S. state of California. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, on the San Francisco Peninsula about halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. Known for its wooded hills, views of the San Franci ...

) and

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) ...

(

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

), where she earned her BA and MA degrees in English in the early 1970s. McKillip was married to David Lunde, a poet. She died on May 6, 2022, at the age of 74 at her home in

Coos Bay, Oregon Coos Bay ( Coos language: Atsixiis) is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one ent ...

Career

McKillip's first publications were two short children's books, '' The Throme of the Erril of Sherill'' and '' The House on Parchment Street''. Her first novel, ''

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld ''The Forgotten Beasts of Eld'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Patricia A. McKillip, and illustrators Peter Schaumann in 1974, and Alicia Austin in 1981, first published by Atheneum Publishers in 1974, and by Magic Carpet Books in 1996. ...

'', was published in 1974, when she was 26 years old, and won the

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 ...

in 1975. She next wrote the ''Riddle-Master'' trilogy (1976–1979), which scholar Peter Nicholls described as "a work of classic stature". It was selected as part of Gollancz's

Fantasy Masterworks Fantasy Masterworks is a series of British paperbacks intended to comprise "some of the greatest, most original, and most influential fantasy ever written", and claimed by its publisher Millennium (an imprint of Victor Gollancz Sir Victor Gollan ...

series. Since 1994, McKillip's writing comprised purely standalone novels. Most of her novels feature cover paintings by Kinuko Y. Craft. On writing fantasy, she said, "The tropes of mythology and symbolism are the basics. It's like a notation in music; you can change it in really wacky ways, but the sound is always the same, the sound is always there. As long as we need these symbols, then the stories will be written. But if we destroy the old symbols, then we might just have to come up with new ones—who knows?" Critic

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

described McKillip as "one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy genre", while Nicholls and

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part ...

considered her "perhaps the most impressive author of fantasy story still active". McKillip was the Guest of Honor at the 1985 Mythcon and the 1999

World Fantasy Convention The World Fantasy Convention is an annual convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the event. Other features include an art show, a dealer's room, and an ...

, and in 2005 the ''

Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982 is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts. Its principal act ...

'' published a special issue on her work. She received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2008.

Awards

McKillip holds the record for the most Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards (four) and nominations (fifteen). She has also won

World Fantasy Awards 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 ...

for Best Novel, as well as for Life Achievement.

Bibliography

References

Citations

Sources

External links

patriciamckillip.com
(unofficial)
McKillip at Fantastic Fiction
* *

at FantasyLiterature.net
"Vengeance as a theme in the writings of Patricia A. McKillip"
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKillip, Patricia A. 1948 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers American fantasy writers American women novelists American women short story writers Novelists from Oregon San Jose State University alumni Women science fiction and fantasy writers World Fantasy Award-winning writers Writers from Salem, Oregon