Sheri Stewart Tepper (July 16, 1929 – October 22, 2016) was an American writer of science fiction,

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

and

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

novels. She is primarily known for her

feminist science fiction Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction (abbreviated "SF") focused on theories that include feminist themes including but not limited to gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics, reproduction, and environment. Feminist ...

, which explored themes of sociology, gender and equality, as well as theology and ecology. Often referred to as an

eco-feminist Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism and political ecology. Ecofeminist thinkers draw on the concept of gender to analyse the relationships between humans and the natural world. The term was coined by the French writer Françoise d'Eaubonne in h ...

of science fiction literature, Tepper personally preferred the label eco-humanist. Though the majority of her works operate in a world of fantastical imagery and metaphor, at the heart of her writing is real-world injustice and pain. She employed several

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s during her lifetime, including A. J. Orde, E. E. Horlak, and B. J. Oliphant.

Early life and education

She was born Shirley Stewart Douglas near Littleton,

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. As a child, she read science fiction and fantasy by

A. Merritt Abraham Grace Merritt (January 20, 1884 – August 21, 1943) – known by his byline, A. Merritt – was an American Sunday magazine editor and a writer of fantastic fiction. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted him in 1999, i ...

and

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

, as well as Frank Baum's 'Oz' books, William Hope Hodgson's ''

The Night Land ''The Night Land'' is a horror/fantasy novel by English writer William Hope Hodgson, first published in 1912. As a work of fantasy it belongs to the Dying Earth subgenre. Hodgson also published a much shorter version of the novel, entitled '' T ...

'' and '' Islandia'' by Austin Tappan Wright. She later commented, "These were the books I went back to again and again."

Career

Tepper recalled she "spent ten years...working all kinds of different jobs" as a single mother of two. This included time working as a clerical assistant for the international relief agency, CARE. From 1962 to 1986, she worked for Rocky Mountain

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

, eventually as its executive director. She wrote poetry and children's stories as Sheri S. Eberhart then took a break from writing. By the mid-1980s, she was publishing science fiction novels, including ''The Revenants'' (1984), and the books of the ''True Game'' series, including ''King's Blood Four'' (1983), ''Necromancer Nine'' (1983), and ''Wizard's Eleven'' (1984). Other related works followed, including her ecofeminist novels ''

The Gate to Women's Country ''The Gate to Women's Country'' is a post-apocalyptic novel by American writer Sheri S. Tepper, published in 1988. It describes a world set three hundred years into the future after a catastrophic war which has fractured the United States in ...

'' (1988) and ''

Grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

'' (1989), which was part of the Arbai Trilogy. Later novels in the 1990s and 2000s included ''

Beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...

'' (1991), which won a

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 ...

; ''Shadow's End'' (1994), ''The Family Tree'' (1997), ''Six Moon Dance'' (1998), ''Singer from the Sea'' (1999), ''The Visitor'' (2002), ''The Companions'' (2003), and ''The Margarets'' (2007). As of 1998, she operated a guest ranch near Santa Fe,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. That year saw her first and possibly only appearance at a

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expres ...

, when she was Guest of Honor at the 25th

WisCon WisCon or Wiscon, a Wisconsin science fiction convention, is the oldest, and often called the world's leading, feminist science fiction convention and conference. It was first held in Madison, Wisconsin in February 1977, after a group of fans att ...

, the feminist science fiction convention held annually in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. In November 2015, she received the

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

for Life Achievement.

Personal life

She married at 20, and divorced in her late twenties. She married Gene Tepper in the late 1960s. She died on October 22, 2016 at age 87.

Works

Novels

Series

*''

The True Game ''The True Game'' is the collective name for a series of three related trilogies of short novels by Sheri S. Tepper. The novels explore the Lands of the True Game, a portion of a planet explored by humanity somewhere in the future. These novel ...

'' (a trilogy of trilogies) **The ''Peter'' series was the first published. The ''Mavin'' series takes place earlier. The ''

Jinian ''The True Game'' is the collective name for a series of three related trilogies of short novels by Sheri S. Tepper. The novels explore the Lands of the True Game, a portion of a planet explored by humanity somewhere in the future. These nove ...

'' series takes place during and after the same time period as the ''Peter'' series, often giving a different perspective on the same events. ***This series has a crossover with the Plague of Angels series. **The Books of the True Game: Peter ***''King's Blood Four'' (Ace Books, 1983) (first novel) ***''Necromancer Nine'' (Ace Books, 1983) ***''Wizard's Eleven'' (Ace Books, 1984) ****''The True Game'' (omnibus edition) (1985) **The Books of the True Game:

Mavin Manyshaped ''The True Game'' is the collective name for a series of three related trilogies of short novels by Sheri S. Tepper. The novels explore the Lands of the True Game, a portion of a planet explored by humanity somewhere in the future. These novel ...

***''The Song of Mavin Manyshaped'' (Ace Books, 1985) ***''The Flight of Mavin Manyshaped'' (Ace Books, 1985) ***''The Search of Mavin Manyshaped'' (Ace Books, 1985) ****''The Chronicles of Mavin Manyshaped'' (omnibus edition) (1985) **The Books of the True Game: Jinian ***''Jinian Footseer'' (Tor Books, 1985) ***''Dervish Daughter'' (Tor Books, 1986) ***''Jinian Star-Eye'' (Tor Books, 1986) ****''The End of the Game'' (omnibus edition) *

The Marianne Trilogy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

**'' Marianne, the Magus, and the Manticore'' (Ace Books, 1985) **'' Marianne, the Madame, and the Momentary Gods'' (Ace Books, 1988) **'' Marianne, the Matchbox, and the Malachite Mouse'' (Ace Books, 1989) ***''The Marianne Trilogy'' (omnibus edition) * Ettison Duo, featuring Badger Ettison **'' Blood Heritage'' (Tor Books, 1986) **''

The Bones The Bones (), at high, is the seventh-highest peak in Ireland on the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Arderins, Arderin list, or the eighth-highest according to the Lists of mountains in Ireland#Vandeleur-Lynams, Vandeleur-Lynam list. It is part ...

'' (Tor Books, 1987) * The Awakeners: **'' Northshore'' (Tor Books, 1987) **'' Southshore'' (Tor Books, 1987) ***''The Awakeners'' (omnibus edition, 1989. A later omnibus edition erroneously claims to be first) *

Plague of Angels Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

: **'' A Plague of Angels'' (Bantam, 1993) **'' The Waters Rising'' (Eos, 2010) -

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

nominee, 2010 **'' Fish Tails'' (2014), a crossover into the True Game series * The Arbai Trilogy **''

'' (Doubleday, 1989) – Hugo and Locus Awards nominee, 1990 **''

Raising the Stones Raising may refer to: *Raising (linguistics), a syntactic construction *Raising (phonetics), a sound change *Raising (metalworking), a metalworking technique *Barn raising, a community event to erect the wooden framework for a building *Fundraising ...

'' (Doubleday, 1990) **''

Sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten seq ...

'' (Doubleday, 1992) – John W. Campbell Award nominee, 1993

Non-series

*'' The Revenants'' (Berkley Publishing, 1984) *'' After Long Silence'' (1987) (UK: ''The Enigma Score,'' 1989) *''

'' (1988) *''

'' (Doubleday, 1991; revised UK edition is author's preferred text) – Winner,

Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel The Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel is a literary award given annually by ''Locus Magazine'' as part of their Locus Awards. Winners References External links The Locus Award Index: FantasyThe Locus Award: 2011 winnersExcerpts and summaries o ...

, 1992 *'' Shadow's End'' (1994) *'' Gibbon's Decline & Fall'' (1996) – Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1997 *''The Family Tree'' (1997) –

nominee, 1998 *'' Six Moon Dance'' (1998) *''Singer from the Sea'' (1999) *'' The Fresco'' (2000) –

John W. Campbell Memorial Award The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best science fiction no ...

nominee, 2001 *''The Visitor'' (2002) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2003 *''The Companions'' (2003) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2004 *''The Margarets'' (released June 1, 2007 by Eos) –

nominee, 2008;

nominee, 2009

Short works

*"The Gardener" (novella) in ''Night Visions 6''. Released as ''The Bone Yard'' (1988) in mass market. Collaboration with F. Paul Wilson and Ray Garton.

World Fantasy Award—Long Fiction In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

finalist (1989) *"Someone Like You" in ''The Further Adventures of the Joker'' (ed. Martin Greenberg) (1990) *The "Crazy" Carol Stories **"The Gazebo" in ''

The Magazine of Fantasy & 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 a ...

'', October 1990 **"Raccoon Music" in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', February 1991 **"The Gourmet" in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', October/November 1991

Poetry

Extraterrestrial Trilogue on Terran Self-Destruction
in ''Galaxy'', August 1961 (as Sheri S. Eberhart)
Lullaby, 1990
in ''Galaxy'', December 1963 (as Sheri S. Eberhart)
Ballad of the Interstellar Merchants
in ''Galaxy'', December 1964 (as Sheri S. Eberhart)

Essays/articles

Educational pamphlets for Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood: * ''The People Know'' (1968) * ''The Perils of Puberty'' (1974) * ''The Problem with Puberty'' (1976) * ''This Is You'' (1977) * ''So Your Happily Ever After Isn't'' (1977) * ''The Great Orgasm Robbery'' (1977) * ''So You Don't Want to Be a Sex Object'' (1978)

Pseudonymous works

*as E. E. Horlak (horror): **''Still Life'' (Bantam, 1987/1988) *as B. J. Oliphant (mystery): **Shirley McClintock Mysteries, featuring a Colorado rancher and former Washington, DC "advisor": ***''Dead in the Scrub'' (1990) ***''The Unexpected Corpse'' (1990) ***''Deservedly Dead'' (1992) ***''Death and the Delinquent'' (1993) ***''Death Served Up Cold'' (1994) ***''A Ceremonial Death'' (1996) ***''Here's to the Newly Dead'' (1997) *as A. J. Orde (mystery): ** The Jason Lynx Mysteries, featuring a Colorado antiques dealer and his significant other, a female cop: ***''A Little Neighborhood Murder: A Jason Lynx Novel'' (1989) ***''Death and the Dogwalker: A Jason Lynx Novel'' (1990) ***''Death for Old Time's Sake: A Jason Lynx Novel'' (1992) ***''Looking for the Aardvark'' (1993) (also published in paperback as ''Dead on Sunday'', 1994) ***''A Long Time Dead'' (Fawcett, 1994) ***''A Death of Innocents: A Jason Lynx Novel'' (1996, 1997)

References

External links

* *
E. E. HorlakB.J. Oliphant
an
A. J. Orde
at LC Authorities (one, four, and six records) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tepper, Sheri S. 1929 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers American fantasy writers American horror writers American mystery writers American science fiction writers American women essayists American women novelists American women short story writers Ecofeminists Environmental fiction writers Novelists from Colorado People from Littleton, Colorado Women horror writers Women mystery writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers World Fantasy Award-winning writers Writers from Santa Fe, New Mexico