Ada Palmer (born June 9, 1981) is an American historian and writer and winner of the 2017 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her first novel, ''

Too Like the Lightning ''Too Like the Lightning'' is the first novel in a science fiction quartet called ''Terra Ignota,'' written by the American author Ada Palmer. It was published on May 10, 2016. Its sequels are ''Seven Surrenders'' (2017), ''The Will to Battle'' ...

'', was published in May 2016. The work has been well received by critics and was a finalist for the

Hugo Award for Best Novel The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year by the World Science Fiction Society for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is ava ...

Early life and education

The daughter of computer engineer Douglas Palmer and artist Laura Higgins Palmer, Ada was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

but grew up in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, where she attended Key School. She began her undergraduate education at age 15 for two years at

Bard College at Simon's Rock Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is part of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudso ...

, and then transferred to

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

, where she received a Bachelor of Art in history in 2001. She then obtained a Master of Arts and a doctorate in history at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 2003 and 2009, respectively.

Academic career

Following a stint at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

from 2009 to 2014, Palmer began teaching at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. She was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago from 2014 to 2018, and has been an associate professor at the institution since 2018. As a scholar, Palmer researches and teaches about the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

period. She teaches a class on the Italian Renaissance, "The Italian Renaissance: Dante, Machiavelli, and the Wars of Popes and Kings", known by the students as "

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

class" or "pope LARP". In the class, students reenact the 1492 papal conclave, complete with secret meetings, betrayals, and a final vote conducted in full costume. In an interview, Palmer discussed her experience with the class, suggesting that students have a lot of favorable biases about this period despite its darker underside. Palmer co-authored ''The Recovery of Ancient Philosophy in the Renaissance: A Brief Guide'' with James Hankins in 2008. Her own first book, ''Reading Lucretius in the Renaissance'', was published in 2014. Palmer holds that the

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ; – October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...

poem ''

De rerum natura (; ''On the Nature of Things'') is a first-century BC Didacticism, didactic poem by the Roman Republic, Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius () with the goal of explaining Epicureanism, Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, writte ...

'', rediscovered in the Renaissance, could be the first document offering a profane worldview; that is, the possibility to describe how the universe works without any divine influence. This theory has implications for the development of political science as well as other secular worldviews. Palmer and Hankins also argue that Lucretius's ideas directly influenced

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) was a Florentine diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian who lived during the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise '' The Prince'' (), writte ...

and

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...

, because of the ways in which his theories helped them create an ethics working ''per se'', without any external, godly influence.

Literary career

Palmer's first novel, ''

'', the first of the ''Terra Ignota'' series, was published in 2016, and was a finalist for the 2017

Hugo Awards 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 (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by t ...

. It has been described as a

rational Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reason. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do, or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ...

adjacent book, a work influenced both by science-fiction and historical genres, a fact the author has confirmed. The novel won the 2017 Compton Crook Award for the best first novel in the genre published during the previous year. Three more novels followed. Palmer has announced multiple upcoming projects, including ''Hearthfire'', the first novel in a new historical fiction series about

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

mythology; and ''The Wrath of Abaia,'' co-written with

Jo Walton Jo Walton (born 1964) is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel '' Among Others'', which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and '' Tooth and Claw'', a Victorian-era novel w ...

. These novels are scheduled to be published in 2027 and 2025, respectively.

Personal life

Palmer was diagnosed with

Crohn's Disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, abdominal distension, and weight loss. Complications outside of the ...

and

polycystic ovary syndrome Polycystic ovary syndrome, or polycystic ovarian syndrome, (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. The name is a misnomer, as not all women with this condition develop cysts on their ovaries. The name origin ...

in 2004, and is a disability activist with a particular focus on self-care and invisible disabilities.

Bibliography

Fiction

The '' Terra Ignota'' series has four novels: # ''

'' (2016) # '' Seven Surrenders'' (2017) # '' The Will to Battle'' (2017) # '' Perhaps the Stars'' (2021)

Non-fiction

* * *

Articles

* *

References

External links

"Fiction and History: Narratives, Contexts and Imagination"
by Ada Palmer, Jane Dailey, Ghenwa Hayek, Paola Iovene, David Perry. ''Chicago Journal of History'', Spring 2017
Publications
by Ada Palmer {{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Ada 1981 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American women academics American science fiction writers Bryn Mawr College alumni Harvard University alumni Writers from Annapolis, Maryland University of Chicago faculty 20th-century American historians Historians of the Renaissance John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer winners Novelists from Illinois American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers Novelists from Washington, D.C. Filkers Historians from Maryland