Patricia A. McKillip
Patricia Anne McKillip (born February 29, 1948) is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. She has been called "one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy genre",[1] and writes predominantly standalone fantasy novels. Her work has won her numerous awards, including the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008.
Patricia Anne McKillip | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 29, 1948 Salem, Oregon |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Alma mater | San Jose State University |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Notable awards | Mythopoeic Awards 1995, World Fantasy Award 1975 and 2003, World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement 2008 |
Life and education
Patricia A. McKillip was born in Salem, Oregon.[2] She grew up in Oregon, Great Britain, and Germany. She attended San Jose State University in California, where she received a B.A. in 1971 and a Master of Arts in English in 1973. [2] McKillip is married to David Lunde, a poet.[3]
Career
McKillip's first publications were two short children's books, The Throme of the Erril of Sherill and The House on Parchment Street.[2] Her first novel, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, was published in 1974, when she was 26 years old, and won the World Fantasy Award in 1975.[4]
McKillip's Riddle-Master trilogy, published from 1976 to 1979, was regarded by scholar Peter Nicholls as "a work of classic stature".[5] It was selected as part of Gollancz's Fantasy Masterworks series.[6] In 2008, she was a recipient of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.[2][7] Most of her recent novels feature cover paintings by Kinuko Y. Craft.
On writing fantasy, McKillip has 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?"[4]
Since 1994, McKillip's writing has comprised purely standalone novels.[5] Critic Brian Stableford described her as "one of the most accomplished prose stylists in the fantasy genre",[1] while Peter Nicholls and John Clute considered her "perhaps the most impressive author of fantasy story still active".[5]
Awards
McKillip holds the record for the most Mythopoeic Fantasy Awards (four) and nominations (fifteen).[8] She has also won World Fantasy Awards for Best Novel, as well as for Life Achievement.[9]
| Award | Work | Result[9] |
|---|---|---|
| Hugo Award | Harpist in the Wind (1979) | Nominated |
| Locus Award | Harpist in the Wind (1979) | Won |
| Mythopoeic Award | The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (1974) | Nominated |
| The Changeling Sea (1988) | Nominated | |
| The Sorceress and the Cygnet (1991) | Nominated | |
| The Cygnet and the Firebird (1993) | Nominated | |
| Something Rich and Strange (1994) | Won | |
| The Book of Atrix Wolfe (1995) | Nominated | |
| Winter Rose (1996) | Nominated | |
| Song for the Basilisk (1998) | Nominated | |
| Ombria in Shadow (2002) | Won | |
| In the Forests of Serre (2003) | Nominated | |
| Alphabet of Thorn (2004) | Nominated | |
| Solstice Wood (2006) | Won | |
| The Bell at Sealey Head (2008) | Nominated | |
| The Bards of Bone Plain (2010) | Nominated | |
| Kingfisher (2016) | Won | |
| Nebula Award | Winter Rose (1996) | Nominated |
| The Tower at Stony Wood (2000) | Nominated | |
| World Fantasy Award | The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (1974) | Won |
| Harpist in the Wind (1979) | Nominated | |
| Ombria in Shadow (2002) | Won | |
| Od Magic (2005) | Nominated |
Bibliography
References
Citations
- Stableford, Brian M. (1997). "McKillip, Patricia A.". In Clute, John; Grant, John (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Archived from the original on 2018-05-06.
- Locus June 2011, p. 7.
- McKillip, Patricia A. The Bell at Sealey Head. New York: Penguin Books, 2008. Back flap of dust jacket.
- Locus June 2011, p. 67.
- Nicholls, Peter; Clute, John (October 26, 2021). "McKillip, Patricia A.". In Clute, John; Langford, David (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (4th ed.).
- Walton, Jo (2018). "1980 Hugo Award Winners and Nominees". An Informal History of the Hugos. Tor Books. Archived from the original on 2020-06-21.
- "2008: World Fantasy Convention 2008". World Fantasy Convention. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
- "Mythopoeic Awards Tallies". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Archived from the original on 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- "Patricia A. McKillip Awards". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
Sources
- "Patricia McKillip: Fairy Tales Matter". Locus Magazine. Locus. June 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
Further reading
- Taylor, Audrey Isabel (2017). Patricia A. McKillip and the Art of Fantasy World-Building. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-3145-5. OCLC 1000521614.
External links
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Patricia A. McKillip |
- patriciamckillip.com (unofficial)
- McKillip at Fantastic Fiction
- Patricia A. McKillip at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Patricia A. McKillip at the Internet Book List
- Novel synopses, cover art, and reviews at FantasyLiterature.net
- "Vengeance as a theme in the writings of Patricia A. McKillip"
- Patricia McKillip at Library of Congress Authorities, with 33 catalog records