Karen Joy Fowler

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Karen Joy Fowler (born February 7, 1950) is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and alienation.

1 Biography and writing career
2 Bibliography
3 External links

[edit] Biography and writing career

Fowler spent the first eleven years of her life in Bloomington, Indiana, at which point she moved to Palo Alto, California. Fowler attended the University of California, Berkeley, and majored in political science. After having a child during the last year of her master's program, she spent seven years devoted to child-raising. Feeling restless, Fowler decided to take a dance class, and then a creative writing class at the University of California, Davis. Realizing that she was never going to make it as a dancer, Fowler began to publish science fiction stories, making a name for herself with Artificial Things (1986), a collection of short stories.

Her work as a genre writer tended toward eccentric tales of implausible history. Often these tales had a feminist theme or mindset. Her first novel, Sarah Canary (1991), was published to critical acclaim. The novel involves a group of people alienated by nineteenth century America experiencing a peculiar kind of first contact. One character is Chinese American, another putatively mentally ill, a third a feminist, and lastly Sarah herself.

Her other genre works also tended to focus on odd corners of the nineteenth century experiencing the unexpected or fantastic. Her second novel, The Sweetheart Season (1996) is a romantic comedy infused with historical and fantasy elements. However, the genre content of her stories has at times been controversial, most especially in the case of the Nebula Award winning "What I Didn't See." The story is set in 1920s Africa and has no overtly fantastical elements; it is a feminist response to the pulp magazines. Editor David Truesdale has been especially vocal in opposition to the story being considered as science fiction or fantasy in any way or form.

As of the mid-2000s, there are indications she might be moving away from the science fiction/fantasy genre altogether. A recent non-genre novel, The Jane Austen Book Club (2004), has become a critical and popular success including being on the New York Times bestsellers list.

Fowler collaborated with Pat Murphy to found the James Tiptree, Jr. Award in 1991, a literary prize for science fiction or fantasy that "expands or explores our understanding of gender."

Fowler will be one of the two Guests of Honor at Readercon 2007.

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Novels

Sarah Canary (1991) - Novel concerning a mysterious nonsense-speaking woman in 1873 Pacific Northwest.
The War of the Roses (1991) - Chapter book publication of the novelette.
The Sweetheart Season (1996) - Fantasy novel about the Sweetwheat Sweethearts, a female baseball team from 1947 Minnesota.
Sister Noon (2001) - Novel set in 1890s San Francisco.
The Jane Austen Book Club (2004) - Six members of an early 21st century book club discuss Jane Austen books.

[edit] Collections

Artificial Things (1986) - Collection of 13 short stories.
Peripheral Vision (1990) - Collection of 5 stories, 1 original. Author's Choice Monthly #6
Letters from Home (1991) with Pat Cadigan and Pat Murphy. Collection of short fiction by Fowler, Cadigan, and Murphy.
Black Glass (1997) - Collection of 15 short stories, 2 original. Includes the contents from Artificial Things and Letters from Home.

[edit] Anthologies edited by Karen Joy Fowler

MOTA 3: Courage (2003) - Anthology of literate short fiction.
The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1 (2005) with Debbie Notkin, Pat Murphy and Jeffrey D. Smith. Anthology of winners of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award
The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2 (2006) with Debbie Notkin, Pat Murphy and Jeffrey D. Smith.
The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3 (2007) with Debbie Notkin, Pat Murphy and Jeffrey D. Smith.