Midori Snyder
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Midori Snyder is an American writer of fantasy, mythic fiction, and nonfiction on myth and folklore. She has published eight novels for children and adults, winning the Mythopoeic Award for The Innamorati. Her work has been translated into French, Dutch, and Italian.
Snyder's first novel,Soulstring (Ace Books, 1987), was a fairytale fantasy loosely inspired by the Scottish legend of Tam Lin. This was followed by an imaginary world trilogy: New Moon, Sadar's Keep, and Beldan's Fire (published as adult fantasy by Tor Books, 1989 - 1993, where it was called The Queen's Quarter Series; reprinted as young adult fantasy by Firebird/Puffin, 2005, re-titled The Oran Trilogy). The Flight of Michael McBride (Tor Books, 1994) was a work of mythic fiction set in the old American West, drawing upon Irish-American, Mexican, and indigenous folklore. Hatchling (Random House, 1995) was a children's book set in the world of Dinotopia. Snyder's award-winning novel The Innamorati (Tor Books, 1998) was inspired by Italian and early Roman legends and the theater of the Commedia dell'Arte. Hannah's Garden (Firebird/Puffin, 2004) was a contemporary fantasy for young adult readers about fairies, folk music, and family dynamics, set in rural Wisconsin.
Snyder's short fiction and poetry has been published in a number of anthologies including The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, The Armless Maiden (for which she wrote the title story), The Fair Folk, The Green Man, The Coyote Road, Black Thorn White Rose, Swan Sister, and The Borderland Series. Her essays have appeared in Realms of Fantasy and other magazines, and in Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales--Expanded Edition(Random House, 2002).
Raised in the United States and Africa, Snyder is the daughter of the Beat generation poet Emile Snyder, and the granddaughter of Santa Fe artist Pierre Ménager. She studied African Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin, specializing in African oral narrative traditions, and subsequently received an M.A. in English Literature and Literary Theory.
Snyder is the co-director (with Terri Windling) of The Endicott Studio, a nonprofit arts and literature organization founded in 1987, and co-editor of The Journal of Mythic Arts, founded in 1997. She served as the 2007 jury chair for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Snyder lives in Tucson, Arizona.