Becky Chambers (author)
Becky Chambers (born 1985)[1] is an American science fiction writer, and the author of the Hugo-award winning Wayfarers series. She is known for her imaginative world-building and character-driven stories.
Becky Chambers | |
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Born | Rebecca Marie Chambers ![]() 1985 ![]() Southern California ![]() |
Occupation | Science fiction writer ![]() |
Awards |
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Website | https://www.otherscribbles.com ![]() |
Career
Chambers worked in theater management and as a freelance writer before self publishing her first novel, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, in 2014 after successfully raising funds on Kickstarter.[2] The novel received critical acclaim and a Kitschies nomination, becoming the first self-published novel to do so.[3] This prompted the novel to be picked up and re-published by Hodder & Stoughton and Harper Voyager.[4] The novel was the first book in the Wayfarer series, which so far includes two sequels, A Closed and Common Orbit, in 2016 and Record of a Spaceborn Few, in 2018. The series won the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Series. She published a novella, To Be Taught, if Fortunate, in August 2019, with a story un-connected to the Wayfarers books. In July 2018 it was announced that she signed a two-book deal with Tor Books,[5] with the first book, A Psalm for the Wild-Built,[6] due to be published in May 2021.
Style and themes
Her Wayfarers series novels take place in a fictional universe, governed by the Galactic Commons to which humans are relative newcomers. She has been lauded for the strong world-building in the series, including multiple unique alien races.[7] She has been noted for the complex and likeable characters who drive the story.[8] Her work has been alternatively criticized and praised for the deliberate, character-driven pacing and lack of the propulsive plots typical of other space opera novels.[9][10]
Awards
Won
- Hugo Award for Best Series, 2019 (Wayfarers series)
- Prix Julia Verlanger, 2017 (A Closed and Common Orbit)
Nominated
- Locus Award for Best Novella, 2020 (To Be Taught, if Fortunate)
- British Science Fiction Award for Best Shorter Fiction, 2020 (To Be Taught, if Fortunate)
- Hugo Award for Best Novella, 2020 (To Be Taught, if Fortunate)
- Hugo Award for Best Novel, 2019 (Record of a Spaceborn Few)
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, 2019 (Record of a Spaceborn Few)
- Kitschies, Red Tentacle (Best Novel), 2018 (Record of a Spaceborn Few)
- Hugo Award for Best Novel, 2017 (A Closed and Common Orbit)
- Arthur C. Clarke Award, 2017 (A Closed and Common Orbit)
- British Science Fiction Award, 2017 (A Closed and Common Orbit)
- Arthur C. Clarke Award, 2016 (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet)
- Women's Prize for Fiction, Long list, 2016 (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet)
- British Fantasy Awards, Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer, 2016 (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet)
- Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign-Language Novel, 2016 (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet)
- Otherwise Award, Long list, 2016 (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet)
- Kitschies, Golden Tentacle (Best Debut), 2015 (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet)
Bibliography
Novels
- The Vela, co-written with Yoon Ha Lee, SL Huang, and Rivers Solomon
Wayfarers series
- The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (2015)
- A Closed and Common Orbit (2016)
- Record of a Spaceborn Few (2018)
- The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (2021)
Novellas
- To Be Taught, if Fortunate (2019)
- A Psalm for the Wild-Built (2021)
- A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (2022)
Short Stories
- “A Good Heretic” (a Wayfarers story), Infinite Stars: Dark Frontiers, 2019
- “Last Contact,” 2001: An Odyssey In Words, 2018
- “The Deckhand, The Nova Blade, and the Thrice-Sung Texts,” Cosmic Powers: The Saga Anthology of Far-Away Galaxies, 2017
- “Chrysalis,” Jurassic London’s Stocking Stuffer, 2014
Personal life
Chambers was born in 1985 in Southern California and grew up outside Los Angeles.[1] She moved to San Francisco to study theater arts at the University of San Francisco.[1] She has lived in Iceland and Scotland before returning to California, where she currently resides with her wife.[11][1]
References
- "Becky Chambers: To Be Spaceborn". Locus Magazine. December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet". Kickstarter. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- Flood, Alison (2015-02-13). "Self-published sci-fi debut kickstarts on to Kitschies shortlist". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- Liptak, Andrew (September 12, 2015). "The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet Is This Year's Most Delightful Space Opera". Io9. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
- "Announcing a Pair of Solarpunk Novellas from Becky Chambers". Tor. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- "Introducing Monk & Robot, a New Series by Becky Chambers". Tor. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
- June 2017, M. L. Clark Issue: 5 (2017-06-09). "A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- Roberts, Adam (2016-10-22). "A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers review – an AI on the run". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- Alexander, Niall (2016-07-05). "The Joy of the Journey: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers". Tor.com. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- admin (2016-03-12). "Adrienne Martini reviews Becky Chambers". Locus Online. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
- "Becky Chambers". HarperCollins. Retrieved May 30, 2018.