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John Kessel

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John Kessel
Born (1950-09-24) September 24, 1950 (age 73)
Buffalo, New York, United States
Occupation
  • Writer
  • editor
  • teacher
Period1978–present
GenreScience fiction; Fantasy literature; Comic science fiction; Metafiction; Satire
SubjectTime travel; the Future; Dinosaurs
Literary movementSavage Humanism[1]
Notable worksAnother Orphan, Good News from Outer Space, "Buffalo", "Pride and Prometheus", Corrupting Dr. Nice
SpouseTherese Anne Fowler
Website
johnjosephkessel.wixsite.com/kessel-website

John Joseph Vincent Kessel (born September 24, 1950) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. He is a prolific short story writer, and the author of four solo novels, Good News From Outer Space (1989), Corrupting Dr. Nice (1997), The Moon and the Other (2017), and Pride and Prometheus (2018), and one novel, Freedom Beach (1985) in collaboration with his friend James Patrick Kelly. Kessel is married to author Therese Anne Fowler.

Education[edit]

Kessel obtained a B.A. in Physics and English from the University of Rochester in 1972, followed by a M.A. in English from University of Kansas in 1974, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas in 1981, where he studied under science fiction writer and scholar James Gunn. Since 1982 Kessel has taught classes in American literature, science fiction, fantasy, and fiction writing at North Carolina State University, and helped organize the MFA Creative Writing program at NCSU, serving as its first director.

Publications[edit]

Kessel won a Nebula Award in 1982 for his novella "Another Orphan", in which the protagonist finds himself living inside the novel Moby-Dick, and a second for his 2008 novelette "Pride and Prometheus", a story melding the tales of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This novelette also won a 2009 Shirley Jackson Award. The intervening 26 years was the longest gap between competitive awards in Nebula history. His short story "Buffalo" won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award and the Locus poll in 1992.

His novella "Stories for Men" shared the 2002 James Tiptree, Jr. Award for science fiction dealing with gender issues with M. John Harrison's novel Light. He has been nominated three times for a World Fantasy Award: 1993 for the Meeting in Infinity collection, 1999 for the short fiction "Every Angel is Terrifying", and 2009 for the short story "Pride and Prometheus".[2]

Kessel is also a widely published science fiction and fantasy critic. His works of criticism include the 2004 essay on Orson Scott Card's novel Ender's Game, "Creating the Innocent Killer: Ender's Game, Intention, and Morality". With Mark L. Van Name, Kessel created the Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop. Kessel has also edited, with Kelly, three collections of contemporary sf short stories, Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology, Rewired: The Post-Cyberpunk Anthology, and The Secret History of Science Fiction.

In 1994 his play Faustfeathers received the Paul Green Playwrights' Prize. In 2007 his story "A Clean Escape" (previously adapted by Kessel as a one-act play in 1986) was adapted by Sam Egan for ABC's science fiction anthology series Masters of Science Fiction.

Bibliography[edit]

Novels[edit]

Short fiction[edit]

Collections
  • 1992 Meeting in Infinity (World Fantasy Award Nominee)
  • 1997 The Pure Product
  • 2008 The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories
  • 2023 The Dark Ride: The Best Short Fiction of John Kessel
Stories[3]
Title Year First published Awards/Nominations Notes
Another orphan 1982 Kessel, John (September 1982). "Another orphan". F&SF. Nebula Award winner
Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner 1988 Kessel, John (June 1988). "Mrs. Shummel Exits a Winner". Asimov's SF. Nebula Award Nominee
Another orphan 1989 Novella
Buffalo 1991 Kessel, John (January 1991). "Buffalo". F&SF. Sturgeon Award Winner, Locus Award Winner, Hugo Award Nominee, Nebula Award Nominee[4]
The Franchise 1993 Kessel, John (August 1993). "The Franchise". Asimov's SF. Nebula Award nominee, Hugo Award nominee Novelette
The Miracle of Ivar Avenue 1996 John, Kessel (1996). "The Miracle of Ivar Avenue". In Kessel, John; Van Name, Mark L.; Butner, Richard (eds.). Intersections: The Sycamore Hill Anthology. New York: Tor Books. ISBN 9780312860905. Nebula Award nominee Novelette
Every Angel is Terrifying 1998 Kessel, John (October–November 1998). "Every Angel is Terrifying". F&SF. World Fantasy Award nominee
Ninety Percent of Everything 1999 Kessel, John; Lethem, Jonathan; Kelly, James Patrick (September 1999). "Ninety Percent of Everything". F&SF. Nebula Award nominee Novella
Stories for Men 2002 Kessel, John (October–November 2002). "Stories for Men". Asimov's SF. James Tiptree, Jr. Award Winner, Nebula Award Nominee
Pride and Prometheus 2008 Kessel, John (January 2008). "Pride and Prometheus". F&SF. Nebula Award winner, Shirley Jackson Award winner Novelette
Spirit level 2020 Kessel, John (July–August 2020). "Spirit level". F&SF. 139 (1&2): 52–77. Novelette

Anthologies and collections (edited)[edit]

Plays[edit]

  • 1986 A Clean Escape
  • 1994 Faustfeathers (Paul Green Playwrights' Prize Winner)

Book reviews[edit]

Year Review article Work(s) reviewed
1994 Kessel, John (February 1994). "Just like real people". Books. F&SF. 86 (2).

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sawyer, Robert J. (April 29, 2008). "The Savage Humanists". Robert J. Sawyer. Retrieved June 16, 2013. Meet the Savage Humanists: the hottest science-fiction writers working today. They use SF's unique powers to comment on the human condition in mordantly funny, satiric stories... In these pages, you'll find the top names in the SF field: including...John Kessel...
  2. ^ World Fantasy Convention (2010). "Award Winners and Nominees". Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  3. ^ Short stories unless otherwise noted.
  4. ^ Reprinted in The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology, ed. Gordon Van Gelder. San Francisco: Tachyon Publications (ISBN 978-1-892391-91-9), 2009.

External links[edit]

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