Kim Stanley Robinson
From The Kim Stanley Robinson Encyclopedia
Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is a novelist widely recognized as one of the foremost living writers of science fiction, and winner of major awards such as the Hugo[1] and the Nebula[2].
Robinson began publishing novels in 1984 at the same time as the appearance of cyberpunk, a subgenre whose themes and values were in direct contrast to those of Robinson's work, leading readers and critics to take special note of his unique voice in contemporary science fiction and label his work as "humanist science fiction"[3], "literary science fiction"[4], and other such qualifiers. But Robinson himself has always rejected the derogatory attitude toward science fiction as a genre that such qualifiers suggest, being a proud defender and advocate of science fiction[3], which he regards as one of the most powerful of all literary forms. Yet, the tendency of readers and critics to place Robinson's work in its own category is too persistent to be completely ignored.
Contents |
Biography and Development of Ideas
Robinson was born in Waukegan, Illinois[5], but moved to Orange County, California when he was two years old[6]. As a child he loved to play in the orange groves stretching out for miles around his home, imagining various adventures and pretending he was Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn. So, when suburban sprawl began to encroach and the groves were torn out and paved over, the rapid change of modern life hit close to home[5][7]. He was also an avid reader, and has described his intense love for reading in his youth as something close to what he would imagine a religious experience to be like for others, though he is not religious himself. But, while he read a lot of mystery[5] and other genres growing up, it was not until college in 1971 that he would stumble upon new wave science fiction and find in it an expression of that very sense of rapid change that had made such an impression upon him growing up[8], at which point he knew almost immediately that he would be committed to science fiction from then on.
By high school Robinson was fully enamored with the California lifestyle, and frequently went to the local beaches[5], so that when he visited the campus of University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and saw the beach just over the cliffs he thought, "Why apply anywhere else?"[9]. He enrolled at UCSD in 1970 and received his B.A. in Literature in 1974. By then he had begun reading science fiction, and it was during a drive to visit his parents, still just up the coast in Orange County, that one night as he passed through Camp Pendleton Marine Base he was struck by the contrast between that undeveloped patch of land and the surrounding urban sprawl, and came up with the idea to write a trio of books exploring three different alternative future histories in which southern California had gone down different paths. The first book, The Wild Shore, would be set in that very patch of undeveloped land, while the second, The Gold Coast, was an opportunity to use science fiction as autobiography and finally express poetically his feelings about Orange County's orange grove past and urban sprawl future that had been bubbling in his mind for twenty years.
After briefly leaving California to receive an M.A. in English at Boston University in 1975, Robinson returned to UCSD to complete his Ph.D. Though science fiction was something of a "literary ghetto culture" in the academic world, Robinson could not have had a more sympathetic advisor in Frederic Jameson, who suggested that Robinson do his thesis on the works of Philip K. Dick, whom Robinson was not particularly familiar with at the time but whom Jameson regarded as the greatest living American novelist.[6] Robinson agreed to the idea and finished his Ph.D. in 1982, a revised version of which was published in 1984 as The Novels of Philip K. Dick.
In 1978 Robinson took a break from his Ph.D. work and moved north to Davis, Califonia, where he worked in a bookstore and spent a lot of time outdoors, especially backpacking in the mountains, where he continued to develop his love for landscape and the outdoors. While in Davis he met Lisa Howland Nowell, an environmental chemist, and in 1982 upon completing his Ph.D. he returned to Davis and the two were married. He taught freshman composition among other courses at UC Davis, another autobiographical tidbit that would be bestowed upon his fictional alter-ego Jim in 1988's The Gold Coast. Then a few years later, after publishing his first few novels, his wife's post-doctoral work in environmental toxicology took the couple to Switzerland, where they lived for two years[10], and at which point he began to write full time.[11] Her work also took them to Washington, D.C., and during their four years there Robinson was a stay-at-home parent to their first son while his wife worked. Finally, in 1991 they moved back to Davis to buy a house in Village Homes--a planned community that shares many things in common with the community depeicted in his 1990 novel Pacific Edge--where their second son was born. Robinson is still the stay-at-home parent, giving him plenty of time to write, while his wife continues to work full time as a chemist. As a result, much of the couple's social circle is made up of her friends and colleagues, giving Robinson ample material with which to write about scientists. But Robinson also has his own active life, including playing softball[8], an activity that shows up in Pacific Edge, and frisbee golf, which plays a role in Fifty Degrees Below, part of his most recent series of semi-autobiographical novels.
Major Themes: Utopia As a Process
Early Writings: Short Fiction and Doctoral Thesis
Novels: 1984-1990
Novels: Mars
Novels: 1997-2007
Criticism and Analysis
Awards
Wins
1984, World Fantasy Award for Best Novella, for "Black Air" [12]
1985, Locus Award for Best First Novel, for The Wild Shore [13]
1987, Nebula Award for Best Novella, for "The Blind Geometer" [14]
1991, John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, for Pacific Edge [15]
1991, Locus Award for Best Novella, for "A Short, Sharp Shock" [13]
1992, British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel, for Red Mars [16]
1993, Nebula Award for Best Novel, for Red Mars [14]
1994, Hugo Award for Best Novel, for Green Mars [17]
1994, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, for Green Mars [13]
1997, Hugo Award for Best Novel, for Blue Mars [17]
1997, Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel, for Red Mars [18]
1997, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, for Blue Mars [13]
1998, Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel, for Green Mars [18]
1999, Seiun Award for Best Foreign Novel, for Red Mars [19]
2000, Locus Award for Best Collection, for The Martians [13]
2003, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, for The Years of Rice and Salt [13]
Nominations
1981, Locus Award for Best Novella nomination, for "On The North Pole of Pluto". Winner was "Nightflyers" by George R. R. Martin. [20]
1982, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Venice Drowned". Winner was "The Pusher" by John Varley. [20]
1982, Nebula Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Venice Drowned". Winner was "The Bone Flute" by Lisa Tuttle. [21]
1983, Hugo Award for Best Novella nomination, for "To Leave a Mark". Winner was "Souls" by Joanna Russ. [22]
1983, Locus Award for Best Novella nomination, for "To Leave a Mark". Winner was "Souls" by Joanna Russ. [20]
1984, Hugo Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "Black Air". Winner was "Blood Music" by Greg Bear. [22]
1984, Locus Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "Black Air". Winner was "The Monkey Treatment" by George R. R. Martin. [20]
1984, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Stone Eggs". Winner was "Beyond the Dead Reef" by James Tiptree, Jr.. [20]
1984, Nebula Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "Black Air". Winner was "Blood Music" by Greg Bear. [21]
1985, Hugo Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "The Lucky Strike". Winner was "Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler. [22]
1985, Hugo Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Ridge Running". Winner was "The Crystal Spheres" by David Brin. [22]
1985, Locus Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "The Lucky Strike". Winner was "Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler. [20]
1985, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel nomination, for The Wild Shore. Winner was The Integral Trees by Larry Niven. [20]
1985, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel nomination, for Icehenge. Winner was The Integral Trees by Larry Niven. [20]
1985, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Ridge Running". Winner was "Salvador" by Lucius Shepard. [20]
1985, Nebula Award for Best Novel nomination, for The Wild Shore. Winner was Neuromancer by William Gibson. [21]
1985, Nebula Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "The Lucky Strike". Winner was "Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler. [21]
1985, Philip K. Dick Award for Best Original Science Fiction Paperback special citation / nomination, for The Wild Shore. Winner was Neuromancer by William Gibson. [23]
1986, Hugo Award for Best Novella nomination, for "Green Mars". Winner was "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai" by Roger Zelazny. [22]
1986, Locus Award for Best Nonfiction/Reference nomination, for The Novels of Philip K. Dick. Winner was Benchmarks: Galaxy Bookshelf by Algis Budrys. [20]
1986, Locus Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "Mercurial". Winner was "Paladin of the Lost Hour by Harlan Ellison. [20]
1986, Locus Award for Best Novella nomination, for "Green Mars". Winner was "The Only Neat Thing to Do" by James Tiptree, Jr.. [20]
1986, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel nomination, for The Memory of Whiteness. Winner was The Postman by David Brin. [20]
1986, Nebula Award for Best Novella nomination, for "Green Mars". Winner was "Sailing to Byzantium" by Robert Silverberg. [21]
1987, Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel nomination, for The Memory of Whiteness. Winner was The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. [24]
1987, Hugo Award for Best Novella nomination, for "Escape From Kathmandu". Winner was "Gilgamesh in the Outback" by Robert Silverberg. [22]
1987, Locus Award for Best Collection nomination, for The Planet on the Table. Winner was Blue Champagne by John Varley. [20]
1987, Locus Award for Best Novella nomination, for "Escape From Kathmandu". Winner was "R&R" by Lucius Shepard. [20]
1987, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Down and Out in the Year 2000". Winner was "Robot Dreams" by Isaac Asimov. [20]
1987, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Our Town". Winner was "Robot Dreams" by Isaac Asimov. [20]
1987, Nebula Award for Best Novella nomination, for "Escape From Kathmandu". Winner was "R&R" by Lucius Shepard. [21]
1988, Hugo Award for Best Novella nomination, for "The Blind Geometer". Winner was "Eye For Eye" by Orson Scott Card. [22]
1988, Locus Award for Best Novella nomination, for "The Blind Geometer". Winner was "The Secret Sharer" by Robert Silverberg. [20]
1988, Hugo Award for Best Novella nomination, for "Mother Goddess of the World". Winner was "Eye For Eye" by Orson Scott Card. [22]
1988, Locus Award for Best Novella nomination, for "Mother Goddess of the World". Winner was "The Secret Sharer" by Robert Silverberg. [20]
1988, Locus Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "The Return From Rainbow Bridge". Winner was "Rachel in Love" by Pat Murphy. [20]
1989, John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel second place / nomination, for The Gold Coast. Winner was Islands in the Net by Bruce Sterling. [25]
1989, Locus Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "Glacier". Winner was "The Function of Dream Sleep" by Harlan Ellison. [20]
1989, Locus Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "The Lunatics". Winner was "The Function of Dream Sleep" by Harlan Ellison. [20]
1989, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel nomination, for The Gold Coast. Winner was Cyteen by C. J. Cherryh. [20]
1990, British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel nomination, for The Gold Coast. Winner was Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. [26]
1990, Locus Award for Best Collection nomination, for Escape From Kathmandu. Winner was Patterns by Pat Cadigan. [20]
1990, Locus Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "The Part of Us That Loves". Winner was "Dogwalker" by Orson Scott Card. [20]
1990, Locus Award for Best Novella nomination, for "The True Nature of Shangri-La". Winner was "The Father of Stones" by Lucius Shepard. [20]
1990, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Remaking History". Winner was "Lost Boys" by Orson Scott Card. [20]
1991, Hugo Award for Best Novella nomination, for "A Short, Sharp Shock". Winner was "The Hemingway Hoax" by Joe Haldeman. [22]
1991, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel nomination, for Pacific Edge. Winner was The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. [20]
1991, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Zürich". Winner was "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson. [20]
1991, Nebula Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Before I Wake". Winner was "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson. [21]
1992, James Tiptree, Jr. Award for Best Science Fiction shortlist / nomination, for Red Mars. Winner was China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh. [27]
1992, Locus Award for Best Collection nomination, for Remaking History. Winner was Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stories by Howard Waldrop. [20]
1992, Locus Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "A History of the Twentieth Century, with Illustrations". Winner was "All Dracula's Children" by Dan Simmons. [20]
1992, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Vinland the Dream". Winner was "Buffalo" by John Kessel. [20]
1993, Nebula Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Vinland the Dream". Winner was "Even the Queen" by Connie Willis. [21]
1993, Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel runner-up / nomination, for Red Mars. Winner was Body of Glass by Marge Piercy. [24]
1993, Hugo Award for Best nomination, for Red Mars. Winner was Doomsday Book and A Fire Upon the Deep by Connie Willis and Vernor Vinge (tie). [22]
1993, Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel nomination, for Red Mars. Winner was Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. [20]
1994, British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel nomination, for Green Mars. Winner was Aztec Century by Christopher Evans. [26]
1995, Nebula Award for Best Novel nomination, for Green Mars. Winner was Moving Mars by Greg Bear. [21]
1996, James Tiptree, Jr. Award for Best Science Fiction long list / nomination, for Blue Mars. Winner was "Mountain Ways" and The Sparrow by Ursula K. Le Guin and Mary Doria Russell. [28]
1997, Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel shortlist / nomination, for Blue Mars. Winner was The Calcutta Chromosome by Amitav Ghosh. [24]
1997, British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel nomination, for Blue Mars. Winner was Excession by Iain M. Banks. [26]
1997, John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel second place / nomination, for Blue Mars. Winner was Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley. [25]
1997, Seiun Award for Best Foreign Novel nomination, for The Memory of Whiteness. Winner was End of an Era by Robert J. Sawyer. [29]
1998, Locus Award for Best Novel nomination, for Antarctica. Winner was The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons. [20]
1999, James Tiptree, Jr. Award for Best Science Fiction shortlist / nomination, for "Sexual Dimorphism". Winner was The Conqueror's Child by Suzy McKee Charnas. [30]
2000, Locus Award for Best Novelette nomination, for "A Martian Romance". Winner was "Border Guards" and "Huddle" by Greg Egan and Stephen Baxter (tie). [20]
2000, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Arthur Sternbach Brings the Curveball to Mars". Winner was "macs" by Terry Bisson. [20]
2000, Locus Award for Best Short Story nomination, for "Sexual Dimorphism". Winner was "macs" by Terry Bisson. [20]
2002, Seiun Award for Best Foreign Novel nomination, for Green Mars. Winner was There and Back Again by Pat Murphy. [29]
2003, Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel nomination, for The Years of Rice and Salt. Winner was The Separation by Christopher Priest. [24]
2003, British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel nomination, for The Years of Rice and Salt. Winner was The Separation by Christopher Priest. [26]
2003, Hugo Award for Best Novel nomination, for The Years of Rice and Salt. Winner was Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer. [22]
2003, Locus Award for Best Antohology nomination, for Nebula Awards Showcase 2002. Winner was The Year's Best Science Fiction: Nineteenth Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois, ed. [20]
2005, British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel nomination, for Forty Signs of Rain. Winner was River of Gods by Ian McDonald. [26]
2005, Locus Award for Best Novel nomination, for Forty Signs of Rain. Winner was The Baroque Cycle: The Confusion; The System of the World by Neal Stephenson. [20]
Interviews
See the list of interviews page.
References
- ↑ http://www.hugo.org/hy.html
- ↑ http://www.sfwa.org/awards/archive/pastwin.htm
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.iplus.zetnet.co.uk/nonfiction/intksr.htm
- ↑ http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/features/20040704-9999-1a4robinson.html
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 http://www.davisenterprise.com/articles/2004/10/18/news/074new1.txt
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=5001
- ↑ http://www.planetary.org/html/mmp/artis/robik/robik70.htm
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/interviews/foote62interview.htm
- ↑ http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.asp?showID=6557
- ↑ http://test.dcn.davis.ca.us/go/gizmo/col21.html
- ↑ http://www.albedo1.com/html/kim_s_robinson.html
- ↑ http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/LocusWinsByYear.html
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 http://www.sfwa.org/awards/archive/pastwin.htm
- ↑ http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/campbell.htm
- ↑ http://www.bsfa.co.uk/index.cfm/section.awrdlist
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 http://www.worldcon.org/hy.html
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 http://www.gorinkai.com/aefcf/ignotus/resumen.htm
- ↑ http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/SeiunWinsByYear.html
- ↑ 20.00 20.01 20.02 20.03 20.04 20.05 20.06 20.07 20.08 20.09 20.10 20.11 20.12 20.13 20.14 20.15 20.16 20.17 20.18 20.19 20.20 20.21 20.22 20.23 20.24 20.25 20.26 20.27 20.28 20.29 20.30 20.31 20.32 20.33 20.34 20.35 20.36 20.37 20.38 http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/LocusNomList.html
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5 21.6 21.7 21.8 http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NebulaNomList.html
- ↑ 22.00 22.01 22.02 22.03 22.04 22.05 22.06 22.07 22.08 22.09 22.10 http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/HugoNomList.html
- ↑ http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/PkdNomList.html
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 http://www.appomattox.demon.co.uk/acca/shortlists.htm
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/campbell.htm
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/BsfaNomList.html
- ↑ http://www.tiptree.org/1992/short.html
- ↑ http://www.tiptree.org/1996/long.html
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/SeiunNomList.html
- ↑ http://www.tiptree.org/1999/
