Martha Wells Explained

Martha Wells
Birth Date:September 1, 1964
Birth Place:Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Occupation:Writer
Education:Texas A&M University (BA)
Genre:Fantasy, science fiction
Period:1993–present

Martha Wells (born September 1, 1964)[1] is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has published a number of fantasy novels, young adult novels, media tie-ins, short stories, and nonfiction essays on fantasy and science fiction subjects. Her novels have been translated into twelve languages.[2] Wells has won four Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards and three Locus Awards for her science fiction series The Murderbot Diaries. She is also known for her fantasy series Ile-Rien and The Books of the Raksura. Wells is praised for the complex, realistically detailed societies she creates; this is often credited to her academic background in anthropology.[3] [4]

Life

Martha Wells was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and has a B.A. in Anthropology from Texas A&M University. She lives in College Station, Texas, with her husband. She was involved in SF/F fandom in college and was chairman of AggieCon 17.[5] In May 2023, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.[6]

Career

As an aspiring writer Wells attended many local writing workshops and conventions, including the Turkey City Writer's Workshop taught by Bruce Sterling.[7] She has also taught writing workshops at ArmadilloCon, WorldCon, ApolloCon, and Writespace Houston,[8] and was the Special Workshop Guest at FenCon in 2018.[9]

Her first published novel, The Element of Fire (1993), was a finalist for that year's Compton Crook Award, and a runner-up for the 1994 Crawford Award. Her second novel, City of Bones (1995), received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and a black diamond review from Kirkus Reviews, and was on the 1995 Locus Recommended Reading List for fantasy. Her third novel, The Death of the Necromancer (1998), was nominated for a Nebula Award.[10] The Element of Fire and The Death of the Necromancer are stand-alone novels which take place in the country of Ile-Rien, which is also the setting for the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy: The Wizard Hunters (2003), The Ships of Air (2004), and The Gate of Gods (2005). Her fourth novel was a stand-alone fantasy, Wheel of the Infinite. In 2006, she released a revised edition of The Element of Fire.[11]

She has written media tie-ins, including:

Her fantasy short stories include "The Potter's Daughter" in the anthology Elemental (2006), which was selected to appear in The Year's Best Fantasy #7 (2007).[13] This story features one of the main characters from The Element of Fire. Three prequel short stories to the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy were published in Black Gate Magazine in 2007[14] [15] and 2008.[16]

Wells' longest-running fantasy series is The Books of the Raksura, which included five novels and two short fiction collections published by Night Shade Books: The Cloud Roads (2011), The Serpent Sea (2012), The Siren Depths (2012), Stories of the Raksura Vol 1: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud (2014), Stories of the Raksura Vol 2: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below (2015), The Edge of Worlds (2016), and The Harbors of the Sun (2017). The series was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2018,[17] and The Edge of Worlds was reviewed in The New York Times.[18]

Wells has written two young adult fantasy novels, Emilie and the Hollow World and Emilie and the Sky World, published by Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry in 2013 and 2014.[19]

Wells was toastmaster of the World Fantasy Convention in 2017,[20] where she delivered a speech called "Unbury the Future"[21] about marginalized creators in the history of science fiction and fantasy, movies, and other media, and the deliberate suppression of the existence of those creators. The speech was well-received and generated a great deal of discussion.[22]

During 2018, Wells was the leader of the story team and lead writer for the new Dominaria expansion of the card game .[23]

In May 2018, her Murderbot Diaries novella All Systems Red was number 8 on The New York Times Bestseller List for Audio.[24] The book won the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella,[25] the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella,[26] the 2018 Locus Award for Best Novella,[27] and the American Library Association's Alex Award,[28] and was nominated for the 2017 Philip K. Dick Award.[29] It was followed by the sequel novellas Artificial Condition (2018), Rogue Protocol (2018), and Exit Strategy (2018);[30] a short story, "Compulsory" (2018);[31] and a full novel sequel, Network Effect (2020), which made The New York Times Bestseller List for Novel.[32] On April 26, 2021, Tor.com publishing announced that they had signed a deal with Wells for six books, including three more in The Murderbot Diaries.[33] [34]

In September 2022, Tor Books shared the cover of Witch King, the latest novel by Wells that was released on May 30, 2023.[35] Tor describes the book as a story "of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose."[36]

Awards and nominations

YearWorkAwardCategoryResult
1994The Element of FireCompton Crook Award—align=center
—align=center
1998The Death of the NecromancerNebula AwardNovelalign=center [37]
2018The Books of the RaksuraHugo AwardSeries[38]
All Systems RedAlex Award—[39]
Hugo AwardNovella
Locus AwardNovellaalign=center
Nebula AwardNovellaalign=center
Philip K. Dick Award—align=center [40]
Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award SF Novelalign=center
2019Exit StrategyBSFA AwardShorter Fictionalign=center [41]
Artificial ConditionHugo AwardNovellaalign=center [42]
Locus AwardNovellaalign=center [43]
Nebula AwardNovellaalign=center [44]
2021Network EffectHugo AwardNovel[45]
Locus AwardScience Fiction Novel[46]
Nebula AwardNovel[47]
The Murderbot DiariesHugo AwardSeries
2023Witch KingDragon AwardsDragon Award for Fantasy NovelFantasy Novelalign=center [48]
2024Nebula AwardNovelalign=center [49]
Hugo AwardNovel[50]
World Fantasy AwardNovel[51]
Locus AwardFantasy Novel[52]
System CollapseLocus AwardScience Fiction Novel

Foreign translation

YearWorkAwardCategoryResult
2002The Death of the Necromancer (French edition)Prix Imaginales AwardForeign Novel
2004The Element of Fire (French edition)Foreign Novel
2020Sistemas críticos (translated by Carla Bataller Estruch)Premio IgnotusForeign Short Story[59]

Published works

Stand-alone fantasy novels

The Rising World

Ile-Rien

Books of the Raksura

Short stories

Emilie

Young-adult fantasy

Star Wars

Stargate universe

See main article: Stargate literature.

The Murderbot Diaries

Science fiction series:

See main article: The Murderbot Diaries.

Other short stories

Non-fiction

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Martha Wells: Unburied Future. August 13, 2018. Locus Online.
  2. Web site: Martha Wells – Bibliography. official site. 2018-12-02.
  3. Web site: Shaun Farrell interviews Martha Wells for Far Sector SFFH March 2006. www.farsector.com.
  4. Web site: ActuSF Interview with Martha Wells.
  5. Web site: AggieCon XVII Program exerpt.. cepheids.org. en-US. 2018-12-02.
  6. Web site: Lots of Travel, plus Cancer.. marthawells.dreamwidth.org. en-US. 2023-08-11.
  7. Web site: Interview with Martha Wells. Re:Fiction. September 19, 2017.
  8. Web site: Writers' Family Reunion. Writespace Writing Center. https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143303/https://www.writespacehouston.org/writers-family-reunion.html. 2018-06-12.
  9. Web site: FenCon XV – September 21–23, 2018 . www.fencon.org.
  10. Web site: The Locus Index to SF Awards Index . . https://web.archive.org/web/20081203131501/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit147.html . December 3, 2008 . June 25, 2018. dead.
  11. Web site: The Element of Fire by Martha Wells. official site. 2018-12-02.
  12. Web site: Media Tie-ins. MarthaWells.com.
  13. Book: Year's best fantasy 7. Tachyon Publications. 2007. 9781892391506. Hartwell. David G.. David G. Hartwell. 1st. San Francisco. 153153135. Cramer. Kathryn. Kathryn Cramer.
  14. Table of Contents. Black Gate. 10.
  15. Table of Contents. Black Gate. 11.
  16. Table of Contents. Black Gate. 12.
  17. Web site: Press Release: WorldCon 76 Announces 2018 Hugo Award Finalists.
  18. Web site: Otherworldy: The Latest in Science Fiction and Fantasy. The New York Times. N. K.. Jemisin. N. K. Jemisin. April 19, 2016. June 25, 2018.
  19. Web site: Young Adult Fantasy by Martha Wells. MarthaWells.com.
  20. Web site: World Fantasy 2017 – An annual gathering and reunion of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of light and dark fantasy art and literature.. wfc2017.org. February 22, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180307050905/http://wfc2017.org/wfc2017/. March 7, 2018. dead.
  21. Web site: 'Unbury the Future': Martha Wells' Full Speech from the 2017 World Fantasy Awards. November 7, 2017.
  22. Web site: World Fantasy Con 2017: A Mixed Montage.
  23. News: Whitbrook. James. Scifi Author Martha Wells Is Bringing Magic: The Gathering Back to Where It All Began. 14 February 2018. io9.
  24. Web site: Audio Fiction Books Bestsellers. The New York Times. May 1, 2018. June 19, 2019.
  25. Web site: All Systems Red. Nebula Awards. nebulas.sfwa.org. May 20, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180520124440/https://nebulas.sfwa.org/nominated-work/4876/. May 20, 2018. live.
  26. Web site: 2018 Hugo Awards. March 15, 2018. Hugo Awards. August 20, 2018. thehugoawards.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20180402094920/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2018-hugo-awards/. April 2, 2018. live.
  27. Web site: 2018 Locus Awards Winners. Locus. June 23, 2018.
  28. Web site: American Library Association announces 2018 youth media award winners. American Library Association. February 12, 2018. May 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180213002511/http://ala.unikron.com/2018/. February 13, 2018. dead. mdy-all.
  29. Web site: Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Announced. Philip K. Dick Award. January 11, 2018. May 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180320091921/http://www.philipkdickaward.org/2018/01/philip-k-dick-award-nominees-announced.html. March 20, 2018. dead.
  30. Web site: Ghosts, Robots, and Monsters: A Round-up of New Sci-Fi and Fantasy. The New York Times. November 30, 2018. May 6, 2020.
  31. The Future of Work: 'Compulsory' by Martha Wells. Wired. December 17, 2018. February 4, 2019.
  32. Web site: Murderbot Will Return in...Network Effect. Tor.com. Lee. Harris. March 11, 2019. March 12, 2019.
  33. Web site: 'Tordotcom Publishing Acquires Six Martha Wells Books—Including Three Murderbot Diaries'. Tor.com. Molly. Templeton. April 26, 2021. April 26, 2021.
  34. Web site: Pedersen . Erik . 2021-04-25 . How 'Murderbot Diaries' author Martha Wells overcame a career in crisis to create the killer series . 2022-05-28 . Orange County Register . en-US.
  35. Web site: Brown. Alex. 2023-05-31. A Lavish, Crunchy Fantasy: Witch King by Martha Wells. 2023-11-21. Tor.com.
  36. Web site: Tor.com . 2022-09-21 . Revealing Witch King, Murderbot Author Martha Wells’ New Epic Fantasy . 2022-11-16 . Tor.com . en-US.
  37. Web site: 1998 Nebula Awards. nebulas.sfwa.org.
  38. Web site: 2018 Hugo and Campbell Award Finalists. Locus. March 31, 2018.
  39. News: American Library Association announces 2018 youth media award winners. 2018-02-19. American Library Association. 2018-11-25. en.
  40. Web site: Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Announced.
  41. Web site: Awards Shortlist. bsfa.co.uk.
  42. Web site: 2019 Hugo Award Finalists Announced. Tor.com. April 2, 2019. April 3, 2019.
  43. Web site: 2019 Locus Awards Winners. Locus. June 29, 2019.
  44. Web site: Announcing the 2018 Nebula Award Finalists. Tor.com. February 20, 2019. March 13, 2019.
  45. Web site: Martha Wells Awards . . Locus Science Fiction Foundation . December 19, 2021.
  46. Web site: 2021 Locus Awards Winners. Locus. June 26, 2021.
  47. Web site: 2021-06-05. SFWA Announces the 56th Annual Nebula Award® Winners. 2021-06-05. The Nebula Awards®. en-US.
  48. Web site: 2023 Dragon Awards. file770.com.
  49. Web site: SFWA Announces the Finalists for the 59th Nebula Awards. sfwa.org.
  50. Web site: 2024 Hugo Award Finalists. glasgow2024.org.
  51. Web site: 2024 World Fantasy Awards. wfc2024.org.
  52. Web site: 2024 Locus Awards Winners. Locus. June 22, 2024.
  53. Web site: SFWA Announces Nebula Award Finalists. March 8, 2022 .
  54. Web site: The Nebula Nomination Decline.
  55. Web site: 2022 Hugo, Lodestar and Astounding Awards.
  56. Web site: SFWA Announces the Finalists for the 59th Nebula Awards . sfwa.org.
  57. Web site: 2024 Hugo Award Finalists . glasgow2024.org.
  58. Web site: Texas Literary Hall of Fame. TCU Library. October 19, 2022.
  59. Web site: November 16, 2020 . Ignotus 2020 Awards for the best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror in Spain . File770.
  60. Web site: Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire 2020 .
  61. Web site: 2020 Kurd Laßwitz Preis .
  62. Web site: September 2020 . Prix Bob Morane 2020 . File770.
  63. Web site: May 7, 2020 . 2020 Seiun Awards Nominees . Locus.
  64. Web site: March 20, 2022 . Kurd Laßwitz Preis 2022 Finalists .
  65. Web site: May 15, 2022 . 2022 Seiun Award Nominees . File770.
  66. Web site: Book review by Samantha Holloway: All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries). New York Journal of Books. Samantha. Holloway. April 10, 2018.
  67. Web site: Fiction Book Review: All Systems Red by Martha Wells. Publishers Weekly. May 2, 2017 . April 10, 2018.
  68. Web site: Sulky, Cynical 'Murderbot' Is One of Sci-Fi's Most Human Characters. NPR. Jason. Sheehan. January 27, 2019. July 24, 2019.
  69. Web site: Wells . Martha . The Future of Work: Compulsory . Wired . 24 October 2022.
  70. Web site: Wells . Martha . Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory . TOR.com . TOR . 24 October 2022.
  71. Web site: Wells . Martha . System Collapse . Macmillan Publishers . 16 November 2023.
  72. Web site: Wells . Martha . Wolf Night . Lone Star Stories . 24 October 2022.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Martha Wells".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.