Katherine Arden Explained

Birth Name:	Katherine Arden Burdine^[1]
Birth Place:	Texas, U.S.
Education:	Middlebury College (2011)
Occupation:	Novelist
Period:	2017–present
Notableworks:	Winternight trilogy
Awards:	Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (2020)

Katherine Arden Burdine (born 1987), best known by her pen name Katherine Arden, is an American novelist. Known primarily for her Winternight trilogy of fantasy novels,^[2] which are set in medieval Russia and have garnered nominations for Hugo and Locus Awards, she is also the author of the Small Spaces series of horror novels for middle grade children. The first in the latter series, Small Spaces, won the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award in 2020.

Biography

Arden was born in Austin, Texas, and currently resides in Vermont. She spent a year in Moscow after high school before returning to Vermont.^[3] She attended Middlebury College, graduating with a degree in Russian and French in 2011.

After graduating, and uncertain what she wanted to do, Arden took a job on a farm in Hawaii. Bored with the job, she took to writing in her spare time, and "the rest of the writing process just sort of happened in stops and starts."^[4]

Arden's writing is influenced by J.R.R Tolkien, Mary Renault, Naomi Novik, Patrick O'Brian, Dorothy Dunnett, Diana Gabaldon, and Robin McKinley.^[5]

Bibliography

Winternight trilogy

See main article: Winternight trilogy.

• The Bear and the Nightingale (2017)
• The Girl in the Tower (2017)
• The Winter of the Witch (2019)

Small Spaces series

• Small Spaces (2018)^[6]
• Dead Voices (2019)^[7]
• Dark Waters (2021)^[8]
• Empty Smiles (2022)^[9]

Standalone novels

• The Warm Hands of Ghosts (2024)

Awards and nominations

• 2018: Finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer^[10]
• 2018: Finalist for the Locus Award for Best First Novel, The Bear and the Nightingale^[11]
• 2018: Finalist for the Vermont Book Award for Fiction, The Bear and the Nightingale^[12]
• 2019: Finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer^[10]
• 2020: Finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Series, Winternight trilogy^[13]
• 2020: Winner of the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award, Small Spaces^[14]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Brandon author signs three-book deal with major publisher. Kahrs. Lee J.. January 9, 2017. Addison County Independent. May 5, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180506104505/http://www.addisonindependent.com/201701brandon-author-signs-three-book-deal-major-publisher. May 6, 2018. dead.
2. News: Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Jan. 27, 2019 - The New York Times. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-05-06. 0362-4331.
3. News: 2017-01-16. Katherine Arden Debuts A Different Kind Of Coming Winter. en-US. Unbound Worlds. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170126053928/http://www.unboundworlds.com/2017/01/katherine-arden-debuts-different-kind-coming-winter/ . January 26, 2017 . Speakman . Shawn.
4. Web site: Tufnell . Nicholas . Katherine Arden: It's a great time for female fantasy writers . January 24, 2018 . CNET.
5. Web site: Katherine Arden. 2021-05-28. Goodreads.
6. Web site: Small Spaces by Katherine Arden. 2021-05-06. Penguin Random House. en-US.
7. Web site: Dead Voices by Katherine Arden. 2021-05-06. Penguin Random House. en-US.
8. Web site: Dark Waters by Katherine Arden. 2021-05-06. Penguin Random House. en-US.
9. Web site: Empty Smiles by Katherine Arden . . November 11, 2021 . en-US.
10. Web site: Katherine Arden Awards . . . August 14, 2021.
11. Web site: 2018-06-23. 2018 Locus Awards Winners. 2021-05-06. . en-US.
12. Web site: Vermont Book Award Finalists & Winners. 2021-05-06. Vermont College of Fine Arts. en-US.
13. Web site: 2020-04-07. 2020 Hugo Awards. 2021-05-06. The Hugo Awards. en-US.
14. Web site: Winners of the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (formerly the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book Award) . . November 11, 2021.