| Marge Simon | |
| Birth Place: | Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | University of Northern Colorado (B.A., M.S.) Art Center College of Design |
| Nationality: | American |
| Genre: | speculative fiction |
| Awards: | Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (r. 2021) |
Marge Baliff Simon (born 1942) is an American artist and a writer of speculative poetry and fiction.
Marge Simon was born in Bethesda, Maryland, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado.
She received her BA and MA degrees from the University of Northern Colorado, and then continued her studies at the ArtCenter College of Design. Deciding against a career as a commercial artist, she began working as an art teacher in elementary schools instead.
In the mid-1980s, Simon began writing and illustrating for the small press and went on to become an award-winning writer. Simon's poems, short fiction, and illustrations have appeared in hundreds of publications, including Amazing Stories, Nebula Awards 32, Strange Horizons, The Pedestal Magazine, Chizine, Niteblade, Vestal Review, and Daily Science Fiction.
Simon is a former president of the Small Press Writers and Artists Organization and of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA). She is additionally a former editor of Star*Line, the SFPA's bimonthly journal.
In 2013, Simon began editing the column "Blood and Spades: Poets of the Dark Side" for the monthly newsletter of the Horror Writers Association. She serves as the Chair of the HWA Board of Trustees.
Simon lives in Ocala, Florida, with her husband, writer Bruce Boston, with whom she sometimes collaborates.
Simon's poem "Variants of the Obsolete" won the 1996 Rhysling Award for speculative poetry in the Long category. Her poems "Shutdown" and "George Tecumseh Sherman’s Ghosts" placed first in the Short category of the Rhyslings in 2015 and 2017, respectively.[2]
Simon's short-form poem "Blue Rose Buddha" won the 2012 Dwarf Stars Award.[3]
Vectors: A Week in the Death of a Planet, written by Simon in collaboration with Charlee Jacob, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Poetry Collection in 2008. In 2012, Simon's collection Vampires, Zombies, and Wanton Souls was a recipient of the same award.
Sweet Poison, co-written with Mary A. Turzillo, won the 2015 Elgin Award for best full-length speculative poetry collection. Simon's Small Spirits: Dark Dolls placed second in the full-length book category of the 2017 Elgins, and Satan's Sweethearts, another collaborative work with Turzillo, placed second in the 2018 Elgins. War, written by Simon in collaboration with Alessandro Manzetti, won the 2019 Elgin for full-length book.[4]
In 2015, Simon was created a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association in recognition of more than twenty years of contributions to the field of speculative verse.[5]