Sandra Louise Miesel (born Sandra Louise Schwartz on November 25, 1941) in New Orleans)[1] is an American medievalist, writer, editor and fiction critic. Her early work was in science fiction and fantasy criticism, while her later writings focus on religious critiques.
Miesel was a member of science fiction fandom (a connection which sprang from a letter she had published in IF magazine[2]). She published several critical articles in the science fiction fanzine Yandro, especially on Anderson and Dickson, as well as other fanzines such as Granfalloon.
She started her career as a critic in 1970s with Myth, Symbol and Religion in The Lord of the Rings (1973 chap) on J R R Tolkien.
She was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer three times (1973, 1974 and 1975)[3] and had two monographs published by Fannish small presses: Myth, Symbol and Religion in The Lord of the Rings (T-K Graphics, 1973) and Against Time's Arrow: The High Crusade of Poul Anderson (Borgo Press, 1978).[4]
Miesel has written many articles for the Catholic press, chiefly focusing on history, art, and hagiography. She wrote regularly for the Crisis Catholic magazine and is a columnist for the diocesan paper of the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut.
Miesel is also a public speaker, having spoken at religious and academic conferences, appeared on EWTN, and given numerous radio interviews.
Miesel has co-authored, The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code, with Carl E. Olson. This is a detailed critique of the popular novel based on her knowledge of Catholic history and teachings.
She is also the co-author of The Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy with Catholic journalist and canon lawyer Pete Vere. The book, published by Ignatius Press, offers a detailed critique of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy from a Catholic point of view.[5]
Miesel holds master's degrees in biochemistry and medieval history from the University of Illinois. She lives in the Indianapolis, Indiana area.[6] She was married to John Miesel for 42 years until his death in 2006.[7]