Pat Cadigan Explained

Pat Cadigan
Birth Date:10 September 1953
Birth Place:Schenectady, New York, U.S.
Alma Mater:University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Kansas
Occupation:Writer
Genre:Science fiction, cyberpunk
Notableworks:Synners, Fools
Language:English
Nationality:American
British (as of 2014)

Patricia Oren Kearney Cadigan (born September 10, 1953) is a British-American science fiction author, whose work is most often identified with the cyberpunk movement.[1] Her novels and short stories often explore the relationship between the human mind and technology. Her debut novel, Mindplayers, was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1988.[2] [3]

Early years

Cadigan was born in Schenectady, New York, and grew up in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

In the 1960s Cadigan and a childhood friend "invented a whole secret life in which we were twins from the planet Venus", she told National Public Radio.[4] "The Beatles "came to us for advice about their songs and how to deal with fame and other important matters." She goes on to say: "On occasion, they would ask us to use our highly developed shape-shifting ability to become them, and finish recording sessions and concert tours when they were too tired to go on themselves." The Venusian twins had other superpowers, that they would sometimes use to help out Superman, Wonder Woman and other heroes, she said.

Cadigan was educated in theater at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and studied science fiction and science fiction writing at the University of Kansas (KU) under science fiction author and editor James Gunn.[3]

Cadigan met her first husband, Rufus Cadigan, while in college; they divorced shortly after she graduated from KU in 1975. That same year, Cadigan joined the convention committee for MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention being held in Kansas City, Missouri, over the 1976 Labor Day weekend; she served on the committee as the convention's guest liaison to writer guest of honor Robert A. Heinlein, as well as helped to develop programming for the convention. At the same time, she also worked for fantasy writer Tom Reamy at his Nickelodeon Graphics Arts Service studio, where she daily typset various jobs. She also prepared the type galleys for MidAmeriCon's various publications, including the convention's hardcover program book. Following Reamy's death on 4 November 1977, Cadigan went to work as a writer for Kansas City, MO's Hallmark Cards company. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she also edited the small press fantasy and science fiction magazines Chacal and later Shayol with her second husband, Arnie Fenner.[3]

Cadigan emigrated to London in 1996, where she is married to her third husband, Christopher Fowler (not to be confused with the author of the same name). She became a UK citizen in late 2014.[5] [3]

Writing career

Cadigan sold her first professional science fiction story in 1980. Her success as an author encouraged her to become a full-time writer in 1987.

Cadigan's first novel, Mindplayers, introduces what becomes the common theme to all her works: her stories blur the line between reality and perception by making the human mind a real, explorable place. Her second novel, Synners, expands upon the same theme; both feature a future where direct access to the mind via technology is possible. While her stories include many of the gritty, unvarnished characteristics of the cyberpunk genre, she further specializes in this exploration of the speculative relationship between technology and the perceptions of the human mind.[6] [1]

Cadigan has won a number of awards, including the 2013 Hugo Award for "The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi" in the Best Novelette category, and the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1992 and 1995 for her novels Synners and Fools.[5]

Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1982 novel Friday in part to Cadigan following her being the guest liaison to him at the 34th Worldcon in Kansas City.[7]

Health

In 2013, Cadigan announced that she had been diagnosed with cancer.[8] She underwent surgery after an early diagnosis, suffered a relapse some years after, and recovered after extensive chemotherapy.[9]

Bibliography

From the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.[10]

Series

Deadpan Allie

  1. Mindplayers, (Bantam Spectra Aug. 1987)/(Gollancz Feb. 1988); revised and expanded from the following linked stories:
    • "The Pathosfinder", (nv) The Berkley Showcase: New Writings in Science Fiction & Fantasy, ed. John Silbersack & Victoria Schochet, Berkley July 1981
    • "Nearly Departed", (ss) Asimov's June 1983; read online
    • "Variation on a Man", (ss) Omni Jan. 1984
    • "Lunatic Bridge", (nv) The Fifth Omni Book of Science Fiction, ed. Ellen Datlow, Zebra Books April 1987
  2. "Dirty Work", (nv) Blood Is Not Enough, ed. Ellen Datlow, Morrow 1989
  3. "A Lie for a Lie", (nv) Lethal Kisses, ed. Ellen Datlow, Millennium Dec. 1996

Dore Konstantin (TechnoCrime, Artificial Reality Division)

  1. Tea from an Empty Cup, (Tor Oct. 1998); loosely based on the following linked novellas:
    • "Death in the Promised Land", (na) Omni Online March 1995 / Asimov’s Nov. 1995
    • "Tea from an Empty Cup", (na) Omni Online Oct. 1995 / Black Mist and Other Japanese Futures, ed. Orson Scott Card & Keith Ferrell, DAW Dec. 1997
  2. Dervish is Digital, (Macmillan UK Oct. 2000) / (Tor July 2001)

Short fiction

=Patterns (1989)

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=Home by the Sea (1992)

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=Dirty Work (1993)

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Chapbooks

Stand-alone novels

Tie-ins

Tie-in nonfiction

External links

Interviews

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2024-05-14 . 20 on the 20th — Pat Cadigan – The Hathor Legacy . 2024-05-14 . en-US.
  2. Web site: Mindplayers by Pat Cadigan. June 21, 2009. FantasticFiction.co.uk.
  3. Web site: Pat Cadigan: The Future We Promised You . Locus Online . 13 November 2016 . 29 January 2024.
  4. Web site: In Secret World, Girls Of The '60s Advised The Beatles. NPR.
  5. Web site: The Arthur C. Clarke Award . 2023-06-21 . The Arthur C. Clarke Award . en.
  6. Book: Heuser, Sabine . Pat Cadigan's Virtual Mindscapes . 2003-01-01 . Brill . 978-90-04-33437-3 . en.
  7. Book: Heinlein, Robert A . Friday. New England Library . 1984 . 0-450-05549-3.
  8. https://archive.today/20170910133853/https://fastfwd.livejournal.com/634086.html Why I've Decided to Talk About My Cancer
  9. https://patcadigan.wordpress.com/2020/12/31/okay-i-gotta-be-honest/ Okay, I gotta be honest--
  10. Web site: Summary Bibliography: Pat Cadigan . 2022-06-06 . www.isfdb.org.

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