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Charlie Jane Anders

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Charlie Jane Anders
Anders at Worldcon 75 in 2017
Anders at Worldcon 75 in 2017
Born (1969-07-24) July 24, 1969 (age 56)
Tolland County, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation
  • Writer
  • editor
  • presenter
  • performance artist
  • publisher
GenreScience fiction, short story, fiction
Notable worksChoir Boy, All the Birds in the Sky
Website
charliejaneanders.com

Charlie Jane Anders (born July 24, 1969) is an American writer specializing in speculative fiction. She has written several novels as well as shorter fiction. Her novels, including as All the Birds in the Sky and The City in the Middle of the Night, received critical acclaim and won major literary awards including the Nebula Award for Best Novel and Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. All three novels in her young adult trilogy Unstoppable have won the Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book.

Anders's fiction has received numerous literary awards, including the Crawford Award, Hugo Award, Lambda Literary Award, Locus Award, Nebula Award, and Theodore Sturgeon Award.

Early life, education and career

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Anders was born in a small farm town near Storrs, Connecticut on July 24, 1969[1][2][3] and grew up in nearby Mansfield.[4] She studied English and Asian Literature at the University of Cambridge,[5] and studied in China[1][4] before moving to San Francisco in the early 2000s.[1] Anders co-founded Other magazine, the "magazine of pop culture and politics for the new outcasts", with Annalee Newitz, and served as publisher during the magazine's run from 2002 to 2007.[6] In 2006, she was a co-founding editor of the science fiction blog io9,[7] a position she left in April 2016 to focus on novel writing.[8]

Literary career

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Anders has had science fiction published in Tor.com, Strange Horizons, and Flurb. Additional (non-science-fiction) literary work has been published in McSweeney's and Zyzzyva. Anders's work has appeared in Salon,[9] The Wall Street Journal,[10] Publishers Weekly,[11] San Francisco Bay Guardian,[12] Mother Jones,[13] and the San Francisco Chronicle.[14] She has had stories and essays in anthologies such as Sex For America: Politically Inspired Erotica,[15] The McSweeney's Joke Book of Book Jokes,[16] and That's Revolting!: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation.[17]

Her first novel, Choir Boy, appeared in 2005 from Soft Skull Press; a young adult story about a boy transitioning gender in order to sing. In 2014, Tor Books acquired two novels from Anders.[18] All the Birds in the Sky was published in 2016 and The City in the Middle of the Night was published 2019.[19]

In August 2025, she will publish a new novel entitled Lessons in Magic and Disaster.[20]

Unstoppable trilogy

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Tor Teen acquired Unstoppable, a young adult trilogy from Anders in 2017.[21] The first novel, Victories Greater Than Death, was published in 2021, and the second, Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak, in 2022. The third novel, Promises Stronger Than Darkness, was published in 2023.[22]

Other work

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In addition to her work as an author and publisher, Anders is a longtime event organizer. She organized a "ballerina pie fight" in 2005 for Other magazine;[23] co-organized the Cross-Gender Caravan, a national transgender and genderqueer author tour;[24] and a Bookstore and Chocolate Crawl in San Francisco.[25] She emcees "Writers with Drinks", an award-winning San Francisco-based monthly reading series begun in 2001 that features authors from a wide range of genres[26] and has been noted for its "free-associative author introductions".[27]

She has been a juror for the James Tiptree Jr. Award and for the Lambda Literary Award. She formerly published the satirical website godhatesfigs.com[28] which was featured by The Sunday Times as website of the week.[29]

A television adaptation of Anders' Six Months, Three Days was being prepared for NBC in 2013,[needs update] with the script written by Eric Garcia.[30]

In March 2018,[31] with her partner and co-host Annalee Newitz, Anders launched the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct, which "explor[es] the meaning of science fiction, and how it's relevant to real-life science and society."[32] The podcast won the Hugo Award for Best Fancast in 2019, 2020 and 2022.[33][34][35]

Anders co-created the Marvel Comics character Shela Sexton, also known as Escapade, a trans mutant super hero. The character debuted in Marvel's Voices: Pride #1 in June 2022.[36][37]

Awards and honors

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Literary awards

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Year Work Award Category Result Ref.
2006 Choir Boy Edmund White Award — Finalist [38]
Lambda Literary Award Transgender Literature Won [39]
2011 "Six Months, Three Days" Nebula Award Novelette Finalist [40]
2012 Hugo Award Novelette Won [41]
Theodore Sturgeon Award — Runner-up [42]
2016 All the Birds in the Sky Nebula Award Novel Won [43]
Time Magazine Top Ten Novels of 2016 — Listed [44]
2017 Crawford Award — Won [45]
Hugo Award Novel Finalist [46]
Locus Award Fantasy Novel Won [47]
"Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue" James Tiptree Jr. Award — Honor List [48]
2018 Locus Award Short Story Finalist [49]
Theodore Sturgeon Award — Won [50]
Six Months, Three Days, Five Others Locus Award Collection Finalist [49]
2020 All the Birds in the Sky Time Magazine 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time — Listed [51]
"The Bookstore at the End of America" Locus Award Short Story Won [52]
The City in the Middle of the Night Arthur C. Clarke Award — Shortlisted [53]
Hugo Award Novel Finalist [54]
Locus Award Science Fiction Novel Won [52]
2021 All the Birds in the Sky Seiun Award Translated Novel Finalist [55]
"If You Take My Meaning" Locus Award Novelette Finalist [56]
Theodore Sturgeon Award — Finalist [57]
Victories Greater Than Death Andre Norton Award — Finalist [58]
2022 Even Greater Mistakes Locus Award Collection Won [59]
Never Say You Can’t Survive Hugo Award Related Work Won [60]
World Fantasy Award Special-Professional Finalist [61]
Victories Greater Than Death Locus Award Young Adult Book Won [59]
Lodestar Award — Finalist [60]
2023 Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak Locus Award Young Adult Book Won [62]
Lodestar Award — Finalist [63]
2024 Promises Stronger Than Darkness Locus Award Young Adult Book Won [64]
Lodestar Award — Finalist [65]
A Soul in the World Locus Award Short Story Finalist [64]

Fancasts

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Year Work Award Category Result Ref.
2019 Our Opinions Are Correct (with Annalee Newitz) Hugo Award Fancast Won [66]
2020 Won [54]
2022 Won [60]

Bibliography

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Novels

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  • —— (2005). Choir Boy. Soft Skull Press. ISBN 9781932360813.
  • —— (2016). All the Birds in the Sky. Tor Books. ISBN 9780765379948.
  • —— (2019). The City in the Middle of the Night. Tor Books. ISBN 9780765379962.
  • —— (2025). Lessons in Magic and Disaster. Tor Books. ISBN 9781250867322. (forthcoming as of September 2024)[20]

Unstoppable

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Short story collections

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Short fiction

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Year Title[67] Scope First published Notes
2010 "The Fermi Paradox Is Our Business Model" —— (August 11, 2010). "The Fermi Paradox Is Our Business Model". Tor.com.
2011 "Source Decay" —— (January 3, 2011). "Source Decay". Strange Horizons.
"Six Months, Three Days" Novelette —— (June 8, 2011). "Six Months, Three Days". Tor.com.
2012 "Intestate" —— (December 17, 2012). "Intestate". Tor.com.
2013 "Complicated and Stupid" —— (August 5, 2013). "Complicated and Stupid". Strange Horizons.
"The Time Travel Club" Novelette —— (October–November 2013). "The Time Travel Club". Asimov's Science Fiction. 37 (10–11): 20–35.
2014 "The Cartography of Sudden Death" —— (January 15, 2014). "The Cartography of Sudden Death". Tor.com.
"As Good As New" —— (September 10, 2014). "As Good As New". Tor.com.
2016 "Clover" —— (October 25, 2016). "Clover". Tor.com. Follows All the Birds in the Sky.
2017 "Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue" —— (October 30, 2017). "Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue". Boston Review.
2018 Rock Manning Goes for Broke Novella —— (July 2018). Rock Manning Goes for Broke. Subterranean Press.
"The Minnesota Diet" —— (January 17, 2018). "The Minnesota Diet". Future Tense.
2020 "If You Take My Meaning" —— (February 26, 2020). "If You Take My Meaning". Tor.com. Follows City in the Middle of the Night.

Non-fiction

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Interviews

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Critical studies and reviews of Anders' work

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Fallon, Claire (June 17, 2019). "Charlie Jane Anders Crosses The Divide". HuffPost. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  2. ^ Checkerfield, Alec (July 24, 2017). "Belated happy birthday to the amazing Charlie Jane Anders". Tachyon Publications. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  3. ^ Marech, Rona (August 31, 2004). "SAN FRANCISCO / A pop culture magazine for freaks and 'new outcasts' / Other journal is pro-rant, pro-loopy and pro-anarchy". SFGATE. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Charlie Jane Anders: Whimsy Death Match". Locus Online. January 10, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  5. ^ Cala, Christina (March 19, 2021). "Charlie Jane Anders: How Can Science Fiction Allow Us To Imagine Better Futures?", NPR. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  6. ^ Marech, Rona (August 31, 2004). "SAN FRANCISCO / A pop culture magazine for freaks and 'new outcasts' / Other journal is pro-rant, pro-loopy and pro-anarchy". SFGATE. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "Spotlight on: Charlie Jane Anders, Author, Editor, Blogger, Emcee". Locus Online. Locus Publications. August 25, 2010. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  8. ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (April 30, 2016). "io9 Was Founded on the Idea That Science Fiction Belongs to Everyone". io9. Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  9. ^ "Can science fiction be literature?". Salon Futura. February 4, 2011. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  10. ^ Shea, Christopher (February 6, 2012). "Curious New Media Views of Autism". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  11. ^ Jasper, Josh (October 6, 2009). "io9's Charlie Jane Anders Is Wrong, but in an Interesting Way". Publishers Weekly.
  12. ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (November 28, 2007). "Buy local, Give your loved ones a taste of the Bay Area lit scene". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  13. ^ Anders, Charlie (July 30, 2007). "Supergirls Gone Wild: Gender Bias In Comics Shortchanges Superwomen". Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress. Archived from the original on June 18, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  14. ^ Anders, Charlie (April 9, 2006). "Brutal, honest memoir of sex and queerness". SFGATE.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  15. ^ Kiefer, Jonathan (February 21, 2008). "Sex for America. Even Sacramento". Sacramento News-Review. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  16. ^ Subramanian, Aishwarya (May 8, 2011). "McSweeney's ingenious, singular wit makes this difficult to hate". Sunday Guardian. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  17. ^ Sycamore, Matt Bernstein (2004). That's Revolting!: Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation. Soft Skull Press. ISBN 9781932360561.
  18. ^ Gallo, Irene (March 11, 2014). "Tor Books Announces the Acquisition of Charlie Jane Anders's Novel All the Birds in the Sky". Tor.com. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  19. ^ "Fiction Book Review: The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders". PublishersWeekly.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Lessons in Magic and Disaster". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  21. ^ Jackson, Frannie (October 20, 2017). "Exclusive: Tor Teen Acquires a Space Adventure Trilogy by Charlie Jane Anders". Paste. Archived from the original on March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  22. ^ "Charlie Jane Anders: Know What You Want". Locus. April 10, 2023.
  23. ^ Marech (2004).
  24. ^ "More Preview". Montpelier Times-Argus. March 18, 2005. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  25. ^ Werris, Wendy (February 24, 2012). "San Francisco Bookstore and Chocolate Crawl Set for Sunday". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  26. ^ Karp, Evan (February 11, 2010). "Variety-show reading series Writers With Drinks". SFGATE.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  27. ^ Karp, Evan (April 8, 2011). "Writers With Drinks Celebrates 10th Anniversary Saturday". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  28. ^ Anders, Charlie. "God Hates Figs". Godhatesfigs.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  29. ^ "This Life". The Sunday Times (London). August 6, 2000.
  30. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 27, 2013). "NBC Nabs Light Procedural Produced By Krysten Ritter & David Janollari". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 20, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  31. ^ "Episode 1: Hope, dread, and Star Trek: Discovery". our opinions are correct. March 15, 2018. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  32. ^ Rocket, Stubby the (April 3, 2018). "Listen to Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz's New Podcast, Our Opinions Are Correct". Tor.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  33. ^ "2019 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. July 28, 2019. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  34. ^ "2020 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. August 1, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  35. ^ "2022 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  36. ^ Damore, Meagan (May 11, 2022). "Charlie Jane Anders Introduces Escapade, Marvel's New Mutant Hero". Marvel Entertainment. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  37. ^ Graves, Sabina (May 12, 2022). "Meet Escapade, a New Mutant Hero Created by Charlie Jane Anders". Gizmodo. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  38. ^ "The Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction". The Publishing Triangle. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  39. ^ Cerna, Antonio Gonzalez (April 9, 2005). "Past Winners & Finalists: 18th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". Lambda Literary. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013.
  40. ^ "2011 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. May 19, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  41. ^ "2012 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners". Locus. September 2, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  42. ^ "2012 Campbell and Sturgeon Award Winners". Locus. June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  43. ^ "2016 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. May 20, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  44. ^ Begley, Sarah (November 22, 2016). "The Top 10 Novels". Time. Archived from the original on November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  45. ^ "2017 Crawford Award". Locus. February 9, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  46. ^ "2017 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners". Locus. August 11, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  47. ^ "2017 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 24, 2017. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  48. ^ "Bergin Wins 2017 Tiptree Award". Locus. March 14, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  49. ^ a b "2018 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 23, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  50. ^ "2018 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Winners". Locus. June 25, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  51. ^ "The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time". Time. October 15, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  52. ^ a b "2020 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online. June 27, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  53. ^ "The Old Drift Wins Clarke Award". Locus. September 23, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  54. ^ a b "2020 Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Winners". Locus. July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  55. ^ "2021 Seiun Awards Winners". Locus. July 21, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  56. ^ "2021 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 26, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  57. ^ "Campbell Wins Sturgeon". Locus. October 18, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  58. ^ "2021 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus. May 21, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  59. ^ a b "2022 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 25, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  60. ^ a b c "2022 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners". Locus Online. September 4, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2025.
  61. ^ "2022 World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. November 6, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  62. ^ "2023 Locus Award Winners". Locus. June 24, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  63. ^ "2023 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners". Locus. October 21, 2023. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  64. ^ a b "2024 Locus Award Winners". Locus. June 22, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
  65. ^ "Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Winners". Locus. August 11, 2024. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  66. ^ "2019 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners". Locus. August 18, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  67. ^ Short stories unless otherwise noted.
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