Elizabeth A. Lynn
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth A. Lynn is a US writer most known for fantasy
and to a lesser extent science fiction
. She is particularly known for being one of the first writers in science fiction or fantasy to introduce gay and lesbian characters; in honor of Lynn, the GLBT bookstore "A Different Light" took its name from her novel.
novels to have gay relationships as an unremarkable part of the cultural background, and included explicit and sympathetic depictions of same-sex love. The other books in this series are The Dancers of Arun (1979); and Northern Girl (1980) - this third novel is of particular lesbian interest.
Lynn's early science fiction novels were similarly ground-breaking in their treatment of sexual themes. In The Sardonyx Net (1981), one of the primary characters is a sexual sadist. Her SF novel A Different Light (1978) featured a same-sex relationship between two men, and inspired the name of the LGBT bookstore and chain "A Different Light". The magical lesbian tale "The Woman Who Loved the Moon" also won a World Fantasy Award and is the title story in Lynn's The Woman Who Loved the Moon collection along with other gay speculative fiction stories. Both these novels featured the science fiction concept hyperspace
.
Lynn more recently began a new fantasy series, again featuring gay relationships: Dragon's Winter (1998) and Dragon's Treasure (2004).
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and to a lesser extent science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. She is particularly known for being one of the first writers in science fiction or fantasy to introduce gay and lesbian characters; in honor of Lynn, the GLBT bookstore "A Different Light" took its name from her novel.
Literary biography
Elizabeth Lynn is an openly lesbian science fiction and fantasy writer who has written numerous works featuring positive gay protagonists. Her Chronicles of Tornor novels (1979-80), the first book of which, Watchtower, won the World Fantasy Award, were among the first fantasyFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novels to have gay relationships as an unremarkable part of the cultural background, and included explicit and sympathetic depictions of same-sex love. The other books in this series are The Dancers of Arun (1979); and Northern Girl (1980) - this third novel is of particular lesbian interest.
Lynn's early science fiction novels were similarly ground-breaking in their treatment of sexual themes. In The Sardonyx Net (1981), one of the primary characters is a sexual sadist. Her SF novel A Different Light (1978) featured a same-sex relationship between two men, and inspired the name of the LGBT bookstore and chain "A Different Light". The magical lesbian tale "The Woman Who Loved the Moon" also won a World Fantasy Award and is the title story in Lynn's The Woman Who Loved the Moon collection along with other gay speculative fiction stories. Both these novels featured the science fiction concept hyperspace
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
.
Lynn more recently began a new fantasy series, again featuring gay relationships: Dragon's Winter (1998) and Dragon's Treasure (2004).
Novels and novella
- A Different Light (1978), ISBN 0-425-04824-1
- The Chronicles of TornorThe Chronicles of TornorThe Chronicles of Tornor is a fantasy series by American lesbian author Elizabeth Lynn. The series won a World Fantasy Award with its first book, and further nominations with the sequels...
- Watchtower (1979), ISBN 0-425-05008-4
- The Dancers of Arun (1979), ISBN 0-425-05189-7
- The Northern Girl (1980), ISBN 0-425-04725-3
- The Sardonyx Net (1981), ISBN 0-425-05326-1
- The Woman Who Loved the Moon and Other Stories (1981), ISBN 0-425-05161-7
- The Silver Horse (1981), ISBN 0-312-94404-7
- The Red Hawk (novellaNovellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
, 1984) - Dragon's Winter (1998), ISBN 0-441-00502-0
- Dragon's Treasure (2004), ISBN 0-441-01196-9
Short stories
- "Jubilee's Story" (in Millennial WomenMillennial WomenMillennial Women is a 1978 science fiction anthology, edited by Virginia Kidd, in which all the stories are written by women and have a female character as the primary protagonist...
, 1978) - "The Silver Dragon" (in Wings of FireWings of FireWings of Fire: An Autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam is an autobiography of A P J Abdul Kalam, former President of India. It was written by Dr. Kalam and Arun Tiwari.-Translations:...
, 2010), ISBN 978-1-59780-187-4