Nalo Hopkinson
Encyclopedia
Nalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican science fiction
and fantasy
writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her novels (Brown Girl in the Ring
, Midnight Robber
, The Salt Roads
, The New Moon's Arms) and short stories such as those in her collection Skin Folk
often draw on Caribbean
history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling.
Hopkinson has edited two fiction anthologies (Whispers From the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction
and Mojo: Conjure Stories
). She was the co-editor with Uppinder Mehan for the anthology So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Visions of the Future
, and with Geoff Ryman
for Tesseracts 9.
Hopkinson defended George Elliott Clarke
's novel Whylah Falls
on the CBC
's Canada Reads 2002
. She was the curator of Six Impossible Things, an audio series of Canadian fantastical fiction on CBC Radio One
.
to Freda and Muhammed Abdur-Rahman Slade Hopkinson, a Guyanese poet and actor. She grew up in Jamaica
, Trinidad
, and Guyana
. She was also briefly in the United States during her childhood while her father attended Yale University
.
Hopkinson has a Masters of Arts degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University
, where she studied with science fiction
writer James Morrow
as her mentor and instructor.
, Clarion West and Clarion South. She is one of the founding members of the Carl Brandon Society
and serves on the board.
Hopkinson also designs fabrics based on historical photos and illustrations.
Brown Girl in the Ring
was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1998, and received the Locus Award
for Best New Writer. In 2008 it was a finalist in Canada Reads
, produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
.
Midnight Robber
was shortlisted for the James R. Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award
in 2000 and nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel
in 2001.
Skin Folk
received the World Fantasy Award and the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic in 2003.
The Salt Roads
received the Gaylactic Spectrum Award
for positive exploration of queer issues in speculative fiction
for 2004, presented at the 2005 Gaylaxicon
.
In 2008, The New Moon's Arms received the Aurora Award
(Canada's reader-voted award for science fiction and fantasy) and the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, making her the first author to receive the Sunburst Award twice. This book was also nominated for the 2007 Nebula Award for Best Novel
.
Interviews
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...
and fantasy
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...
writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her novels (Brown Girl in the Ring
Brown Girl in the Ring (novel)
Brown Girl in the Ring is a novel by writer Nalo Hopkinson. It was the winning entry in the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest and received the 1999 Locus Award for Best First Novel and earned Hopkinson the 1999 John W...
, Midnight Robber
Midnight Robber
Midnight Robber is a science fiction/horror novel by American writer Nalo Hopkinson.-Reception:Gary K. Wolfe praised Midnight Robber, characterizing it as "an inventive amalgam of rural folklore and advanced tehnology" and commending Hopkinson's distinctive narrative voice, which "reminds us that...
, The Salt Roads
The Salt Roads
The Salt Roads is a folk tale of historical fiction by Nalo Hopkinson.-Plot introduction:Against the restrictions of time, a Ginen Goddess travels through and lives the lives of three women...
, The New Moon's Arms) and short stories such as those in her collection Skin Folk
Skin Folk
Skin Folk is a story collection by writer Nalo Hopkinson. Winner of the ....
often draw on Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling.
Hopkinson has edited two fiction anthologies (Whispers From the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction
Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root
Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction is an anthology of speculative fiction by Caribbean authors edited by Nalo Hopkinson. Nominated for the 2001 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. It is out-of-print.-’Membah:...
and Mojo: Conjure Stories
Mojo: Conjure Stories
Mojo: Conjure Stories is an anthology of fantasy and horror short stories, edited by the writer Nalo Hopkinson and published in 2003.-Stories:* Andy Duncan, Daddy Mention and the Monday Skull* Kiini Ibura Salaam, Rosamojo...
). She was the co-editor with Uppinder Mehan for the anthology So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Visions of the Future
So Long Been Dreaming
So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy is an anthology of short stories edited by the writer Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan. Hopkinson provides the introduction, although it is usually misattributed to Samuel R...
, and with Geoff Ryman
Geoff Ryman
Geoffrey Charles Ryman is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and surrealistic or "slipstream" fiction.Ryman currently lectures in Creative Writing for University of Manchester's English Department. His most recent full-length novel, The King's Last Song, is set in Cambodia, both at the time of...
for Tesseracts 9.
Hopkinson defended George Elliott Clarke
George Elliott Clarke
George Elliott Clarke, OC is a Canadian poet and playwright. His work largely explores and chronicles the experience and history of the Black Canadian community of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, creating a cultural geography that Clarke refers to as "Africadia".-Life:Born to William and Geraldine...
's novel Whylah Falls
Whylah Falls
Whylah Falls is a long narrative poem by George Elliott Clarke, published in book form in 1990.As with much of Clarke's work, the poem is inspired by the history and culture of the Black Canadian community in Nova Scotia, which he refers to as the "Africadian" community...
on the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
's Canada Reads 2002
Canada Reads
Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...
. She was the curator of Six Impossible Things, an audio series of Canadian fantastical fiction on CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
.
Early life and education
Hopkinson was born in 1960 in Kingston, JamaicaKingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
to Freda and Muhammed Abdur-Rahman Slade Hopkinson, a Guyanese poet and actor. She grew up in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, and Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
. She was also briefly in the United States during her childhood while her father attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Hopkinson has a Masters of Arts degree in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University
Seton Hill University
Seton Hill University is a small Catholic liberal arts university of about 2100 students in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Formerly a women's college, it became a coeducational university in 2002....
, where she studied with 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...
writer James Morrow
James Morrow
James Morrow is a fiction author. A self-described "scientific humanist", his work satirises organized religion and elements of humanism and atheism....
as her mentor and instructor.
Career
Hopkinson teaches writing at various programs around the world. She has been a writer-in-residence at Clarion EastClarion Workshop
Clarion is a six-week workshop for new and aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Knight and Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, USA, it was founded in 1968 by Robin Scott Wilson at Clarion State College in...
, Clarion West and Clarion South. She is one of the founding members of the Carl Brandon Society
Carl Brandon Society
The Carl Brandon Society is a group originating within the science fiction community "dedicated to addressing the representation of people of color in the fantastical genres such as science fiction, fantasy and horror.....
and serves on the board.
Hopkinson also designs fabrics based on historical photos and illustrations.
Awards
Hopkinson is the recipient of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and the Ontario Arts Council Foundation Award for Emerging Writers.Brown Girl in the Ring
Brown Girl in the Ring (novel)
Brown Girl in the Ring is a novel by writer Nalo Hopkinson. It was the winning entry in the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest and received the 1999 Locus Award for Best First Novel and earned Hopkinson the 1999 John W...
was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1998, and received the Locus Award
Locus Award
The Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
for Best New Writer. In 2008 it was a finalist in Canada Reads
Canada Reads
Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...
, produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
.
Midnight Robber
Midnight Robber
Midnight Robber is a science fiction/horror novel by American writer Nalo Hopkinson.-Reception:Gary K. Wolfe praised Midnight Robber, characterizing it as "an inventive amalgam of rural folklore and advanced tehnology" and commending Hopkinson's distinctive narrative voice, which "reminds us that...
was shortlisted for the James R. Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award
James Tiptree, Jr. Award
The James Tiptree, Jr. Award is an annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February of 1991 by science fiction authors Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler, subsequent to a discussion at WisCon.- Background...
in 2000 and nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
in 2001.
Skin Folk
Skin Folk
Skin Folk is a story collection by writer Nalo Hopkinson. Winner of the ....
received the World Fantasy Award and the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic in 2003.
The Salt Roads
The Salt Roads
The Salt Roads is a folk tale of historical fiction by Nalo Hopkinson.-Plot introduction:Against the restrictions of time, a Ginen Goddess travels through and lives the lives of three women...
received the Gaylactic Spectrum Award
Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are given to works of science fiction, fantasy and horror that explore LGBT topics in a positive way. Established in 1998, the awards were initially presented by the Gaylactic Network, with awards first awarded in 1999. In 2002 the awards were given their own...
for positive exploration of queer issues in speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
for 2004, presented at the 2005 Gaylaxicon
Gaylaxicon
Gaylaxicon is an annual science fiction, fantasy and horror convention that focuses on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender topics. It takes place in various locations in the United States and occasionally Canada, often on the east coast....
.
In 2008, The New Moon's Arms received the Aurora Award
Aurora Award
The Prix Aurora Awards are given out annually for the best Canadian science fiction and fantasy literary works, artworks, fan activities from that year, and are awarded in both English and French...
(Canada's reader-voted award for science fiction and fantasy) and the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, making her the first author to receive the Sunburst Award twice. This book was also nominated for the 2007 Nebula Award for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
.
Novels and anthologies
- Brown Girl in the RingBrown Girl in the Ring (novel)Brown Girl in the Ring is a novel by writer Nalo Hopkinson. It was the winning entry in the Warner Aspect First Novel Contest and received the 1999 Locus Award for Best First Novel and earned Hopkinson the 1999 John W...
(1998) - Midnight RobberMidnight RobberMidnight Robber is a science fiction/horror novel by American writer Nalo Hopkinson.-Reception:Gary K. Wolfe praised Midnight Robber, characterizing it as "an inventive amalgam of rural folklore and advanced tehnology" and commending Hopkinson's distinctive narrative voice, which "reminds us that...
(2000) - Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist FictionWhispers from the Cotton Tree RootWhispers from the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction is an anthology of speculative fiction by Caribbean authors edited by Nalo Hopkinson. Nominated for the 2001 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. It is out-of-print.-’Membah:...
(2000, ed.) - Skin FolkSkin FolkSkin Folk is a story collection by writer Nalo Hopkinson. Winner of the ....
(2001) - Mojo: Conjure StoriesMojo: Conjure StoriesMojo: Conjure Stories is an anthology of fantasy and horror short stories, edited by the writer Nalo Hopkinson and published in 2003.-Stories:* Andy Duncan, Daddy Mention and the Monday Skull* Kiini Ibura Salaam, Rosamojo...
(2003, ed.) - The Salt RoadsThe Salt RoadsThe Salt Roads is a folk tale of historical fiction by Nalo Hopkinson.-Plot introduction:Against the restrictions of time, a Ginen Goddess travels through and lives the lives of three women...
(2003) - So Long Been DreamingSo Long Been DreamingSo Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy is an anthology of short stories edited by the writer Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan. Hopkinson provides the introduction, although it is usually misattributed to Samuel R...
(2004, ed.) - The New Moon's Arms (2007)
Short fiction (first publications only)
- Slow Cold Chick in anthology Northern Frights 5 (1998)
- A Habit of Waste in anthology Women of Other Worlds: Excursions through Science Fiction and Feminism (1999)
- Precious in anthology Silver Birch, Blood Moon (1999)
- The Glass Bottle Trick in anthology Whispers From the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist FictionWhispers from the Cotton Tree RootWhispers from the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction is an anthology of speculative fiction by Caribbean authors edited by Nalo Hopkinson. Nominated for the 2001 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology. It is out-of-print.-’Membah:...
(2000) - Greedy Choke Puppy and Ganger (Ball Lightning) in anthology Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction From the African DiasporaDark Matter (series)Dark Matter is an anthology series of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror stories and essays produced by people of African descent. The editor of the series is Sheree Thomas. The first book in the series, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora won the 2001 World...
- Midnight RobberMidnight RobberMidnight Robber is a science fiction/horror novel by American writer Nalo Hopkinson.-Reception:Gary K. Wolfe praised Midnight Robber, characterizing it as "an inventive amalgam of rural folklore and advanced tehnology" and commending Hopkinson's distinctive narrative voice, which "reminds us that...
(excerpt from novel) reprinted in Young Bloods: Stories from Exile 1972-2001 (2001) - Delicious Monster in anthology Queer Fear II (2002)
- Shift in journal Conjunctions: the New Wave Fabulists.
- Herbal in The Bakkanthology
- Whose Upward Flight I Love reprinted in African Voices
- The Smile on the Face in anthology Girls Who Bite Back: Witches, Mutants, Slayers and Freaks (2004)
Further reading
- "Making the Impossible Possible: An Interview with Nalo Hopkinson" in Alondra NelsonAlondra NelsonAlondra Nelson is an American academic and writer. She is Associate Professor of Sociology at Columbia University in the City of New York. She holds an appointment in the at Columbia...
, ed. Afrofuturism: A Special Issue of Social Text. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822365456.
External links
Bibliographies- Bibliography on Scifan.com
- Biography, bibliography, & appreciation by G. E. Rutledge
Interviews
- Interview on SFFWorld.com
- Interview on LocusLocus (magazine)Locus, subtitled "The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field", is published monthly in Oakland, California. It reports on the science fiction and fantasy publishing field, including comprehensive listings of all new books published in the genre. It is considered the news organ and trade...
- "Nalo Hopkinson uses SF to probe the inner and outer worlds of alienation" by David Soyka on SciFi.com (2001)
- A Conversation With Nalo Hopkinson on the SF Site