Seanan McGuire

(Redirected from Mira Grant)

Seanan McGuire (pronounced SHAWN-in;[1] born January 5, 1978, in Martinez, California) is an American author and filker. McGuire is known for her urban fantasy novels. She uses the pseudonym Mira Grant to write science fiction/horror and the pseudonym A. Deborah Baker to write the "Up-and-Under" children's portal fantasy series.

Seanan McGuire
Image of Seanan McGuire in 2018
McGuire in 2018
Born (1978-01-05) January 5, 1978 (age 46)
Martinez, California, U.S.
Pen name
  • Mira Grant
  • A. Deborah Baker
OccupationWriter
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Genre
Notable works
Notable awards
Website
www.seananmcguire.com Edit this at Wikidata

In 2010, she was awarded the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer by the World Science Fiction Convention. Her 2016 novella Every Heart a Doorway received a Nebula Award, Hugo Award, Locus Award, and Alex Award.

In 2013, McGuire received a record five Hugo nominations in total, two for works as Grant and three under her own name.

She writes numerous queer characters into her work.

Early life and education

McGuire was born on January 5, 1978, in Martinez, California.[2] Her parents were separated for most of her childhood and has stated that her early childhood was difficult.[3]

McGuire has stated that her mother, Micki McGuire,[4] had "primary custody, two other children, no money, and an abusive husband who targeted [her]".[3] During the summer, McGuire traveled with her father,[5] a carnival worker of Romani origin,[6] an experience she described as "Bradbury-esque running wild and unfettered through farmers' fields, building Ferris wheels and living on funnel cake."[7]

At age nine, McGuire was diagnosed with obsessive–compulsive disorder.[8]

McGuire attended University of California, Berkeley, where she studied folklore and herpetology.[2]

Career

Before becoming a full-time writer, McGuire worked at a reptile rescue organization.[9]

McGuire has published filk music, poetry, short fiction, essays, and novels. Most follow speculative fiction themes of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Her earliest publication was a contribution to the June 2002 poetry anthology Speculon.[10] She produced the musical album Pretty Little Dead Girl in 2006[11] and published her first short story in The Edge of Propinquity in 2008.[10] In 2009, she published her first novel, Rosemary and Rue, which has resulted in her longest-running series, with the 18th book, The Innocent Sleep, published in 2023.

In 2010, she published Feed under the pseudonym Mira Grant. This established Seanan McGuire as an urban fantasy writer and her pseudonym Mira Grant as a horror/science fiction writer.[12]

In 2018, McGuire began writing for Marvel Comics. She is the author of the Spider-Gwen series and has contributed to several other franchises.

Notable works

Series

Tie-ins

Comics

Short fiction

McGuire's short fiction has been published in Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Lightspeed Magazine, and others. Her works appear in anthologies edited by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, and John Joseph Adams.

She has self-published hundreds of short stories. From 2008 to 2017, she posted installments of the Velveteen series to LiveJournal with the support of fan sponsorships.[14] Tie-ins to her October Daye and InCryptid series are available for free on her website. In 2016, she launched a Patreon account to post monthly short stories for her subscribers.

Awards and nominations

Literary awards

McGuire holds the record for most Hugo Award nominations in a single year, with five nominations in 2013.[15] McGuire was the first author to win the American Library Association's Alex Awards for two consecutive years.[16] She has been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series every year since its inception in 2017.

In 2010, Feed was recognized as #74 out of the 100 top thriller novels of all time by NPR.[17] It was also recognized as a Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2010.[18]

In 2012, McGuire (as Mira Grant) was inducted in to the Darrell Awards Hall of Fame for the best American Mid-South regional speculative fiction.[19]

Locus has regularly included the Wayward Children books in their year-end list of the best novellas of the year, including Every Heart a Doorway (2016),[20] Down Among the Sticks and Bones (2017),[21] Come Tumbling Down (2020),[22] and Lost in the Moment and Found (2023).[23]

Awards for McGuire's writing
YearWorkAwardResultRef
2010N/AJohn W. Campbell Award for Best New WriterWon[24][25][26]
Feed (as Mira Grant)Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Science Fiction NovelNominated[27]
Shirley Jackson Award for NovelNominated[28]
2011Deadline (as Mira Grant)Philip K. Dick AwardNominated[29]
Feed (as Mira Grant)Audie Award for Science FictionNominated[30]
Hugo Award for Best NovelNominated[31][32][33]
Philip K. Dick AwardNominated[34]
2012"Countdown" (as Mira Grant)Hugo Award for Best NovellaNominated[35][36]
Blackout (as Mira Grant)Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice for Science Fiction NovelNominated[37]
Deadline (as Mira Grant)Hugo Award for Best NovelNominated[35][36][38]
SF SqueecastHugo Award for Best FancastWon[35][36]
Wicked GirlsHugo Award for Best Related WorkNominated
2013"In Sea-Salt Tears"Hugo Award for Best NoveletteNominated[15][39]
"Rat-Catcher"Hugo Award for Best NoveletteNominated
"San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats" (as Mira Grant)Hugo Award for Best NovellaNominated
Blackout (as Mira Grant)Hugo Award for Best NovelNominated[15][40][41]
SF SqueecastHugo Award for Best FancastWon[15]
2014Parasite (as Mira Grant)Hugo Award for Best NovelNominated[42][43]
2015“Each to Each”Tiptree AwardHonor[44]
2016Every Heart a DoorwayNebula Award for Best NovellaWon[45][46]
Tiptree AwardHonor[47]
2017Dusk or Dark or Dawn or DayRomantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for FantasyNominated[48]
Every Heart a DoorwayAlex AwardsWon[49]
British Fantasy Award for Best NovellaNominated[50]
Hugo Award for Best NovellaWon[51][52]
Locus Award for Best NovellaWon[53]
World Fantasy Award for Best NovellaNominated[54]
October DayeHugo Award for Best SeriesNominated[51]
2018“The Mathematical Inevitability of Corvids”Locus Award for Best NoveletteNominated[55]
Down Among the Sticks and BonesAlex AwardsWon[56][57]
Hugo Award for Best NovellaNominated[58][59]
Locus Award for Best NovellaNominated[55]
RUSA Award for FantasyWon[60]
Every Heart a DoorwayGeffen Award for Best Translated Fantasy BookNominated[61]
InCryptidHugo Award for Best SeriesNominated[59]
2019“Any Way the Wind Blows"Sidewise Award for Short FormNominated[62]
Beneath the Sugar SkyBooktubeSFF Award for Short WorkNominated[63]
Hugo Award for Best NovellaNominated[64][65]
World Fantasy Award for Best NovellaNominated[66][67]
October DayeHugo Award for Best SeriesNominated[64][65]
2020In an Absent DreamHugo Award for Best NovellaNominated[68][69]
World Fantasy Award—NovellaNominated[70]
InCryptidHugo Award for Best SeriesNominated[68][69]
The Girl in the Green Silk GownEndeavour AwardNominated[71]
MiddlegameEndeavour AwardNominated[72]
Hugo Award for Best NovelNominated[68][69]
Locus Award for Best Fantasy NovelWon[73]
Alex AwardsWon[74]
2021“Treatment Plan”Emeka Walter Dinjos Award for Disabled WritersNominated[75]
Calculated RisksEndeavour AwardNominated[76]
Come Tumbling DownHugo Award for Best NovellaNominated[77][78]
Locus Award for Best NovellaNominated[79]
Ghost-Spider Vol. 1: Dog Days Are OverHugo Award for Best Graphic StoryNominated[77][78]
October DayeHugo Award for Best SeriesNominated
2022"Tangles" (Magic: The Gathering)Hugo Award for Best Short StoryNominated[80][81]
Across the Green Grass FieldsHugo Award for Best NovellaNominated[80][81][82]
Be the SerpentEndeavour AwardNominated[83]
Small GodsHugo Award for Best FanzineWon[80]
Wayward ChildrenHugo Award for Best SeriesWon[80][81]
2023“In Mercy, Rain"Locus Award for Best NoveletteNominated[84]
October DayeHugo Award for Best SeriesNominated
Where the Drowned Girls GoHugo Award for Best NovellaWon[85][86]
2024October DayeHugo Award for Best SeriesNominated[87]

Filk awards

Pegasus Award presented by the Ohio Valley Filk Festival.[88]

YearAwardWorkResult
2005Best Writer/ ComposerN/ANominated
2006Best Writer/ ComposerN/ANominated
2006Best Torch Song"Maybe It's Crazy"Nominated
2007Best PerformerN/AWon
2008Best Writer/ ComposerN/AWon
2008Best Tragedy Song"The Black Death"Nominated
2010Best Mad Science Song"What a Woman's For"Won
2011Best Filk Song"Wicked Girls"Won
2011Most Badass Song"Evil Laugh"Won
2012Best Filk Song"My Story Is Not Done"Nominated
2015Best Filk Song"My Story Is Not Done"Won
2018Best Horror Song"Dear Gina"Won
2021Best Mad Science Song"Maybe it's Crazy"Nominated
2021Best Cheery-Ose Song"Dear Seanan" (with Erin Bellavia and Merav Hoffman)Nominated

Personal life

McGuire was diagnosed as autistic in 2020[89] and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.[90][91] She identifies as pansexual,[92] bisexual,[93] and demisexual.[94]

McGuire lives in Washington state.[1]

References