Andre Norton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Alice Mary Norton (1912-02-17)February 17, 1912[1] |
| Died | March 17, 2005(2005-03-17) (aged 93) Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Pen name | Andre Norton Andrew North Allen Weston |
| Occupation | Writer, librarian |
| Period | 1934–2005 |
| Genre | Science fiction,fantasy,romance novels,adventure fiction |
| Notable awards | SFWA Grand Master, Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame |
Andre Alice Norton (bornAlice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer ofscience fiction andfantasy, who also wrote works ofhistorical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under thepen nameAndre Norton, but also underAndrew North andAllen Weston. She was the first woman to beGandalf Grand Master of Fantasy,[2] to beSFWA Grand Master,[3] and to be inducted by theScience Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.[4][5][6]
Alice Mary Norton was born inCleveland, Ohio in 1912.[7] Her parents were Adalbert Freely Norton, who owned a rug company, and Bertha Stemm Norton. Alice began writing atCollinwood High School in Cleveland, under the tutelage of Sylvia Cochrane. She was the editor of a literary page in the school's paper,The Collinwood Spotlight, for which she wrote short stories. During this time, she wrote her first book,Ralestone Luck, which was eventually published as her second novel in 1938.[8]
After graduating from high school in 1930, Norton planned to become a teacher, and began studying atFlora Stone Mather College ofWestern Reserve University. However, in 1932 she had to leave because of the Depression and began working for theCleveland Library System,[8] where she remained for 18 years, latterly in the children's section of the Nottingham Branch Library in Cleveland. In a 1996 interview she recalled defending acquisition ofThe Hobbit byJ. R. R. Tolkien for the library.[9] In 1934, she legally changed her name to Andre Alice Norton, a pen name she had adopted for her first book, published later that year, to increase her marketability, since boys were the main audience for fantasy.[8]
During 1940–1941, she worked as a special librarian in the cataloging department of theLibrary of Congress.[10] She was involved in a project related to alien citizenship which was abruptly terminated upon the American entry intoWorld War II. In 1941 she bought a bookstore called Mystery House inMount Rainier, Maryland, the eastern neighbor ofWashington, D.C. The business failed, and she returned to the Cleveland Public Library until 1950, when she retired due to ill health.[11] She then began working as areader for publisher-editorMartin Greenberg[a] atGnome Press, asmall press in New York City that focused on science fiction. She remained until 1958, when, with 21 novels published,[12][13] she became a full-time professional writer.
As Norton's health became uncertain, she moved toWinter Park, Florida in November 1966, where she remained until 1997.[14] She moved toMurfreesboro, Tennessee in 1997 and was underhospice care from February 21, 2005. She died at home on March 17, 2005, of congestive heart failure.
In 1934, her first book,The Prince Commands, being sundry adventures of Michael Karl, sometime crown prince & pretender to the throne of Morvania, with illustrations byKate Seredy, was published byD. Appleton–Century Company (cataloged by the U.S. Library of Congress as by "André Norton").[15][16] She went on to write several historical novels for the juvenile (now called "young adult") market.
Norton's first published science fiction was ashort story, "The People of the Crater", which appeared under the name "Andrew North" as pages 4–18 of the inaugural 1947 number ofFantasy Book, a magazine fromFantasy Publishing Company, Inc.[17] Her first fantasy novel,Huon of the Horn, published byHarcourt Brace under her own name in 1951, adapted the 13th-century story ofHuon, Duke of Bordeaux.[18] Her first science fiction novel,Star Man's Son, 2250 A.D., appeared from Harcourt in 1952.[19] She became a prolific novelist in the 1950s, with many of her books published for the juvenile market, at least in their original hardcover editions.
As of 1958, when she became a full-time professional writer,Kirkus had reviewed 16 of her novels,[b] and awarded four of them starred reviews.[13] Her four starred reviews to 1957 had been awarded for three historical adventure novels—Follow the Drum (1942),Scarface (1948),Yankee Privateer (1955)—and one cold war adventure,At Swords' Points (1954). She received four starred reviews subsequently, latest in 1966, including three for science fiction.[13]
Norton was twice nominated for theHugo Award, in 1964 for the novelWitch World and in 1967 for the novelette "Wizard's World". She was nominated three times for theWorld Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement, winning the award in 1998. Norton won a number of other genre awards and regularly had works appear in theLocus annual "best of year" polls.[4]
She was a founding member of theSwordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), a loose-knit group ofheroic fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, led byLin Carter, with entry by fantasy credentials alone. Norton was the only woman among the original eight members. Some works by SAGA members were published inLin Carter'sFlashing Swords! anthologies.
In 1976,Gary Gygax invited Norton to playDungeons & Dragons in hisGreyhawk world. Norton subsequently wroteQuag Keep, which involved a group of characters who travel from the real world to Greyhawk. It was the first novel to be set, at least partially, in the Greyhawk setting and, according toAlternative Worlds, the first to be based onD&D.[20]Quag Keep was excerpted in Issue 12 ofThe Dragon (February 1978) just prior to the book's release.[21] She andJean Rabe were collaborating on the sequel toQuag Keep when Norton died.Return to Quag Keep was completed by Rabe and published byTor Books in January 2006.[17]
Her final complete novel,Three Hands for Scorpio, was published on April 1, 2005. BesidesReturn to Quag Keep, Tor has published two more novels with Norton and Rabe credited as co-authors,Dragon Mage (November 2006) andTaste of Magic (January 2008).[17]
Norton wrote more than a dozenspeculative fiction series, but her longest, and longest-running project was "Witch World", which began with the novelWitch World in 1963. The first six novels wereAce Bookspaperback originals published from 1963 to 1968.[17] From the 1970s most of the books in the series were first published in hardcover editions.[17] From the 1980s some were written by Norton and a co-author, and others were anthologies of short fiction for which she was editor. (Witch World became ashared universe.)[c] There were dozens of books in all.[19]
The five novels of The Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan,To the King a Daughter,Knight or Knave,A Crown Disowned,Dragon Blade, andThe Knight of the Red Beard, were written withSasha Miller.[22] The fifth and last novel was dedicated "To my late collaborator, Andre Norton, whose vision inspired the NordornLand cycle."[23] ("NordornLand cycle" is another name for this cycle.)
Often called the Grande Dame of Science Fiction and Fantasy by biographers such as J. M. Cornwell,[24] and organizations such asScience Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America,[25]Publishers Weekly,[26] andTime, Andre Norton wrote novels for more than 70 years. She had a profound influence on the entire genre, having more than 300 published titles read by at least four generations of science fiction and fantasy readers and writers. Notable authors who cite her influence includeGreg Bear,Lois McMaster Bujold,C. J. Cherryh,Cecilia Dart-Thornton,[27]Tanya Huff,[28]Mercedes Lackey,Charles de Lint,Joan D. Vinge,David Weber,K. D. Wentworth, andCatherine Asaro.
On February 20, 2005, theScience Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, which had honored Norton with itsGrand Master Award in 1984, announced the creation of theAndre Norton Award, to be given each year for an outstanding work of fantasy or science fiction for theyoung adult literature market, beginning with 2005 publications. While the Norton Award is not aNebula Award, it is voted on by SFWA members on the Nebula ballot and shares some procedures with the Nebula Awards.[29][30][31] Nominally for a young adult book, actually the eligible class is middle grade and young adult novels. This added a category for genre fiction to be recognized and supported for young readers.[32] Unlike Nebulas, there is a jury whose function is to expand the ballot beyond the six books with most nominations by members.
Norton received theInkpot Award in 1989.[33]
The High Hallack Library was a facility that Norton was instrumental in organizing and opening. Designed as a research facility for genre writers, and scholars of "popular" literature (the genres of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, western, romance, gothic, and horror), it was located near Norton's home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[34]
The facility, named after one of the continents in Norton'sWitch World series, was home to more than 10,000 texts, videos, and various other media. Attached to the facility were three guest rooms, allowing authors and scholars the chance to stay on-site to facilitate their research goals.[34]
The facility was opened on February 28, 1999, and operated until March 2004. Most of the collection was sold during the closing days of the facility. The declining health of Andre Norton was one of the leading causes of its closing.[34]
Other authors who have influenced and inspired me (in no particular order), include Nicholas Stuart Gray, George McDonald, Andre Norton ...
I'd have to say the two general influences are Andre Norton for an incredibly varied body of work that can be read and enjoyed by both adults and twelve year olds ...
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