Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan (born 26 May 1964)[1] is an Irish-born American paleontologist and writer of science fiction anddark fantasy works, including 10 novels, series of comic books, and more than 250 published short stories, novellas, andvignettes. Kiernan is a two-time recipient of both theWorld Fantasy andBram Stoker awards.
Kiernan was born in 1964 inSkerries, County Dublin, Ireland. After the death of their father, Kiernan moved to the United States as a young child with their mother[2] Susan Ramey Cleveland and younger sister Mary Angela (Máire Aingeal). Much of their childhood was spent in the small town ofLeeds, Alabama, and early interests includedherpetology,paleontology, and fiction writing. As a teenager, Kiernan lived inTrussville, Alabama, and, in high school, began doing volunteer work at theRed Mountain Museum inBirmingham, Alabama and spending summers on their firstarchaeological and paleontological digs.
As of 2019, Kiernan is a research associate and fossil preparator atMcWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama, again studying mosasaurs, as well as Cretaceous turtles. In 2020, they coauthored on a paper describing a new large fossil sea turtle,Asmodochelys parhami, from theDemopolis Chalk of Alabama.[7] In 2021, Kiernan also joined the staff of theUniversity of Alabama Museum, Department of Research and Collections, as a Research Associate in Vertebrate Paleontology.[8] In 2022, they coauthored the description of a new giant freshwater turtle from the Late CretaceousMooreville Chalk of Alabama,Appalachemys ebersolei, a previously unknownmacrobaenid with a shell more than 80 cm.in length.[9] In 2023, they were the senior author on a paper describing two new species of the rare mosasaurEctenosaurus,E. tlemonectes andE. shannoni, from theNiobrara and Mooreville formations of Kansas and Alabama, respectively.[10]
Kiernan's first novel,The Five of Cups, was written between June 1992 and early 1993, though it was not published until 2003. Their first published short story was "Persephone", a dark science fiction tale released in 1995. Their first published novel,Silk, was released in 1998.
Kiernan's short fiction was selected forYear's Best Fantasy and Horror series,The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, andThe Year's Best Science Fiction, and their short stories have been collected in several volumes (see Bibliography). To date, Kiernan's work has been translated into German, Italian, Chinese, French, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, Czech, Polish, Russian, Korean, and Japanese.
Kiernan was approached by writerNeil Gaiman and editors atVertigo Comics to write forThe Dreaming, a spin-off from Gaiman'sThe Sandman, and did so from 1996 until its conclusion in 2001, focusing on both pre-existing characters (the Corinthian, Cain and Abel, Lucien, Nuala, Morpheus, Thessaly, etc.) and creating new characters (Echo, Maddy, the white dream raven Tethys, etc.).[12] They wrote thenovelization for the 2007Beowulf film (scripted by Gaiman andRoger Avary). Kiernan later scriptedAlabaster: Wolves (2012) forDark Horse Comics, continuing withAlabaster: Grimmer Tales (2013) andAlabaster: The Good, the Bad, and the Bird (2014).
Josh Boone's Mid-World Productions has optioned bothThe Red Tree andThe Drowning Girl to develop into feature films. Kiernan is writing the screenplay forThe Red Tree, and Boone will be writingThe Drowning Girl. Kiernan stated, "A few people have asked questions about the films and preserving the queerness of the novels. This is something you do not have to worry about. Also, though no details can be released yet and nothing is certain, the hope is that we can cast a transgender actress as Abalyn Armitage."[13]
I'm getting tired of telling people that I'm not a 'horror' writer. I'm getting tired of them not listening, or not believing. Most of them seem suspicious of my motives.[14]
I've never tried to fool anyone. I've said I don't write genre 'horror.' A million, billion times have I said that.[15]
It's not that there are not strong elements of horror present in a lot of my writing. It's that horror never predominates those works. You may as well call it psychological fiction or awe fiction. I don't think of horror as a genre. I think of it – to paraphraseDoug Winter – as an emotion, and no one emotion will ever characterize my fiction.[16]
Much of Kiernan's earlier work, such asSilk, is set among or alludes to the aesthetics of thegoth andpunk rock subcultures, elements which are generally absent in their later novels.
Kiernan has also stated, regarding the role ofplot in creative writing: "anyone can come up with the artifice/conceit of a 'good story.' Story bores me. Which is why critics complain it's the weakest aspect of my work. Because that's essentially purposeful. I have no real interest in plot. Atmosphere, mood, language, character, theme, etc., that's the stuff that fascinates me.Ulysses should have freed writers from plot."[17]
In his review ofThe Red Tree,H. P. Lovecraft scholarS. T. Joshi writes: "Kiernan already ranks with the most distinctive stylists in our field –Edgar Allan Poe,Lord Dunsany,Thomas Ligotti. With Ligotti's regrettable retreat into fictional silence, hers is now the voice ofweird fiction."[18] In their introduction toThe Weird, Ann andJeff VanderMeer write that Kiernan has "become perhaps the best weird writer of her generation."[19]
In 1996 and 1997, Kiernan fronted anAthens, Georgia-based "goth-folk-blues band", Death's Little Sister,[20] named for Neil Gaiman's characterDelirium. They were the band's vocalist and lyricist, and the group enjoyed some success on local college radio and played shows in Athens andAtlanta. Other members included Barry Dillard (guitars), Michael Graves (bass), and Shelly Ross (keyboards). Kiernan left the band in February 1997 because of their increased responsibilities writing forDC Comics and becauseSilk had recently sold.[citation needed] They were briefly involved in Crimson Stain Mystery, a studio project, two years later, which produced oneEP to accompany a special limited edition ofSilk, illustrated byClive Barker (Gauntlet Press, 2000).
In December 2005, Kiernan began publishing the monthlySirenia Digest[21] (otherwise known as MerViSS) consisting of vignettes and short stories: "The MerViSS Project is a continuation of Kiernan's exploration of the fusion of erotic literature with elements of dark fantasy and science fiction, creating brief, dreamlike fictions." It is illustrated byVince Locke. The digest includes the occasional collaboration withSonya Taaffe.
The Caitlín R. Kiernan Papers at theJohn Hay Library atBrown University consist of twenty-three linear feet of manuscript materials, including correspondence, journals, manuscripts, and publications, circa 1970–2017, in print, electronic, and web-based formats, as well as their first computer and other artifacts of their career. Additions to the collection are regularly made by the author. In 2017, a formal reception was held at the Hay Library to announce the collection and to unveil "Caitlín R. Kiernan Papers @ Brown University Library", an exhibit based on them.[22]
In their twenties, Kiernan identified astransgender and transitioned to female,[23] further identifying as lesbian.[24] In 2020, Kiernan stated, "I no longer consider myself transgender (or transsexual). I would say that I'mgender fluid, if I had to say anything", explaining that this was not a recognized option in the 1980s.[23] They added that male or female pronouns do not offend them, but prefer "they, them, and their".[23]
Kiernan identifies as an atheist.[25] Politically, they have described themself as aclassical liberal.[26]
^Kiernan, Caitlín R. (3 February 2002)."Chapter Two proceeds apace".Low Red Moon journal.Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved18 May 2007.
