Ray Nayler | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Education | University of California, Santa Cruz (BA) SOAS University of London (MA) |
| Website | www |
RayNayler is a Hugo and Locus Award-winning American and Canadian writer.[1] His works engage with ecology, systems theory, and questions of consciousness and intelligence, including animal and artificial intelligence.[2][3][4]
Nayler'sdebut novel,The Mountain in the Sea, focuses on the discovery of a society of intelligent octopuses off the coast ofVietnam, and was the winner of the 2023 Locus Award for Best First Novel as well as being a finalist for the Nebula Award and the Los Angeles Times Ray Bradbury Award. It was declared one of the best Science Fiction novels of all time byEsquire.[5][6][7][8][9][10]
Ray Nayler's second book, the novellaThe Tusks of Extinction, centers on the de-extinction of thewoolly mammoth and was published in 2024. It won the Hugo Award for Best Novella and was a finalist for the Nebula Award and the Locus Award[11][12][13][14][15]
His third book, a "near-future thriller" titledWhere the Axe Is Buried, was released on April 1, 2025 and tells the story of a rebellion against the status quo in a near future dominated by AI and authoritarian regimes.[16] His fourth book,Palaces of the Crow, is a speculative novel of the recent past, in which four young teens caught between the Nazis and the Red Army survive winter in the woods with the help of a flock of highly intelligent crows. It will be published May 19, 2026.[17]
Nayler previously served in thePeace Corps and as a USForeign Service officer, working in Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans.[18] He was Press Attaché at the United States Embassy inBaku,Azerbaijan, and Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer at theU.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.[19][20] He was international advisor for the Marine Protected Areas Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and was a visiting scholar and diplomat in residence at George Washington University's Institute of International Science and Technology Policy and Space Policy Institute.[21][22]
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| Year | Title[a] | First published | Reprinted/collected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Mutability" | Nayler, Ray (June 2015). "Mutability".Asimov's Science Fiction.39 (6):48–57. | ||
| 2016 | "Do Not Forget Me" | Nayler, Ray (March 2016). "Do Not Forget Me".Asimov's Science Fiction.40 (3):60–69. | ||
| 2019 | "Fire in the Bone" | Nayler, Ray (January 2019). "Fire in the Bone".Clarkesworld.Issue 148 | Direct link | |
| "Beyond the High Altar" | Nayler, Ray (September 2019). "Beyond the High Altar".Nightmare.Issue 84 | Direct link | ||
| "The Death of Fire Station 10" | Nayler, Ray (October 2019). "The Death of Fire Station 10".Lightspeed.Issue 113 | Direct link | ||
| 2020 | "Albedo Season" | Nayler, Ray (May 2020). "Albedo Season".Clarkesworld.Issue 164 | Direct link | |
| "The Swallows of the Storm" | Nayler, Ray (July 2020). "The Swallows of the Storm".Lightspeed.Issue 122 | Direct link | ||
| "Outside of Omaha" | Nayler, Ray (September 2020). "Outside of Omaha".Nightmare.Issue 96 | Direct link | ||
| 2021 | "Sarcophagus" | Nayler, Ray (April 2021). "Sarcophagus".Clarkesworld.Issue 175 | Direct link | |
| "Yesterday's Wolf" | Nayler, Ray (September 2021). "Yesterday's Wolf".Clarkesworld.Issue 180 | Direct link | ||
| 2022 | "The Summer Castle" | Nayler, Ray (February 2022). "The Summer Castle".Nightmare.Issue 113 | Direct link | |
| "Rain of Days" | Nayler, Ray (March 2022). "Rain of Days".Clarkesworld.Issue 186 | Direct link |
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