Mary A. Turzillo (born 1940)^[1] is an American science fiction writer noted primarily for short stories. She won theNebula Award for Best Novelette in 2000 for her story "Mars is No Place for Children,"^[2][3] published originally inScience Fiction Age. Her story "Pride,"^[2] published originally inFast Forward 1, was a Nebula award finalist for best short story of 2007.^[4]

She was formerly a professor of English atKent State University, where she wrote articles and several books of science fiction criticism under the nameMary T. Brizzi, includingReader's Guide toAnne McCaffrey andReader's Guide toPhilip José Farmer.^[5] She attended theClarion Workshop in 1985,^[6] and she founded theCajun Sushi Hamsters writing workshop inCleveland, Ohio.^[7]

In 2022, she was the author guest of honor at the Convention Marcon 57

Although Mary had published poetry and academic works before attending the Clarion Writers workshop, her main publications in science fiction occurred following Clarion, with the publication of the stories “What Do I See In You” inWriters of the Future Volume IV, and “Kings” inPulphouse: the Hardback magazine. After this her work appeared regularly in the SF magazines such asThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction andAnalog Science Fiction and Fact, as well as original anthologies such asUniverse andFast Forward.

Her first novel,An Old Fashioned Martian Girl, was serialized inAnalog magazine in 2004,^[8] and a revised version,Mars Girls, appeared from Apex in 2017.^[9] Her short story collectionBonsai Babies appeared from Omnium Gatherum in 2016.^[10] Her short story collectionCosmic Cats and Fantastic Furballs, a collection of science fiction and fantasy stories featuring cats, appeared from WordFire Press in 2022.^[11]

Turzillo is also a poet, published in a number of national publications. Her collection of poetry,Your Cat & Other Space Aliens, was published by VanZeno Press in 2007. A collaborative collection of poetry and fiction,Dragon Soup (written with artist and poetMarge Simon), appeared from VanZeno in 2008, and another collaboration with Simon,The Dragon's Dictionary, was published by Sam's Dot in 2010.

She has won several Ohio Poetry Day^[12] awards. She has won theScience Fiction Poetry Association's Elgin Award for best poetry book twice. In 2013, her collectionLovers and Killers (Dark Regions, 2012).^[13] In 2015, her poetry bookSweet Poison, a collaboration with Marge Simon (Dark Renaissance Books, 2014) won the award.^[14]

Turzillo has a Ph.D. in English fromCase Western Reserve University, where her Ph.D. thesis was "The writer as double agent: essays on the conspiratorial mode in contemporary fiction."^[15] She worked as a professor in the English Department of the Trumbull Campus ofKent State University. Under the name Mary T. Brizzi, she has published a number of papers in the area of science fiction criticism,^[16] and is the author of two books,Reader's Guide toAnne McCaffrey^[17] andReader's Guide toPhilip José Farmer.^[5]

In her private life, Turzillo is a competitivefencer.^[18] In 2016, she was a member of the U.S women's foil team at the Veterans Fencing World Championships inStralsund, Germany.^[19]

She is married to fellow science fiction writerGeoffrey A. Landis.^[20]

This list isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(January 2015)

• Turzillo, Mary (2004).An old-fashioned Martian girl.^[21]
  • — (2017).Mars girls. Apex Books.

Collections

• Turzillo, Mary (2016).Bonsai Babies. Omnium Gatherum.ISBN 978-0997971743.
• Turzillo, Mary (2022).Cosmic Cats and Fantastic Furballs. Wordfire.ASIN B09W4JGDJM.^[22]

Stories^[23]

Collections

• Turzillo, Mary A. (2007).Your cat & other space aliens. vanZeno Press.ISBN 9780978924409.
• Simon, Marge; Turzillo, Mary A. (2008).Dragon soup. vanZeno Press.ISBN 9780978924454.
• Turzillo, Mary A. (2012).Lovers & killers. Dark Regions Press.ISBN 9781937128326.
• Simon, Marge; Turzillo, Mary A. (2014).Sweet Poison. Dark Renaissance Books.ISBN 978-1605431901.^[24]

List of poems

• Official site
• Mary A. Turzillo at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database

• 1940 births
• Living people
• 21st-century American novelists
• 21st-century American short story writers
• 21st-century American women writers
• American science fiction writers
• American women novelists
• American women short story writers
• Analog Science Fiction and Fact people
• Case Western Reserve University alumni
• Kent State University faculty
• Nebula Award winners
• Oberlin College alumni
• American women science fiction and fantasy writers
• Novelists from Ohio
• American women academics

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