Nalo Hopkinson | |
|---|---|
 Hopkinson in 2007 | |
| Born | (1960-12-20)20 December 1960 (age 64) Kingston, Jamaica |
| Occupation | Writer, editor |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Citizenship | Canada |
| Education | Master of Arts |
| Alma mater | Seton Hill University |
| Genre | Science fiction,fantasy |
| Notable works | Brown Girl in the Ring (1998) Skin Folk (2001) The Salt Roads (2003) |
| Notable awards | Prix Aurora Award; Gaylactic Spectrum Award; Inkpot Award[1] John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Locus Award, Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic; World Fantasy Award |
| Website | |
| nalohopkinson | |
Nalo Hopkinson (born 20 December 1960) is aJamaican-born Canadianspeculative fiction writer and editor. Her novels –Brown Girl in the Ring (1998),Midnight Robber (2000),The Salt Roads (2003),The New Moon's Arms (2007) – and short stories such as those in her collectionSkin Folk (2001) often draw onCaribbean history andlanguage, and its traditions oforal andwritten storytelling.
Hopkinson has edited two fiction anthologies:Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction andMojo: Conjure Stories. She was the co-editor with Uppinder Mehan of the 2004 anthologySo Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Visions of the Future, and withGeoff Ryman co-editedTesseracts 9.
Hopkinson defendedGeorge Elliott Clarke's novelWhylah Falls on theCBC'sCanada Reads 2002. She was the curator ofSix Impossible Things, an audio series of Canadian fantastical fiction onCBC Radio One.
As of 2021, she lives and teaches inVancouver, British Columbia. In 2020, Hopkinson was named the 37thDamon Knight Grand Master, in recognition of "lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy".[2]
Nalo Hopkinson was born 20 December 1960 inKingston, Jamaica, to Freda andAbdur Rahman Slade Hopkinson.[3] She grew up inGuyana,Trinidad, and Canada.[4] She was raised in a literary environment; her mother was a library technician and her father aGuyanese poet, playwright and actor who also taughtEnglish andLatin.[5] By virtue of this upbringing, Hopkinson had access to writers such asDerek Walcott during her formative years, and could readKurt Vonnegut's works by the age of six.[5] Hopkinson's writing is influenced by the fairy and folk tales she read at a young age, among which were the Afro-Caribbean stories aboutAnansi, as well as Western works includingGulliver's Travels, theIliad, and theOdyssey;[6] she was also known to have read the works ofShakespeare around the time she was readingHomer.[7] Though she lived briefly inConnecticut in the U.S. during her father's tenure atYale University, Hopkinson has said that the culture shock from her move toToronto from Guyana at the age of 16 was something "to which [she's] still not fully reconciled".[6][8] She lived in Toronto from 1977 to 2011, before moving toRiverside,California, where she works as Professor of Creative Writing atUniversity of California, Riverside.[9]
Hopkinson has aMaster of Arts degree in WritingPopular Fiction fromSeton Hill University, where she studied with her mentor and instructor,science fiction writerJames Morrow. She has learning disabilities.[10]
Before working as a professor, Hopkinson held jobs in libraries, worked as a government culture research officer, and held the position of grants officer at the Toronto Arts Council.[5] She has taught writing at various programs around the world, including stints as writer-in-residence atClarion East,Clarion West andClarion South. Publishing and writing was stopped for six years due to a serious illness that prevented her from working. Severeanemia, caused byfibroids as well as avitamin D deficiency, led to financial difficulties and ultimately homelessness for two years prior to being hired by UC Riverside.[5]
In 2011, Hopkinson was hired as an associate professor increative writing with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism atUniversity of California, Riverside.[5][3] She became a full professor in 2014.[11]
As an author, Hopkinson often uses themes ofCaribbean folklore,Afro-Caribbean culture, andfeminism.[6] She is historically conscious and uses knowledge from growing up inCaribbean communities in her writing, including the use ofCreole and character backgrounds from Caribbean countries includingTrinidad andJamaica.[6] In addition, Hopkinson consistently writes about subjects including race, class, and sexuality.[5] Through her work, particularly inMidnight Robber, Hopkinson addresses differences in cultures as well as social issues such as child and sexual abuse.[6]
Hopkinson has been a key speaker andguest of honor at multiplescience fiction conventions. She is one of the founding members of theCarl Brandon Society and serves on the board.[5][12]
Hopkinson's favorite writers includeSamuel R. Delany,Tobias Buckell, andCharles R. Saunders.[5] In addition, inspiration for her novels often comes from songs or poems withChristina Rossetti's poem "Goblin Market" serving as the inspiration forSister Mine.[5] Personal hobbies includesewing,cooking,gardening, and fabric design.[13] Hopkinson designs fabrics based on historical photos and illustrations.[14]
Hopkinson was the recipient of the 1999John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer[15] and theOntario Arts Council Foundation Award for Emerging Writers.[16]
Brown Girl in the Ring was nominated for thePhilip K. Dick Award in 1998, and received theLocus Award for Best First Novel.[17] In 2008, it was a finalist inCanada Reads, produced by theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation.[18]
Midnight Robber was shortlisted for theJames Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award in 2000[19] and nominated for theHugo Award for Best Novel in 2001.[20]
Skin Folk received theWorld Fantasy Award and theSunburst Award in 2003.[21]
The Salt Roads received theGaylactic Spectrum Award for positive exploration of queer issues inspeculative fiction for 2004, presented at the 2005Gaylaxicon. It was also nominated for the 2004Nebula Award for Best Novel.[22]
In 2008,The New Moon's Arms received theAurora Award[23] and the Sunburst Award,[24] making her the first author to receive the Sunburst Award twice. This book was also nominated for the 2007 Nebula Award for Best Novel.[25]
In 2016, Hopkinson received an Honorary Doctor of Letters fromAnglia Ruskin University.[26][27] In 2020, she was named the 37thDamon Knight Grand Master by theScience Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.[2] In 2022, herBroad Dutty Water: A Sunken Story was awarded theTheodore Sturgeon Award.[28]
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