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Suzy McKee Charnas | |
|---|---|
 Charnas in 2006 | |
| Born | (1939-10-22)October 22, 1939 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 2, 2023(2023-01-02) (aged 83) New Mexico, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Science fiction andfantasy |
| Notable works | The Holdfast Chronicles |
| Notable awards | Hugo Award,Nebula Award,James Tiptree Jr. Award,Gaylactic Spectrum Award,Aslan Award |
| Website | |
| www | |
Suzy McKee Charnas (October 22, 1939 – January 2, 2023)[1] was an Americannovelist andshort story writer, writing primarily in the genres ofscience fiction andfantasy. She won several awards for her fiction, including theHugo Award, theNebula Award and theJames Tiptree Jr. Award. A selection of her short fiction was collected inStagestruck Vampires and Other Phantasms in 2004.The Holdfast Chronicles, a four-volume story written over the course of almost thirty years (the first installment,Walk to the End of the World was published in 1974, and the last installment,The Conqueror's Child was published in 1999) was considered to be her major accomplishment in writing. The series addressed the topics offeminist dystopia, separatist societies, war, and reintegration.[2] Another of her major works,The Vampire Tapestry, has been adapted (by Charnas herself) into a play called "Vampire Dreams".[3]
Suzy McKee Charnas was born in Manhattan to two professional artists, Maxine (Szanton) and Robinson McKee.[4] Her father was an illustrator forWonder Books, a company that made picture books for children, and her mother was a textile designer.[5] Her parents divorced in her childhood. Charnas helped her mother raise one younger sister, who is six years younger than she was. Despite being from a low-income family, Charnas was able to pursue a prestigious education. She attended an arts high school in New York City and, influenced by her parents, even considered pursuing a career in the visual arts.[6] She received her undergraduate degree fromBarnard College, where she majored in economics and history.[7] She continued her education atNew York University, where she earned a master's degree in education. She taught in Nigeria as a part of thePeace Corps.[7]
Charnas' work focuses on the sociological and the anthropological—rather than exclusively the technological—dimensions of science fiction. Her background in history and economics, as well as her experiences inNigeria, have had a profound impact on her work.[8] She had keenly explored the genres of Western, adventure, and science fiction in the books she had read earlier in her life, yet she realized that these books lacked strong female characters. She consideredUrsula K. Le Guin'sThe Left Hand of Darkness to have been a major inspiration for the initiation of her writing career, as it was one of the first feminist novels she had encountered.[9] Despite this, she did not intend to write feminist literature.[10] Her work did not take a feminist slant until after the first draft of "Walk to the End of the World", which she had originally intended to be political satire.[11]
When Charnas tried to publishMotherlines, the second installment of the Holdfast Chronicles, she was met with some resistance. According to Charnas in an interview with SnackReads, the company that had publishedWalk to the End of the World,Ballantine Books, rejectedMotherlines because it was deemed inappropriate for what they considered to be their target science fiction audience: young boys.[12] This was because the book contains no male characters, and there are some controversial sexual relationships. Charnas tried to get the work published several times. It was generally rejected not for the quality of the story, but rather its controversial, even radical, themes. One editor even said that he could accept the work- and even that it would be very successful- if all the female characters were changed to men, Charnas alleged.[13] Charnas rejected this offer. The book was finally accepted after one year (which was a long time for science fiction in this era) by editorDavid G. Hartwell, who went on to publish several of Charnas' other works.[14][15]
Charnas lived inNew Mexico. She died on January 2, 2023, at the age of 83.[1]
DirectorGuillermo del Toro assessed Charnas'The Vampire Tapestry as “flawless” on Twitter in 2015, saying later “It may be her masterpiece.”[16]Polly Shulman wrote that "the Holdfast tetralogy offers a fascinating look back at the permutations of the feminist imagination in recent years, and it underlines the ideals and challenges faced by feminists -- sometimes on purpose and sometimes in spite of itself."[17]
She won the 1980Nebula Award for her psychological vampire novella,Unicorn Tapestry, and the 1990Hugo Award for her feminist werewolf short story, “Boobs.” She received threeOtherwise Awards, two retroactively, for novels inThe Holdfast Chronicles series, beginning with 1974'sWalk to the End of the World.[18] Charnas was awarded theJames Tiptree Jr. Award forThe Conqueror's Child" (1999).
The Vampire Tapestry was included in David Pringle's 1988 book,Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels.[19]
