John C. Wright (author)

For other people of the same name, see John Wright (disambiguation).

John C. Wright
Wright in 2006
Born	John Charles Justin Wright October 1961 (age 62) Chula Vista, California, US
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	American
Alma mater	College of William and Mary (J.D.)
Period	1994–present (speculative fiction)
Genre	Science fiction (notably space opera)
Website
scifiwright.com

John C. Wright (born October 22, 1961) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy novels. A former lawyer, newspaperman, and newspaper editor, he was a Nebula Award finalist for his fantasy novel Orphans of Chaos. Publishers Weekly said he "may be this fledgling century's most important new SF talent" when reviewing his debut novel, The Golden Age. He is a leading author for both Tor Books and Castalia House.

Early life

John C. Wright was born in Chula Vista, California. He studied the Great Books program at St. John's College of Maryland, graduating in 1987. He attended the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William & Mary.

Career

Wright was admitted to the practice of law in three jurisdictions, New York, May 1989; Maryland, December 1990. Washington, D.C., January 1994. His law practice was not successful and soon drove him into bankruptcy. He then worked for the newspaper St. Mary's Today.

He later worked as a newspaperman, and newspaper editor, before venturing into writing genre fiction. He was a Nebula Award finalist for his fantasy novel Orphans of Chaos. Publishers Weekly said he "may be this fledgling century's most important new SF talent" when reviewing his debut novel, The Golden Age.

He currently works as a technical writer in Virginia, where he lives with his wife, author L. Jagi Lamplighter, and their children.

Awards

Wright won the inaugural Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2016, for Somewhither: A Tale of the Unwithering Realm.

In 2015, Wright received five Hugo Award nominations, including three in the Best Novella category ("One Bright Star to Guide Them," "The Plural of Helen of Troy," and "Pale Realms of Shade"), a fourth for Best Short Story ("The Parliament of Beasts and Birds"), and a fifth for Best Related Work (Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and Awful Truth). He was initially announced to have had earned a record sixth nomination for the short story "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus", but the Hugo committee subsequently decided that it was not an eligible work because an earlier version of the story had been previously published on his blog. His nominations lost in all categories to No Award.

In 2005, Wright's novel Orphans of Chaos was a Nebula Award finalist in the Best Novel category.

Personal life

At age 42, Wright converted from atheism to Christianity, citing a profound religious experience with visions of the "Virgin Mary, her son, and His Father, not to mention various other spirits and ghosts over a period of several days", and stating that prayers he made were answered. In 2008, he converted to the Roman Catholic Church, of which he approvingly said: "If Vulcans had a church, they'd be Catholics." He is married to fellow author L. Jagi Lamplighter Wright.

Novels

The Golden Oecumene

• The Golden Age (2002)
• The Phoenix Exultant (2003)
• The Golden Transcendence (2003)

War of the Dreaming

• Last Guardian of Everness (2004)
• Mists of Everness (2005)

Chronicles of Chaos

• Orphans of Chaos (2005)
• Fugitives of Chaos (2006)
• Titans of Chaos (2007)

Count to the Eschaton Sequence

• Count to a Trillion (2011)
• The Hermetic Millennia (2012)
• The Judge of Ages (2014)
• Architect of Aeons (2015)
• The Vindication of Man (2016)
• Count to Infinity (forthcoming 2017)

Moth & Cobweb

• Green Knight's Squire
  • Swan Knight's Son (2016)
  • Feast of the Elfs (2016)
  • Swan Knight's Sword (2016)
• Dark Avenger's Sidekick
  • Daughter of Danger (2017)
  • City of Corpses (2017)
  • Tithe to Tartarus (2017)
• Mad Scientist's Intern (Forthcoming)
• Ghostly Father's Novice (Forthcoming)

Other novels

• Null-A Continuum (sequel to A. E. van Vogt's The World of Null-A, 2008)
• Somewhither: A Tale of the Unwithering Realm (2015)
• Iron Chamber of Memory (2016)

Stories in the Night Land setting

• "Awake in the Night," (novella) William Hope Hodgson's Night Lands: Eternal Love, edited by Andy W. Robertson, Wildside Press.
• "The Cry of the Night Hound," (novella) William Hope Hodgson's Night Lands: Nightmares of the Fall, also edited by Robertson.
• "Silence of the Night," as of 2008 only published on Robertson's Nightland.co.uk website.
• "The Last of All Suns," (novella) William Hope Hodgson's Night Lands: Nightmares of the Fall.
• Awake in the Night Land, Castalia House.

Other publications

• "Farthest Man from Earth," (novella) Asimov's Science Fiction, Vol. 19 # 4 & 5, No.229-230, April 1995.
• "Guest Law," (novella) Asimov's Science Fiction, Vol. 21 # 6, No.258, June 1997.
  • Reprinted in Year's Best SF 3, ed. David G. Hartwell, HarperPrism, 1998, and in The Space Opera Renaissance.
• "Not Born a Man," (short story) Aberrations, No. 24, October 1994.
  • Reprinted in No Longer Dreams, ed. Danielle McPhail, Lite Circle, 2005.
• "Forgotten Causes," (short story) Absolute Magnitude, No. 16, Summer 2001.
  • Reprinted in Breach the Hull, ed. Mike McPhail, Marietta, 2007.
• "Father's Monument," (short story) No Longer Dreams, ed. Danielle McPhail, Lite Circle, 2005.
• "The Kindred," (short story) No Longer Dreams, ed. Danielle McPhail, Lite Circle, 2005.
• "Peter Power Armor," (short story) Breach the Hull, ed. Mike McPhail, Marietta, 2007.
• "Choosers of the Slain," (short story) Clockwork Phoenix: Tales of Beauty and Strangeness, ed. Mike Allen, Norilana Books, 2008.
• "One Bright Star to Guide Them," (short story) The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Vol. 116, No. 4 & 5, Whole No. 682, April/May 2009.
• "The Far End of History," (novella) The New Space Opera 2, Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan, Harper Voyager, June 2009.
• "Guyal the Curator," (short story) Songs of the Dying Earth, ed. George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, Subterranean Press, July 2009.
• "A Random World Of Delta Capricorni Aa, Also Called Scheddi," (flash fiction), Flash Fiction Online, May 2010.
• "Judgement Eve," (novelette) Engineering Infinity, ed. Jonathan Strahan, Solaris Books, December 2010.

See also

• Nebula Award
• List of science fiction authors

External links

• Official website: scifiwright.com
• John C. Wright at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• John C. Wright at Library of Congress Authorities, with 12 catalog records
• Gevers, Nick (April 2002). "Ferocious Poet's Heart Commanding: An Interview With John C. Wright". SF Site.
• Edwards, Rachel (September 16, 2014). "Badger Pod NerdCast Ten: The social justice invasion of SciFi/Fantasy". Honey Badger Radio.