Catherynne M. Valente
Catherynne Morgan Valente (born May 5, 1979) is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. For her speculative fiction novels she has won the annual James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Andre Norton Award, and Mythopoeic Award.
Also recorded as Cat Valente · Catherynne Valente
Catherynne M. Valente

Johan Jönsson (Julle) · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Catherynne M.
- Born
- 5 May 1979
- Birthplace
- Seattle, Washington, U.S.
- Occupation
- * Poet
- Education
- UC San Diego University of Edinburgh
- Awards
- James Tiptree Jr. (2006) Million Writers Award (2007) Rhysling Award (2007) Mythopoeic Award (2008) Andre Norton Award (2009) Locus Award (2014)
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- fantasy · science fiction
- Honours
- Lambda Literary Award · Otherwise Award · Hugo Award for Best Fancast · Andre Norton Award · Rhysling Award · Locus Award for Best Novella
- Languages
- English
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Catherynne Morgan Valente (born May 5, 1979) is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. For her speculative fiction novels she has won the annual James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Andre Norton Award, and Mythopoeic Award.
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Note VALÉORINE
Catherynne M. Valente (born 1979) is a children's writer, literary critic and novelist, among other activities, of American nationality. The children's writer was born in Seattle. Catherynne M. Valente was educated at University of California, San Diego.
The work spans fantasy and science fiction. Languages used include English. Honours include Andre Norton Award, Hugo Award for Best Fancast and Lambda Literary Award, among others.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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wikidata · Q859065 · wikipedia · Catherynne M. Valente
In this article
Biography
Biography
Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, the anthologies Salon Fantastique and Paper Cities, and numerous "Year's Best" volumes.
Valente studied at University of California, San Diego. The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are fantasy and science fiction. Distinctions recorded are Lambda Literary Award, Otherwise Award, Hugo Award for Best Fancast and Andre Norton Award.

Science fiction- och fantasyförfattarna Karin Tidbeck och Catherynne M. Valente på Åcon 5, 2012. Paneldiskussion om postmodernism och fantasy.
Johan Jönsson (Julle)

Science fiction- och fantasyförfattarna Karin Tidbeck och Catherynne M. Valente på Åcon 5, 2012. Paneldiskussion om postmodernism och fantasy.
Johan Jönsson (Julle)
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Catherynne M. Valente • Born — 5 May 1979 • Birthplace — Seattle, Washington, U.S. • Occupation — * Poet • novelist • literary critic • Education — UC San Diego University of Edinburgh • Genre — Postmodern, fantasy, mythpunk • Awards — James Tiptree Jr. (2006) Million Writers Award (2007) Rhysling Award (2007) Mythopoeic Award (2008) Andre Norton Award (2009) Locus Award (2014) • Website — catherynnemvalente.com
Career
Career
Valente's 2009 book Palimpsest won the Lambda Award for LGBT Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror. Her two-volume series The Orphan's Tales won the 2008 Mythopoeic Award, and its first volume, The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden, won the 2006 James Tiptree Jr. Award and was nominated for the 2007 World Fantasy Award. In 2012, Valente won three Locus Awards: Best Novelette (White Lines on a Green Field), Best Novella (Silently and Very Fast) and Best YA Novel (The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making). In 2009, she donated her archive to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Collection in the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University. She is a regular panelist on the podcast SF Squeecast.
Multimedia and mythpunk
Multimedia and mythpunk
Valente tours with singer/songwriter S. J. Tucker, who has composed albums based on Valente's work. The pair perform reading concerts featuring dancers, aerial artists, art auctions featuring jewelry and paintings based on the novels, and other performances. Valente is active in the crowdfunding movement of online artists. Her novel The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making was the first online, crowdfunded book to win a major literary award before traditional publication. In a 2006 blog post, Valente coined the term mythpunk as a joke for describing her own and other works of challenging folklore-based fantasy. Valente and other critics and writers have discussed mythpunk as a subgenre of mythic fiction that starts in folklore and myth and adds elements of postmodernist literary techniques.
Personal life
Personal life
In a 2025 interview published in Vector, Valente stated that she is queer and has ADHD.
Standalone adult works
Standalone adult works
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Standalone young adult works
Standalone young adult works
* *
The Orphan's Tales
The Orphan's Tales
# #
Fairyland
Fairyland
* * * * *
A Dirge for Prester John
A Dirge for Prester John
# #
The Space Opera
The Space Opera
# #
Media tie-ins
Media tie-ins
* *
Short fiction
Short fiction
• "The Oracle Alone" Music of a Proto-Suicide (2004) • "Ghosts of Gunkanjima" Papaveria Press (2005) • "The Maiden-Tree" Cabinet des Fees (2005) • "Bones Like Black Sugar" Fantasy Magazine (2005) • "Psalm of the Second Body" PEN Book of Voices (2005) • "Ascent Is Not Allowed" The Minotaur in Pamplona (2005) • "Thread: A Triptych" Lone Star Stories (2006) • "Urchins, While Swimming" Clarkesworld Magazine (2006) • "Milk and Apples" Electric Velocipede (2006) • "Temnaya and the House of Books" Mythic (2006) • "A Grey and Soundless Tide" Salon Fantastique (2006) • "A Dirge For Prester John" Interfictions (2007) • "The Ballad of the Sinister Mr. Mouth" Lone Star Stories (2007) • "La Serenissima" Endicott Studio (2007) • "The Proslogium of the Great Lakes" Farrago's Wainscot (2007) • "A Buyer's Guide to Maps of Antarctica" Clarkesworld Magazine (2008) • "Tales of Beaty and Strangeness: City of Blind Delights" Clockwork Phoenix (2008) • "The Hanged Man" Farrago's Wainscot (2008) • "An Anthology of Urban Fantasy: Palimpsest" Paper Cities, ed. Ekaterina Sedia (2008) • "The Harpooner at the Bottom of the World" Spectra Pulse (2008) • "Golubash, or, Wine-War-Blood-Elegy" Federations (2009) • "The Secret History of Mirrors" Clockwork Phoenix 2 (2009) • "A Book of Villainous Tales:A Delicate Architecture" Troll's Eye View (2009) • "The Radiant Car Thy Sparrows Drew" Clarkesworld Magazine (2009) • "The Anachronist's Cookbook" Steampunk Tales (2009) • "A Between Books Anthology: Proverbs of Hell" The Stories in Between (2010) • "The Days of Flaming Motorcycles" Dark Faith (2010) • "Secretario" Weird Tales (2010) • "Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time" Clarkesworld Magazine (2010) • "How to Become a Mars Overlord" Lightspeed (2010) • "15 Panels Depicting the Sadness of the Baku and the Jotai" Haunted Legends (2010) • "In the Future When All's Well" Teeth (2011) • "A Voice Like a Hole" Welcome to Bordertown (2011) • "The Wolves of Brooklyn" Fantasy Magazine (2011) • "The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While" Tor.com (2011) • "White Lines on a Green Field" Subterranean Magazine (2011)
Nonfiction
Nonfiction
• Introduction to Jane Eyre (Illustrated) (2007) • "Regeneration X" in Chicks Dig Time Lords (2010) • Indistinguishable from Magic (2014)
Anthologies edited
Anthologies edited
• Nebula Awards Showcase 55 (2021)
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1979
Catherynne M. Valente born at Seattle.
Fiction collections
Fiction collections
* * * * * *
Poetry collections
Poetry collections
• Music of a Proto-Suicide (2004) • Apocrypha (2005) • Oracles: A Pilgrimage (2006) • The Descent of Inanna (2006) *
Recognition and collections
Where the work is held
Recognition and collections
Valente received Lambda Literary Award, Otherwise Award, Hugo Award for Best Fancast, Andre Norton Award, Rhysling Award and Locus Award for Best Novella.
Documents and archives
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q859065: Catherynne M. Valente
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Catherynne M. Valente”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Awards for literature
Awards for literature
• Year — Work — Award — Category — Result — Ref Reference. • 2006 — James Tiptree Jr. Award — — • 2007 — Rhysling Award — Long Poem — Finalist • World Fantasy Award — Novel — Finalist • Million Writers Award — — • 2008 — Rhysling Award — Long Poem • Mythopoeic Award — Adult Literature • 2009 — World Fantasy Award — Short Fiction — Finalist • (with Amal El-Mohtar) — Rhysling Award — Long Poem — Finalist • Andre Norton Award — — • 2010 — Palimpsest — Hugo Award — Novel — Finalist • Lambda Literary Award — Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror • Locus Award — Fantasy Novel — Finalist • Mythopoeic Award — Adult Literature — Finalist • 2011 — Deathless — James Tiptree Jr. Award — — — Longlisted • Silently and Very Fast — Nebula Award — Novella — Finalist • Locus Award — Short Story — Finalist • 2012 — Locus Award — Short Story — Finalist • Deathless — Locus Award — Fantasy Novel — Finalist • Mythopoeic Awards — Adult Literature — Finalist • Nebula Award — Novelette — Finalist • Sidewise Award — Short Form — Finalist • Locus Award — Young Adult Book • Silently and Very Fast — Hugo Award — Novella — Finalist • Locus Award — Novella • Theodore Sturgeon Award — — — Finalist • World Fantasy Award — Novella — Finalist • Locus Award — Novelette • 2013 — Hugo Award — Novelette — Finalist • Locus Award — Young Adult Book — Finalist • Six-Gun Snow White — Nebula Award — Novella — Finalist • 2014 — Locus Award — Collection — Finalist • Locus Award — Young Adult Book • Six-Gun Snow White — Hugo Award — Novella — Finalist • Locus Award — Novella • World Fantasy Award — Novella — Finalist • 2015 — Radiance — James Tiptree Jr. Award — — — Honor List • 2016 — Eugie Award — — • 2017 — Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire — Foreign Young Adult Novel • (novelette) — Locus Award — Novelette — Finalist • Theodore Sturgeon Award — — • Eugie Award — — — Finalist • 2018 — Locus Award — Collection — Finalist • 2019 — (collection) — British Fantasy Award — Collection — Finalist • Locus Award — Collection — Finalist • Space Opera — Campbell Memorial Award — Science Fiction Novel — Finalist • Hugo Award — Novel — Finalist • Locus Award — Science Fiction Novel — Finalist • 2021 — Comfort Me with Apples — Shirley Jackson Award — Novella — Finalist • 2022 — Locus Award — Novella — Finalist • Hugo Award — Novella — Finalist • Locus Award — Novella — Finalist • Ursula K. Le Guin Prize — — — Finalist • Eugie Award — — — Finalist • Hugo Award — Novelette — Finalist • Locus Award — Novelette — Finalist • "The Sin of America" — Hugo Award — Short Story — Finalist • Locus Award — Short Story — Finalist • 2023 — Hugo Award — Novelette — Finalist • Locus Award — Novelette — Finalist • Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods — Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book — — — Finalist • 2024 — Locus Award — Collection — Finalist • 2025 — Space Oddity — Locus Award — Science Fiction Novel — Finalist • Space Opera — Seiun Award — Translated Novel — Finalist • 2026 — Hugo Award — Novelette — Finalist • Locus Award — Novelette — Finalist
Other awards
Other awards
• Year — Work — Award — Category — Result — Ref Reference. • 2012 — Apex Magazine (with Lynne M. Thomas and Jason Sizemore) — Hugo Award — Semiprozine — Finalist • SF Squeecast (with Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, and Elizabeth Bear) — Hugo Award — Fancast • 2013 — SF Squeecast (with Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, and Elizabeth Bear) — Hugo Award — Fancast
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Catherynne M. Valente: Weird Hybrids. Locus. 69. 2 / 625. 3 February 2013.
- 2.Thomas, Lynne M. Hugos, Catherynne Valente Archives, and CLIR Reports. Confessions of a Curator. March 20, 2009.
- 3.List of regular contributors. SF Squeecast blog.
- 4.The Interstitial Arts Foundation. Two Artists, Many Stripes, One Voice: An Interview With S.j. Tucker & Catherynne M. Valente. March 31, 2011.
- 5.2010 Nebula Awards. The Locus Index to SF Awards. 2010.
- 6.Nebula Awards Results. Science Fiction Awards Watch. May 15, 2010.
- 7.The Big Idea: Catherynne M. Valente. Whatever: All Cake and Hand Grenades. May 12, 2011.
- 8.A Rose in Twelve Names. Rules for Anchorites. 2006-03-28.
- 9.Vanderhooft, JoSelle. Mythpunk: An Interview with Catherynne M. Valente. 2011-01-24.
- 10.Tony Conn. Tony Conn Interviews Catherynne M. Valente. Vector. British Science Fiction Association. 7 Jan 2025.
- 11.2006 Winners. tiptree.org.
- 12.SFADB. Rhysling Awards All Nominees.
- 13.Locus. World Fantasy Award Nominations. 12 Aug 2007.
- 14.storySouth Million Writers Award. www.storysouth.com.
- 15.Locus. 2008 Mythopoeic Awards Winners. 18 Aug 2008.
- 16.Locus. 2009 World Fantasy Awards Winners. 1 Nov 2009.
- 17.Locus. 2009 Nebula Awards Winners. 15 May 2010.
- 18.Reactor. Announcing the 2010 Hugo Award Winners!. 5 Sep 2010.
- 19.Lambda Literary Foundation. 2010 Awards Finalists & Winners.
- 20.Locus. 2010 Locus Awards Finalists. 19 Apr 2010.
- 21.Locus. 2010 Mythopoeic Awards. 12 Jul 2010.
- 22.Notkin, Debbie. 2011 Long List « Otherwise Award. Otherwise Award. 2012-03-20.
- 23.Locus. 2011 Nebula Awards Winners. 19 May 2012.
- 24.Locus. 2011 Locus Awards Winners. 25 Jun 2011.
- 25.Locus. 2012 Locus Awards Winners. 16 Jun 2012.
- 26.Locus. 2012 Mythopoeic Awards Finalists. 23 May 2012.
- 27.Locus. 2012 Nebula Awards Winners. 18 May 2013.
- 28.Locus. 2012 Sidewise Award Finalists. 1 Jul 2013.
- 29.Locus. 2012 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners. 2 Sep 2012.
- 30.Locus. 2012 Campbell and Sturgeon Award Winners. 29 Jun 2012.
- 31.Locus. 2012 World Fantasy Awards Winners. 4 Nov 2012.
- 32.Locus. 2013 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners. 1 Sep 2013.
- 33.Locus. 2013 Locus Awards Winners. 29 Jun 2013.
- 34.Locus. 2013 Nebula Awards Winners. 17 May 2014.
- 35.Locus. 2014 Locus Awards Winners. 28 Jun 2014.
- 36.Locus. 2014 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners. 15 Aug 2014.
- 37.Locus. World Fantasy Awards Winners 2014. 9 Nov 2014.
- 38.Reactor. Announcing the 2015 James Tiptree Jr. Award Honors. 1 Apr 2016.
- 39.Valente Wins Eugie Award. Locus. September 6, 2016.
- 40.Locus. Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire 2017 Winners. 5 Jun 2017.
- 41.Locus. 2017 Locus Awards Winners. 24 Jun 2017.
- 42.sfadb. Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award 2017. 18 Oct 2021.
- 43.Locus. Jemisin wins Eugie Award. 5 Sep 2017.
- 44.Locus. 2018 Locus Awards Winners. 23 Jun 2018.
- 45.Locus. 2019 British Fantasy Awards Winners. 20 Oct 2019.
- 46.Locus. 2019 Locus Awards Finalists. 7 May 2019.
- 47.Locus. 2019 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Winners. 1 Jul 2019.
- 48.Locus. 2019 Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners. 18 Aug 2019.
- 49.Locus. 2021 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners. 31 Oct 2021.
- 50.Locus. 2022 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Finalists. 7 Apr 2022.
- 51.Locus. 2022 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists. 10 May 2022.
- 52.Schaub, Michael. Winner of the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize Is Revealed. Kirkus Reviews. 2022-10-25.
- 53.Locus. 2022 Eugie Award Winner. 7 Sep 2022.
- 54.Locus. 2023 Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards Winners. 21 Oct 2023.
- 55.Locus. 2023 Locus Awards Winners. 24 Jun 2023.
- 56.Locus. 2024 Locus Awards Winners. 22 Jun 2024.
- 57.Locus. 2025 Locus Awards Winners. 21 Jun 2025.
- 58.Locus. 2025 Seiun Awards Winners. 28 Jul 2025.
- 59.2026 Hugo, Lodestar & Astounding Awards Winners. Locus. 31 Aug 2026.
- 60.Locus Online. 2026 Locus Awards Winners. May 30, 2026.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q859065: Catherynne M. ValenteWikimedia Foundation
Verifiedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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