Seanan McGuire

McGuire worked across writer, musician, novelist, science fiction writer and draftsperson. The registers place that work in urban fantasy, horror fiction and apocalyptic literature. This article rests on 35 catalogued compositions, 170 published texts, 5 issued recordings, 3 digitised documents and 25 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

The recorded working language is American English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are urban fantasy, horror fiction and apocalyptic. Works named in the authority record are October Daye, Wayward Children and InCryptid. Distinctions recorded are Astounding Award for Best New Writer, Nebula Award for Best Novella, Locus Award for Best Novella and Hugo Award for Best Novella.

• Name — Seanan McGuire • Born — 5 January 1978 • Birthplace — Martinez, California, U.S. • Occupation — Writer • Education — University of California, Berkeley • Awards — *John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (2010) • Nebula Award for Best Novella (2016) • Hugo Award for Best Novella (2017) • Locus Award for Best Novella (2017) • Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2020)

McGuire was born on January 5, 1978, in Martinez, California. McGuire has stated that her mother, Micki McGuire, had "primary custody, two other children, no money, and an abusive husband who targeted [Seanan]". During the summer, McGuire traveled with her father, a carnival worker of Romani origin, an experience she described as "Bradbury-esque running wild and unfettered through farmers' fields, building Ferris wheels and living on funnel cake." At age nine, McGuire was diagnosed with obsessive–compulsive disorder. McGuire attended University of California, Berkeley, where she studied folklore and herpetology.

Before becoming a full-time writer, McGuire worked at a reptile rescue organization. McGuire has published filk music, poetry, short fiction, essays, and novels. Most of her works are speculative fiction, including fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Her earliest publication was a contribution to the June 2002 poetry anthology Speculon. She produced the musical album Pretty Little Dead Girl in 2006 and published her first short story in The Edge of Propinquity in 2008. In 2009, she published her first novel, Rosemary and Rue, which has resulted in her longest-running series, with the 19th book, Silver and Lead, published in 2025. In 2010, she published Feed under the pseudonym Mira Grant. This established Seanan McGuire as an urban fantasy writer and her pseudonym Mira Grant as a horror/science fiction writer. In 2018, McGuire began writing for Marvel Comics. She wrote two Spider-Gwen series from 2018 to 2020 — Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider and Spider-Gwen: Into the Unknown — and has contributed to several other franchises. She is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), the Horror Writers Association (HWA), and the Book View Cafe publishing cooperative.

• October Daye • InCryptid • Wayward Children • Alchemical Journeys • Indexing • Ghost Roads • Newsflesh (as Mira Grant) • Parasitology (as Mira Grant) • Up-and-Under (as A. Deborah Baker)

• "The Wine in Dreams" (novella included in Star Wars: Canto Bight anthology (as Mira Grant) • Deadlands: Boneyard • Overwatch: Declassified – An Official History (2023)

• Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider (ongoing series, published 2018–9) • X-Men Black: Mystique (2018) • Age of X-Man: The Amazing Nightcrawler (tie-in, 2019) • Ghost-Spider/Spider-Gwen: Into the Unknown (ongoing series, 2019–20) • King in Black: Gwenom vs. Carnage (tie-in, 2021) • Magic: Soul and Stone (July 2023)

McGuire's short fiction has been published in Apex Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, Lightspeed Magazine, and others. Her works appear in anthologies edited by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, and John Joseph Adams. She has self-published hundreds of short stories. From 2008 to 2017, she posted installments of the Velveteen series to LiveJournal with the support of fan sponsorships. Tie-ins to her October Daye and InCryptid series are available for free on her website. In 2016, she launched a Patreon account to post monthly short stories for her subscribers.

McGuire was diagnosed as autistic in 2020 and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She identifies as pansexual, bisexual, and demisexual. McGuire lives in Washington state.

McGuire worked as writer, musician, novelist and science fiction writer, and the authority record catalogues a further 1 occupations under the same name, among them draftsperson. McGuire was active from 2008. The fields McGuire worked in include urban fantasy, horror fiction and apocalyptic literature. McGuire worked in American English.

McGuire wrote as well as composed, and is recorded as writer, novelist and science fiction writer. 86 books and published texts survive in the institutional catalogues, spanning 2009 to 2025. Among them are October Daye (2009), Rosemary and Rue (2009), Feed (2010), A Local Habitation (2010), An Artificial Night (2010) and Deadline (2011). The whole run is set out in the catalogue below.

McGuire holds the record for most Hugo Award nominations in a single year, with five nominations in 2013. McGuire was the first author to win the American Library Association's Alex Awards for two consecutive years. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series every year since its inception in 2017. In 2010, Feed was recognized as #74 out of the 100 top thriller novels of all time by NPR. It was also recognized as a Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2010. In 2012, McGuire (as Mira Grant) was inducted in to the Darrell Awards Hall of Fame for the best American Mid-South regional speculative fiction. Awards for literature • Year — Work — Award — Category — Result — Ref. • 2010 — — — John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer — — • Feed — Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award — Science Fiction Novel — Finalist • Shirley Jackson Award — Novel — Nominated • 2011 — Deadline — Philip K. Dick Award — — — Nominated • Feed — Audie Award — Audie Award for Science Fiction — Finalist • Hugo Award — Best Novel — Finalist • 2012 — Hugo Award — Best Novella — Finalist • Blackout — Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award — Science Fiction Novel — Finalist • Deadline — Hugo Award — Best Novel — Finalist • 2013 — Blackout — Hugo Award — Best Novel — Finalist • "In Sea-Salt Tears" — Hugo Award — Best Novelette — Finalist • "Rat-Catcher" — Hugo Award — Best Novelette — Finalist • San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats — Hugo Award — Best Novella — Finalist • 2014 — Parasite — Hugo Award — Best Novel — Finalist • 2015 — James Tiptree Jr. Award — — — Honor List • 2016 — Every Heart a Doorway — Nebula Award — Best Novella • James Tiptree Jr. Award — — — Honor List • 2017 — Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day — Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award — Fantasy Novel — Finalist • Every Heart a Doorway — Alex Awards — — • British Fantasy Award — Best Novella — Finalist • Hugo Award — Best Novella • Locus Award — Best Novella • World Fantasy Award — Novella — Finalist • October Daye — Hugo Award — Best Series — Finalist • 2018 — Down Among the Sticks and Bones — Alex Awards — — • Hugo Award — Best Novella — Finalist • Locus Award — Best Novella — Finalist • RUSA Award — Fantasy • Every Heart a Doorway — Geffen Award — Best Translated Fantasy Book — Finalist • InCryptid — Hugo Award — Best Series — Finalist • Locus Award — Best Novelette — Finalist • 2019 — "Any Way the Wind Blows" — Sidewise Award for Alternate History — Short Form — Finalist • Beneath the Sugar Sky — Hugo Award — Best Novella — Finalist • World Fantasy Award — Novella — Finalist • Endeavour Award — — — Finalist • October Daye — Hugo Award — Best Series — Finalist • 2020 — In an Absent Dream — Hugo Award — Best Novella — Finalist • World Fantasy Award — Novella — Finalist • InCryptid — Hugo Award — Best Series — Finalist • Middlegame — Alex Awards — — • Endeavour Award — — — Finalist • Hugo Award — Best Novel — Finalist • Locus Award — Best Fantasy Novel • Locus Award — Best Novelette — Finalist • 2021 — Calculated Risks — Endeavour Award — — — Finalist • Come Tumbling Down — Hugo Award — Best Novella — Finalist • Locus Award — Best Novella — Finalist • Ghost-Spider Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over — Hugo Award — Best Graphic Story — Finalist • October Daye — Hugo Award — Best Series — Finalist • Over the Woodward Wall — Locus Award — Best Young Adult Book — Finalist • 2022 — Across the Green Grass Fields — Hugo Award — Best Novella — Finalist • Be the Serpent — Endeavour Award — — — Finalist • Hugo Award — Best Short Story — Finalist • Wayward Children — Hugo Award — Best Series • 2023 — Locus Award — Best Novelette — Finalist • October Daye — Hugo Award — Best Series — Finalist • Sleep No More — Endeavour Award — — — Finalist • Where the Drowned Girls Go — Hugo Award — Best Novella • 2024 — Lost in the Moment and Found — Locus Award — Best Novella — Finalist • October Daye — Hugo Award — Best Series — Finalist • 2025 — InCryptid — Hugo Award — Best Series — Finalist • Mislaid in Parts Half-Known — Locus Award — Best Novella — Finalist • 2026 — October Daye — Hugo Award — Best Series — Finalist Other awards • Year — Work — Award — Category — Result — Ref Reference. • 2012 — SF Squeecast (with Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Lynne M. Thomas, and Catherynne M. Valente) — Hugo Award — Fancast • Wicked Girls — Hugo Award — Hugo Award for Best Related Work — Finalist • 2013 — SF Squeecast (with Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Lynne M. Thomas, and Catherynne M. Valente) — Hugo Award — Fancast

Pegasus Award presented by the Ohio Valley Filk Festival. • Year — Award — Work — Result • 2005 — Best Writer/ Composer — N/A • 2006 — Best Writer/ Composer — N/A • 2006 — Best Torch Song — "Maybe It's Crazy" • 2007 — Best Performer — N/A • 2008 — Best Writer/ Composer — N/A • 2008 — Best Tragedy Song — "The Black Death" • 2010 — Best Mad Science Song — "What a Woman's For" • 2011 — Best Filk Song — "Wicked Girls" • 2011 — Most Badass Song — "Evil Laugh" • 2012 — Best Filk Song — "My Story Is Not Done" • 2015 — Best Filk Song — "My Story Is Not Done" • 2018 — Best Horror Song — "Dear Gina" • 2021 — Best Mad Science Song — "Maybe it's Crazy" • 2021 — Best Cheery-Ose Song — "Dear Seanan" (with Erin Bellavia and Merav Hoffman)