Sheri S. Tepper
Sheri Stewart Tepper (July 16, 1929 – October 22, 2016) was an American writer of science fiction, horror and mystery novels. She is primarily known for her feminist science fiction, which explored themes of sociology, gender and equality, as well as theology and ecology. Often referred to as an eco-feminist of science fiction literature, Tepper personally preferred the label eco-humanist.
Also recorded as Shirley Stewart Douglas · Sheri Stewart Tepper
Sheri S. Tepper
- Name
- Sheri S.
- Birth Name
- Shirley Stewart Douglas
- Born
- 16 July 1929
- Birthplace
- near Littleton, Colorado, U.S.
- Died
- 22 October 2016
- Place of death
- Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.
- Awards
- World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, Locus Award in 1992 for Beauty
- Full name
- Shirley Stewart Douglas.
- Nationality
- United States.
- Occupation
- novelist, writer and essayist.
- Fields
- essay, belletristic literature, horror literature and science fiction.
- Known for
- The Gate to Women's Country, Beauty and Grass.
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Sheri Stewart Tepper (July 16, 1929 – October 22, 2016) was an American writer of science fiction, horror and mystery novels. She is primarily known for her feminist science fiction, which explored themes of sociology, gender and equality, as well as theology and ecology. Often referred to as an eco-feminist of science fiction literature, Tepper personally preferred the label eco-humanist.
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Note VALÉORINE
Sheri S. Tepper (1929–2016) was an American essayist, novelist and science fiction writer, among other activities. Born Shirley Stewart Douglas in Littleton, the essayist died in Santa Fe. Sheri S. Tepper was active in belletristic literature, essay and horror literature.
Works include Beauty, Grass and The Gate to Women's Country. Languages used include English. The essayist received Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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In this article
Biography
Biography
Some of her novels fall into the category of climate fiction, in which the changing environment of a planet affects the life of its colonists (or vice versa) in the form of a mystery to be solved; examples include Grass (1989), Beauty (1991), A Plague of Angels (1993), The Family Tree (1997), Six Moon Dance (1998), and Singer from the Sea (1999). Though the majority of her works operate in a world of fantastical imagery and metaphor, at the heart of her writing is real-world injustice and pain. She employed several pen names during her lifetime, including A. Horlak, and B.
The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is essay, belletristic literature and horror literature. Works named in the authority record are The Gate to Women's Country, Beauty and Grass. Distinctions recorded are World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Sheri S. Tepper • Birth Name — Shirley Stewart Douglas • Born — 16 July 1929 • Birthplace — near Littleton, Colorado, U.S. • Died — 22 October 2016 • Place of death — Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S. • Genre — Horror, mystery fiction, feminist science fiction • Notable Works — The Gate to Women's Country, Beauty, Grass • Awards — World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, Locus Award in 1992 for Beauty
Biography
Biography
She was born Shirley Stewart Douglas near Littleton, Colorado. As a child, she read science fiction and fantasy by A. Merritt and C. S. Lewis, as well as Frank Baum's 'Oz' books, William Hope Hodgson's The Night Land and Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright. She later commented, "These were the books I went back to again and again." Tepper recalled that she "spent ten years... working all kinds of different jobs" as a single mother of two. This included time working as a clerical assistant for the international relief agency, CARE. From 1962 to 1986, she worked for Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, eventually as its executive director. She wrote poetry and children's stories as Sheri S. Eberhart, then took a break from writing. She published her first novels after she turned 50. By the mid-1980s, she was publishing science fiction novels, including The Revenants (1984), and the books of the True Game series, including King's Blood Four (1983), Necromancer Nine (1983), and Wizard's Eleven (1984). Other related works followed, including her ecofeminist novels The Gate to Women's Country (1988) and Grass (1989), which were part of the Arbai Trilogy. Later novels in the 1990s and 2000s included Beauty (1991), which won a Locus Award; Shadow's End (1994); The Family Tree (1997); Six Moon Dance (1998); Singer from the Sea (1999); The Visitor (2002); The Companions (2003); and The Margarets (2007). As of 1998, she operated a guest ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico. That year saw her first and possibly only appearance at a science fiction convention, when she was Guest of Honor at the 25th WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention held annually in Madison, Wisconsin. In November 2015, Tepper received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. Her fantasy novel Beauty won a Locus Award in 1992.
Personal life
Personal life
Tepper married in her 20s and had two children. In the late 1960s, about 10 years after her divorce, she was married to Gene Tepper. She died on October 22, 2016 at age 87.
Series
Series
• The True Game (a trilogy of trilogies) • The Peter series was the first published. The Mavin series takes place earlier. The Jinian series takes place during and after the same time period as the Peter series, often giving a different perspective on the same events. • This series has a crossover with the Plague of Angels series. • The Books of the True Game: Peter • King's Blood Four (Ace Books, 1983) (first novel) • Necromancer Nine (Ace Books, 1983) • Wizard's Eleven (Ace Books, 1984) • The True Game (omnibus edition) (1985) • The Books of the True Game: Mavin Manyshaped • The Song of Mavin Manyshaped (Ace Books, 1985) • The Flight of Mavin Manyshaped (Ace Books, 1985) • The Search of Mavin Manyshaped (Ace Books, 1985) • The Chronicles of Mavin Manyshaped (omnibus edition) (1985) • The Books of the True Game: Jinian • Jinian Footseer (Tor Books, 1985) • Dervish Daughter (Tor Books, 1986) • Jinian Star-Eye (Tor Books, 1986) • The End of the Game (omnibus edition) • The Marianne Trilogy • Marianne, the Magus, and the Manticore (Ace Books, 1985) • Marianne, the Madame, and the Momentary Gods (Ace Books, 1988) • Marianne, the Matchbox, and the Malachite Mouse (Ace Books, 1989) • The Marianne Trilogy (omnibus edition) • Ettison Duo, featuring Badger Ettison • Blood Heritage (Tor Books, 1986) • The Bones (Tor Books, 1987) • The Awakeners: • Northshore (Tor Books, 1987) • Southshore (Tor Books, 1987) • The Awakeners (omnibus edition, 1989. A later omnibus edition erroneously claims to be first) • Plague of Angels: • A Plague of Angels (Bantam, 1993) • The Waters Rising (Eos, 2010) - Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 2010 • Fish Tails (2014), a crossover into the True Game series • The Arbai Trilogy • Grass (Doubleday, 1989) – Hugo and Locus Awards nominee, 1990 • Raising the Stones (Doubleday, 1990) • Sideshow (Doubleday, 1992) – John W. Campbell Award nominee, 1993
Non-series
Non-series
• The Revenants (Berkley Publishing, 1984) • After Long Silence (1987) (UK: The Enigma Score, 1989) • The Gate to Women's Country (1988) • Beauty (Doubleday, 1991; revised UK edition is author's preferred text) – Winner, Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, 1992 • Shadow's End (1994) • Gibbon's Decline & Fall (1996) – Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1997 • The Family Tree (1997) – Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 1998 • Six Moon Dance (1998) • Singer from the Sea (1999) • The Fresco (2000) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2001 • The Visitor (2002) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2003 • The Companions (2003) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2004 • The Margarets (released June 1, 2007 by Eos) – John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2008; Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 2009
Short works
Short works
• "The Gardener" (novella) in Night Visions 6. Released as The Bone Yard (1988) in mass market. Collaboration with F. Paul Wilson and Ray Garton. World Fantasy Award—Long Fiction finalist (1989) • "Someone Like You" in The Further Adventures of the Joker (ed. Martin Greenberg) (1990) • The "Crazy" Carol Stories • "The Gazebo" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October 1990 • "Raccoon Music" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 1991 • "The Gourmet" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October/November 1991
Poetry
Poetry
• "Extraterrestrial Trilogue on Terran Self-Destruction" in Galaxy, August 1961 (as Sheri S. Eberhart) • "Lullaby, 1990" in Galaxy, December 1963 (as Sheri S. Eberhart) • "Ballad of the Interstellar Merchants" in Galaxy, December 1964 (as Sheri S. Eberhart)
Essays/articles
Essays/articles
Educational pamphlets for Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood: • The People Know (1968) • The Perils of Puberty (1974) • The Problem with Puberty (1976) • This Is You (1977) • So Your Happily Ever After Isn't (1977) • The Great Orgasm Robbery (1977) • So You Don't Want to Be a Sex Object (1978)
Pseudonymous works
Pseudonymous works
• as E. E. Horlak (horror): • Still Life (Bantam, 1987/1988) • as B. J. Oliphant (mystery): • Shirley McClintock Mysteries, featuring a Colorado rancher and former Washington, DC "advisor": • Dead in the Scrub (1990) • The Unexpected Corpse (1990) • Deservedly Dead (1992) • Death and the Delinquent (1993) • Death Served Up Cold (1994) • A Ceremonial Death (1996) • Here's to the Newly Dead (1997) • as A. J. Orde (mystery): • The Jason Lynx Mysteries, featuring a Colorado antiques dealer and his significant other, a female cop: • A Little Neighborhood Murder: A Jason Lynx Novel (1989) • Death and the Dogwalker: A Jason Lynx Novel (1990) • Death for Old Time's Sake: A Jason Lynx Novel (1992) • Looking for the Aardvark (1993) (also published in paperback as Dead on Sunday, 1994) • A Long Time Dead (Fawcett, 1994) • A Death of Innocents: A Jason Lynx Novel (1996, 1997)
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
Tepper was recorded at birth as Shirley Stewart Douglas. The authorities additionally record the headings Shirley Stewart Douglas and Sheri Stewart Tepper. Her recorded language was English.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1929
Sheri S. Tepper born at Littleton.
2016
Sheri S. Tepper died at Santa Fe.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Littleton.
Birth place
Santa Fe.
Death place
Awards
• Work — Year & Award — Category — Result • 2015 World Fantasy Award — Life Achievement • King's Blood Four — 1984 Locus Awards — First Novel • The Song of Mavin Manyshaped — 1986 Locus Awards — Fantasy Novel • Marianne, the Magus, and the Manticore — 1986 Locus Awards — Fantasy Novel • Jinian Star-Eye — 1987 Locus Awards — Fantasy Novel • The Awakeners — 1988 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • After Long Silence — 1988 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • The Gate to Women's Country — 1989 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • "The Gardener" (Night Visions 6) — 1989 World Fantasy Awards — Novella • Marianne, the Matchbox, and the Malachite Mouse — 1990 Locus Awards — Fantasy Novel • Grass — 1990 Hugo Awards — Novel • 1990 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • Raising the Stones — 1991 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • Beauty — 1992 Locus Awards — Fantasy Novel • Sideshow — 1993 John W. Campbell Memorial Award — 2nd place • 1993 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • A Plague of Angels — 1994 James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award — long list • 1994 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • Shadow's End — 1995 James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award — long list • 1995 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • Gibbon's Decline and Fall — 1997 Arthur C. Clarke Award — shortlist • 1997 James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award — long list • 1997 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • The Family Tree — 1998 Arthur C. Clarke Award — shortlist • 1998 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • Six Moon Dance — 1999 James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award — long list • 1999 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • Singer from the Sea — 2000 James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award — long list • 2000 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • The Fresco — 2002 James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award — short list • 2001 John W. Campbell Memorial Award — third place • 2001 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • The Visitor — 2003 John W. Campbell Memorial Award — finalist • 2003 Locus Awards — Science Fiction Novel • The Companions — 2004 John W. Campbell Memorial Award — finalist • The Margarets — 2009 Arthur C. Clarke Award — shortlist • 2008 James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award — honor list • 2008 John W. Campbell Memorial Award — finalist • The Waters Rising — 2012 Arthur C. Clarke Award — shortlist • 2011 John W. Campbell Memorial Award — finalist • Source:
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."In Memoriam: Sheri S. Tepper"
- 2.Christensen, Ceridwen. In Memorium: Sheri S. Tepper Leaves a Legacy of Stunning Science Fiction & Fantasy. B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy blog. Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc. October 25, 2016.
- 3."Sheri S. Tepper". Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center. Web. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
- 4.Nicholls, Peter. Tepper, Sheri S. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Orbit Books. 2011.
- 5.Valentine, Genevieve. Remembering Sheri S. Tepper, Eco-Feminist Sci-Fi Firebrand. Book News & Features. NPR. November 5, 2016.
- 6.Kumari, R. Janatha. Women and Nature: An Ecofeminist Study on the Select Novels of Sheri S. Tepper. SSRN. April 3, 2020.
- 7.Łaszkiewicz, Weronika. Analyzing Humanity's Fate Beyond the Anthropocene in the Works of Sheri S. Tepper. Science Fiction Studies. November 2023.
- 8.Sheri S. Tepper (1929-2016). LocusMag.com.
- 9.Excerpt from "Sheri S. Tepper: Speaking to the Universe", Locus 41:3 (September 1998), pp. 4–8. Sheri S. Tepper interview. Locus Online; locusmag.com.
- 10.Society for the Furtherance and Study of Fantasy and Science Fiction (SF3), Inc. Past Wiscons.
- 11.World Fantasy Awards. Winners.
- 12.science fiction awards database. Sheri S. Tepper.
- 13.Upcoming4.me. Sheri S Tepper - Fish Tales cover art and synopsis.
- 14.1990 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
- 15.1993 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
- 16.1992 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
- 17.1997 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
- 18.1998 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
- 19.2001 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
- 20.2003 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
- 21.2004 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
- 22.2008 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
- 23.2009 Award Winners & Nominees. Worlds Without End.
References
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