About Mike Resnick

Mike Resnick was born on March 5, 1942. He sold his first article in 1957, his first short story in 1959, and his first book in 1962.

He attended the University of Chicago from 1959 through 1961, won 3 letters on the fencing team, majored in absenteeism, and met and married Carol. Their daughter, Laura, was born in 1962, and has since become a writer herself, winning 2 awards for her romance novels and the 1993 Campbell Award for Best New SF Writer.

Mike and Carol discovered science fiction fandom in 1962, attended their first worldcon in 1963, and 76 sf books into his career, Mike still considers himself a fan and frequently contributes articles to fanzines. He and Carol appeared in five worldcon masquerades in the 1970s in costumes that she created, and won four of them.

Mike labored anonymously but profitably from 1964 through 1976, selling more than 200 novels, 300 short stories and 2,000 articles, almost all of them under pseudonyms, most of them in the "adult" field. He edited 7 different tabloid newspapers and a pair of men's magazines, as well.

In 1968 Mike and Carol became serious breeders and exhibitors of collies, a pursuit they continued through 1981. (Mike is still an AKC-licensed collie judge.) During that time they bred and/or exhibited 27 champion collies, and were the country's leading breeders and exhibitors during various years along the way.

This led them to purchase the Briarwood Pet Motel in Cincinnati in 1976. It was the country's second-largest luxury boarding and grooming establishment, and they worked full-time at it for the next few years. By 1980 the kennel had made them financially independent, it was being run by a staff of 21, and Mike was free to return to his first love, science fiction, albeit at a far slower pace that his previous writing. They sold the kennel in 1993.

Mike's first novel in this "second career" was THE SOUL EATER, which was followed shortly by BIRTHRIGHT: THE BOOK OF MAN, WALPURGIS III, the 4-book TALES OF THE GALACTIC MIDWAY series, THE BRANCH, the 4-book TALES OF THE VELVET COMET series, and ADVENTURES, all from Signet. His breakthrough novel was SANTIAGO, published by Tor in 1986. Tor has since published STALKING THE UNICORN, THE DARK LADY, IVORY, SECOND CONTACT, PARADISE, PURGATORY, INFERNO, the Double BWANA/BULLY!, and the collection, WILL THE LAST PERSON TO LEAVE THE PLANET PLEASE SHUT OFF THE SUN? His most recent Tor release was A MIRACLE OF RARE DESIGN, which will be followed by A HUNGER IN THE SOUL.

Even at his reduced rate, Mike is too prolific for one publisher, and in the past few years Ace has published SOOTHSAYER, ORACLE and PROPHET, Questar has published LUCIFER JONES, Bantam has already brought out THE WIDOWMAKER and will soon publish THE WIDOWMAKER REBORN and THE WIDOWMAKER UNLEASHED, and del Rey will soon publish KIRINYAGA: A FABLE OR UTOPIA and OUTPOST.

Beginning with SHAGGY B.E.M. STORIES in 1988, Mike has also become an anthology editor (and was nominated for a Best Editor Hugo in 1994). His list of anthologies in print and in press totals more than 20, and includes ALTERNATE PRESIDENTS, ALTERNATE KENNEDYS, SHERLOCK HOLMES IN ORBIT, BY ANY OTHER FAME, DINOSAUR FANTASTIC, and CHRISTMAS GHOSTS.

Mike has always supported the "specialty press", and has numerous books and collections out in limited editions from such diverse publishers as Phantasia Press, Axolotl Press, Misfit Press, Pulphouse Publishing, Wildside Press, Dark Regions Press, NESFA Press, WSFA Press, and others.

Mike was never interested in writing short stories early in his career, producing only 7 between 1976 and 1986. Then something clicked, and he has written and sold more than 100 stories since 1986, and now spends more time on short fiction than on novels. The writing that has brought him the most acclaim thus far in his career is the "Kirinyaga" series, which, with 57 major and minor awards and nominations to date, are the most honored series of stories in the history of science fiction. Del Rey Books just made a successful pre-emptive bid and won the right to publish them in book form.

He's recently begun writing short non-fiction as well, and is now a regular columnist for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ("Forgotten Treasures") and Speculations ("Ask Bwana").

Carol has always been Mike's uncredited collaborator on his science fiction, but in the past two years they have teamed up on three movie scripts -- SANTIAGO is currently in pre-production with Capella, and THE WIDOWMAKER is in development with Miramax -- and Carol is listed as his collaborator on those.

Readers of Mike's works are aware of his fascination with Africa, and the many uses to which he has put it in his science fiction. Mike and Carol have taken numerous safaris, visiting Kenya (4 times), Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Botswana, and Uganda, and have three more planned for the next four years. Mike edited the Library of African Adventure series for St. Martin's Press, and is currently editing The Resnick Library of African Adventure, The Resnick Library of Worldwide Adventure, and (with Carol as co-editor) The Resnick Library of Travelers' Tales for Alexander Books.

Since 1989, Mike has won three Hugo Awards (for "Kirinyaga", "The Manamouki", and "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge"), a Nebula Award (for "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge"), and has been nominated for sixteen Hugos, eight Nebulas, a Clarke (British), and five Seiun-shos (Japanese). He has also won six HOmer Awards, an Alexander Award, a Golden Pagoda Award, a Hayakawa SF Award (Japanese), a Locus Award, an Ignotus Award (Spanish), a Futura Award (Croatian), and has topped the S. F. Chronicle Poll six times.