World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

C. J. Cherryh

シー・ジェイ・チェリー

C. J. Cherryh

Pen Names: Carolyn Janice Cherry（birth name）, C. J. Cherryh（pen name (professional)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1942-09-01 （St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Lawton, Oklahoma (raised) → Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (teaching) → near Spokane, Washington, U.S. (residence)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Short story author, Essayist, High school teacher
Active Years
1976-
Affiliations
National Space Society (Board of Advisors), Endangered Language Fund (Board of Directors), Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA, member)
Memberships
Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), National Space Society (Board of Advisors)

Education

University of Oklahoma
College of Arts and Sciences / Latin
Degree: BA
Period: 在学期間不明–1964
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: United States
Phi Beta Kappa; specializations in archaeology, mythology, and history of engineering
Johns Hopkins University
Graduate School (Arts & Sciences) / Classics
Degree: MA
Period: 在学期間不明–1965
Year of Graduation: 1965
Country: United States
Woodrow Wilson fellow

Awards

Hugo Award (Best Novel)
1982
Work: Downbelow Station
Category: 長編
Organization: Worldcon / World Science Fiction Society (WSFS)
Result: Won
Hugo Award (Best Novel)
1989
Work: Cyteen
Category: 長編
Organization: Worldcon / World Science Fiction Society (WSFS)
Result: Won
Hugo Award (Best Short Story)
1979
Work: Cassandra (short story)
Category: 短編
Organization: Worldcon / World Science Fiction Society (WSFS)
Result: Won
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
1977
Organization: Worldcon / World Science Fiction Society
Result: Won
SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award
2016
Organization: SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America)
Result: Won
Prometheus Award (Best Novel)
2020
Work: Alliance Rising
Category: 長編
Organization: Libertarian Futurist Society
Result: Won
Robert A. Heinlein Award
2021
Organization: Baltimore Science Fiction Society
Result: Won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Downbelow Station

1981 Science fiction

A novel set in the Alliance–Union universe focusing on political and military conflicts, evacuation and control of a planet (Downbelow), and the complex interpersonal and political maneuvers among factions.

worldbuildingpolitics and militarycross-cultural contact

Cyteen

1988 Science fiction

A novel exploring ethics and politics surrounding cloning and personality engineering; it examines institutions, scientific power, and the social consequences of replication technologies.

identityethics and sciencepower structures

Foreigner (series)

1994 Science fiction

A series about human-alien relations focusing on diplomacy, translation, and cultural friction, noted for detailed alien cultures and political intrigue.

cross-cultural exchangediplomacy and translationsocial systems

Bibliography

  • Gate of Ivrel (1976)
  • Brothers of Earth (1976)
  • The Faded Sun: Kesrith (1978)
  • Downbelow Station (1981)
  • Cyteen (1988)
  • Foreigner (1994)

Translations by Author

  • Translated several works from French into English

Translations of Works

  • Many works translated into Japanese and other languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
meticulous, realistic worldbuildingtight limited third-person (intense internal) narration
Recurring Motifs
outsider/placement in societycross-cultural communication and the difficulty of translationexploration of gender and power relationships

Legacy

C. J. Cherryh is acclaimed for meticulous worldbuilding and complex political and social narratives. A multiple Hugo Award winner, she is a significant figure in science fiction with scholarly attention and archival collections of her papers.

Museums

  • Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library (Eastern New Mexico University) collection Eastern New Mexico University (New Mexico, U.S.)

Academic Societies

  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)

Archives

  • Manuscripts and notes archived at the Jack Williamson Science Fiction Library, Eastern New Mexico University

In Popular Culture

  • Honored by asteroid 77185 Cherryh

Quotes

  • "Culture is how biology responds to its environment and makes its living conditions better."
    Source: Interview (2005) (2005)
  • "I appended a silent 'h' to my name because the editor felt 'Cherry' sounded too much like a romance writer."
    Source: Essay / recollection

Trivia

  • Birth name Carolyn Janice Cherry.
  • Added a silent 'h' to her surname at editor Donald A. Wollheim's suggestion.
  • Used initials 'C. J.' early in career to obscure her gender.
  • Short story 'Cassandra' won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story (1979).
  • Won Hugo Awards for 'Downbelow Station' and 'Cyteen'.
  • Named SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master (2016).
  • Asteroid 77185 Cherryh named in her honor.
  • Married Jane Fancher in 2014.