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Farah Mendlesohn

ファラ・メンドルソーン

Farah Mendlesohn

Aliases: Farah Jane Mendlesohn

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1968-07-27 (Manchester, England)
Nationality
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Religion
Quaker
Residence History
Manchester, England → York, England → London (Middlesex University) → Cambridge (Anglia Ruskin University) → Staffordshire, England

Career

Occupations
Academic historian, Writer, Science fiction critic
Active Years
1997-2024
Affiliations
Middlesex University, Anglia Ruskin University, Staffordshire University
Memberships
International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, Science Fiction Foundation, Historical Fictions Research Network
Influenced
Edward James
Nominations
Hugo nomination (Rhetorics of Fantasy, 2009), Hugo nomination (The Inter-Galactic Playground, 2010), Hugo nomination (On Joanna Russ, 2010), Hugo nomination (The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein, 2020)

Education

University of York
History
Degree: D.Phil.
Year of Graduation: 1997
Country: United Kingdom
Thesis: Practicing Peace: Quaker Relief work in the Spanish Civil War

Awards

Hugo Award
2005
Work: The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction
Category: Best Related Work
Organization: World Science Fiction Society
Result: 受賞
BSFA Award
2009
Work: Rhetorics of Fantasy
Category: Best Non-Fiction
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: 受賞
Thomas D. Clareson Award
2015
Category: Distinguished Service
Organization: Science Fiction Research Association
Result: 受賞
World Fantasy Award
2017
Work: Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction
Category: Special Award—Professional
Organization: World Fantasy Convention
Result: 受賞
BSFA Award
2019
Work: The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein
Category: Non-Fiction
Organization: British Science Fiction Association
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Rhetorics of Fantasy

2008 Criticism

Classifies fantasy literature into four modes based on how the fantastic enters the story: portal-quest, immersive, intrusion, and liminal.

Fantasy rhetoricsGenre classification

Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction

2016 Criticism

Traces the 500-year history of children's fantasy literature from the 16th to 21st centuries.

Children's literatureFantasy history

The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein

2019 Biography/Criticism

Critical biography of Robert A. Heinlein, published via crowdfunding.

SF author biography

A Short History of Fantasy

2009 Criticism

A Short History of Fantasy co-written with Edward James.

Fantasy history

Bibliography

  • Quaker Relief Work in the Spanish Civil War
  • Diana Wynne Jones: Children's Literature and the Fantastic Tradition
  • Rhetorics of Fantasy
  • The Inter-galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children's and Teens' Science Fiction
  • A Short History of Fantasy
  • Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction
  • The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein
  • Creating Memory: Historical Fiction and the English Civil Wars
  • Classic Fantasy Stories

Style & Themes

Literary Style
ScholarlyAnalyticalHistorical
Recurring Motifs
Genre classificationSF/Fantasy historyReligion and fiction

Legacy

Leading scholar in speculative fiction criticism and history. Known for Rhetorics of Fantasy classification and awards including Hugo, World Fantasy, and multiple BSFA non-fiction awards.

Academic Societies

  • Science Fiction Research Association
  • International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts

Trivia

  • The only writer to have won the BSFA Award for non-fiction three times.
  • Active volunteer in science fiction convention administration.