Mary Robinette Kowal (; born February 8, 1969) is an American author, translator, art director, and puppeteer. Retrieved 21 April 2026. She is a four-time Hugo Award winner, a Nebula Award and Locus Award winner, and served as the president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America from 2019-2021. She has worked on puppetry for shows including Jim Henson Productions and the children's show LazyTown.
Early life Mary Robinette Harrison was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was named after both of her grandmothers, and describes her given name, "Mary Robinette," as a double first name.
She attended William G. Enloe High School, and studied at East Carolina University. She graduated with a degree in Art Education with a minor in Theater and Speech. She began work as a professional puppeteer in 1989.
Career
Puppetry and art direction Kowal has performed for the Center for Puppetry Arts, Jim Henson Productions; and her own production company, Other Hand Productions.Mary Robinette Kowal (Web Lackey, Actor, Writer) (archive), Willamette Radio Workshop She also worked in Iceland on the children's television show LazyTown for two seasons. She was accepted as a participant in a Sesame Puppetry Workshop. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
Kowal served as art director for Shimmer Magazine and in 2010 was named art director for Weird Tales.VanderMeer promoted to editor in chief, CapClave.org, 2010-01-25.
Literary work In 2008, Kowal won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
Kowal's work as an author includes "For Solo Cello, op. 12" (originally published in Cosmos Magazine and reprinted in Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition)Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, Rich Horton, Editor. which made the preliminary ballot for the 2007 Nebula Awards.Nebula Awards preliminary ballot released sfscope.com 2008-01-11 Her fiction has also appeared in Talebones Magazine, Strange Horizons, and Apex Digest, among other venues. Her debut novel Shades of Milk and Honey was nominated for the 2010 Nebula Award for Best Novel. Two of her short fiction works have been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story: "Evil Robot Monkey" in 2009 and "For Want of a Nail", which won the award in 2011. Her novelette "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" won the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. The Calculating Stars, the first novel in her Lady Astronaut series, won the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the 2018 Sidewise Award for Alternate History.
Kowal translated the 2021 novel The Night Guest, by Hildur Knútsdóttir, from Icelandic into English, which was published in 2024. Kowal studied Icelandic while living in Reykjavík and working for the show LazyTown. It is Kowal's first work of translation.
Kowal served as secretary of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for two years. She was elected to the position of SFWA Vice President in 2010, and was elected SFWA President in 2019.An Interview With Mary Robinette Kowal patrickrothfuss.com In July 2018, after criticism that many authors who were Hugo award finalists at the August 2018 World Science Fiction Convention had not been selected to participate on that year's panels, Kowal took over as programming chair. She also served as chair of the DisCon III the 2021 Worldcon after the original chairs resigned.
Audio work After appearing several times as a guest on the podcast Writing Excuses, Kowal became a full-time cast member at the start of the sixth season in 2011.
Kowal is a voice actor and has recorded audiobooks for authors including John Scalzi, Retrieved 21 April 2026. Seanan McGuire, Retrieved 21 April 2026. Cory Doctorow, Neal Stephenson, Retrieved 21 April 2026. and Kage Baker. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
Personal life
Kowal has previously lived in Chicago and Nashville. Retrieved 2026-05-22. Retrieved 21 April 2026. She lives in Denver with her husband, Robert Kowal. Retrieved 2026-05-22. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
She also owns a calico cat named Elsie who has reportedly learned over 120 words using a set of soundboard buttons to "talk".
Minor planet 52691, discovered by the Spacewatch Project in 1998, is named after her.
Awards and nominations Yearbased on official award designation yearTitleAwardCategoryResultRef2008—John W. Campbell Award—2009"Evil Robot Monkey"Hugo AwardHugo–Short Story2010"First Flight"Locus AwardLocus–NoveletteShades of Milk and HoneyNebula AwardNebula–Novel2011Locus AwardLocus–First Novel"For Want of a Nail"Hugo AwardHugo–Short Story"Kiss Me Twice"Nebula AwardNebula–Novella2012Hugo AwardHugo–NovellaLocus AwardLocus–NovellaWriting Excuses (Season 6)Hugo AwardHugo–Related WorkGlamour in GlassNebula AwardNebula–Novel2013Locus AwardLocus–Fantasy NovelWriting Excuses (Season 7)Hugo AwardHugo–Related WorkThe Lady Astronaut of MarsLocus AwardLocus–Novelette2014Hugo AwardHugo–NoveletteWriting Excuses (Season 8)Hugo AwardHugo–Related Work2015"For Want of a Nail"Seiun AwardTranslated Story2017Ghost TalkersMythopoeic AwardBest Fantasy Novel2018"The Worshipful Society of Glovers"Locus AwardLocus–NoveletteThe Calculating StarsNebula AwardNebula–NovelSidewise Award for Alternate HistorySidewise Award–Long Form2019Hugo AwardHugo–NovelLocus AwardLocus–Scifi NovelJohn W. Campbell Memorial Award—2020The Relentless MoonHugo AwardHugo–NovelLocus AwardLocus–Scifi Novel2021The Lady Astronaut UniverseHugo AwardHugo–Series2023The Spare ManHugo AwardHugo–Novel2025"Marginalia" Hugo Award Short Story Eugie Award —
Works
Novels and novellas
Apprehension. Saga Doubles. 2025 (in double-sided book with Red Star Hustle by Sam J. Miller)
Glamourist Histories series Shades of Milk and Honey. Tor Books, 2010, Glamour in Glass, Tor Books, 2012, Without a Summer, Tor Books, 2013, Valour and Vanity, Tor Books, 2014, Of Noble Family, Tor Books, 2015,
Lady Astronaut Universe The Calculating Stars, Tor Books, 2018, The Fated Sky, Tor Books, 2018, The Relentless Moon, Tor Books, 2020, The Martian Contingency, Tor Books, 2025, (originally announced for 2022) Silent Spaces, Kickstarter, projected publishing date July 2025
Short fiction Collections Scenting the Dark and Other Stories, Subterranean Press, 2009, Word Puppets, Prime Books, 2015, StoriesShort stories unless otherwise noted. TitleYearFirst publishedNotes"Kiss Me Twice"2011Asimov's Science FictionFinalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novella"Forest of Memory"2014Tor.comNovella"A Fire in the Heavens"2014Shadows BeneathNovelette"Like Native Things"2015Novelette"The Worshipful Society of Glovers"2017Novelette
"Just Right", The First Line, 2004 "Rampion", The First Line, 2004 "The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship Friesland", The First Line, 2004 "Portrait of Ari", Strange Horizons, 2006 "Bound Man", Twenty Epics, 2006 "Cerbo in Vitra ujo", Apex Digest, 2006 "Locked In", Apex Digest, 2006 "This Little Pig", Cicada, 2007 "For Solo Cello, op. 12", Cosmos, 2007; reprinted in Lightspeed Magazine, 2016 "Horizontal Rain", Apex Online, 2007 "Death Comes But Twice", Talebones, 2007 "Some Other Day", All Possible Worlds, 2007 "Tomorrow and Tomorrow", Gratia Placenti, 2007 "Suspension and Disbelief", Doctor Who: Short Trips: Destination Prague, 2007 "Clockwork Chickadee", Clarkesworld Magazine, 2008 "Scenting the Dark", Apex Online, 2008 "Waiting for Rain", Subterranean Magazine, 2008 "Chrysalis", Aoife's Kiss, 2008 "Evil Robot Monkey", The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction, Vol. 2, 2008 (nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story) "At the Edge of Dying", Clockwork Phoenix 2: More Tales of Beauty and Strangeness, 2009 "Body Language", InterGalactic Medicine Show, 2009 "The Consciousness Problem", Asimov's Science Fiction, 2009; reprinted in Lightspeed Magazine, 2015 "First Flight", Tor.com, 2009 "Ginger Stuyvesant and the Case of the Haunted Nursery", Talebones, 2009 "Jaiden's Weaver", Diamonds in the Sky: An Astronomical Anthology, 2009 "Prayer at Dark River", Innsmouth Free Press, 2009 "Ring Road", Dark Faith Anthology, 2010 "The Bride Replete", Apex Online, 2010 "Beyond the Garden Close", Apex Online, 2010 "Typewriter Triptych", Sharable.net, 2010 "For Want of a Nail", Asimov's Science Fiction, 2010 (winner of the Hugo Award for Best Short Story) "Salt of the Earth", Redstone Science Fiction, 2010 "American Changeling", Daily Science Fiction, 2010 "Changement d'itinéraire (Changed Itinerary)", Légendes, 2010 "Birthright", 2020 Visions, 2010 "Water to Wine", METAtropolis: Cascadia, 2010 "Weaving Dreams", Apex, 2012 "The White Phoenix Feather", Fireside Magazine, 2012 "The Lady Astronaut of Mars", Audible, 2012, Tor.com, 2013 (winner of the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Novelette) "We Interrupt This Broadcast", The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination, 2013 - part of the Lady Astronaut Universe series "Midnight Hour", Uncanny Magazine, 2015 "Grinding Time", Popular Science, 2015 "Your Mama's Adventures in Parenting", Shimmer, 2017 "Dust to Dust", Fireside Fiction, 2018 "Nails in My Feet", Uncanny Magazine, 2018 "Amara's Giraffe", May 2018 - part of the Lady Astronaut Universe series "Rockets Red", July 2018 - part of the Lady Astronaut Universe series "The Phobos Experience" - in Fantasy & Science Fiction July 2018 - part of the Lady Astronaut Universe series "Articulated Restraint", Tor.com, 2019 - part of the Lady Astronaut Universe series "Ina's Spark", Uncanny Magazine, 2021 "By the Pricking of My Robotic Thumbs", New Scientist, 2021 "Cold Relations", Uncanny Magazine, 2023 "Marginalia", Uncanny Magazine, 2024 "In the Moon's House", Reactor, 2024 - part of the Lady Astronaut Universe series "With Her Serpent Locks", Uncanny Magazine, 2025 "To Speak in Silence", Uncanny Magazine, 2025
Children's books Molly on the Moon, ill. Diana Mayo, Roaring Brook Press, 2022, ISBN 9781250259615
Audio books Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal. "The Original" (Recorded Books, 2020) ISBN 9781980062738; eBook (Dragonsteel, 2025) ISBN 9781938570360
Notes
References
External links
Mary Robinette Kowal's Weekly Fantasy Column at AMCtv.com