C. J. Cherryh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids C. J. Cherryh
Cherryh at NorWesCon in 2006
Born	Carolyn Janice Cherry (1942-09-01) September 1, 1942 (age 82) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Pen name	C. J. Cherryh
Occupation	Novelist, short story author, essayist, high school teacher
Education	University of Oklahoma (BA) Johns Hopkins University (MA)
Period	1976–present
Genre	Science fiction, fantasy
Notable works	Alliance–Union universe, Foreigner series
Notable awards	Hugo Award, Locus Award, Prometheus Award
Spouse	Jane Fancher ​ (m. 2014)​
Relatives	David A. Cherry (brother)
Website
cherryh.com/WaveWithoutAShore/

Carolyn Janice Cherry (born September 1, 1942), known as C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer. She writes exciting speculative fiction stories. Since the mid-1970s, she has written over 80 books.

Some of her famous books include Downbelow Station (1981) and Cyteen (1988). Both of these won the Hugo Award. They are part of her special Alliance–Union universe. She also wrote the popular Foreigner series.

Cherryh is famous for her amazing worldbuilding. This means she creates fictional worlds that feel very real. She does this by using lots of research. She studies history, language, psychology, and archaeology to make her worlds believable.

Her last name is pronounced "Cherry." She added a silent "h" to her name. Her first editor thought "Cherry" sounded too much like a romance writer. She used only her initials, C. J., to hide that she was a woman. At that time, most science fiction writers were men.

There's even an asteroid named after her! It's called 77185 Cherryh. The people who found it said she "challenged us to be worthy of the stars." She makes us imagine how humans might live among the stars.

Biography

Early Life and Education

Carolyn Janice Cherryh was born in 1942 in St. Louis, Missouri. She grew up mostly in Lawton, Oklahoma. She started writing stories when she was just ten years old. This happened after her favorite TV show, Flash Gordon, was canceled.

She went to the University of Oklahoma. In 1964, she earned a degree in Latin. She also studied archaeology, mythology, and the history of engineering. In 1965, she got a master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Teaching and Writing Beginnings

After college, Cherryh became a teacher. She taught Latin, Ancient Greek, and ancient history. She worked at John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City. Even though she taught Latin, she loved the history and culture of Rome and Ancient Greece.

During her summer breaks, she would take students on tours. They visited ancient ruins in England, France, Spain, and Italy. In her free time, she wrote stories. She often used ideas from Roman and Greek myths for her future-set tales.

Unlike many writers, she didn't start with short stories. She wrote full novels in her spare time. She sent these books directly to publishers. At first, it was tough. Some publishers even lost her stories! She had to retype them from her own copies.

Breakthrough and Full-Time Writing

Cherryh's big break came in 1975. A publisher named Donald A. Wollheim bought two of her books. These were Gate of Ivrel and Brothers of Earth. She said that Gate of Ivrel was the first book that really "worked." She had found an editor who liked her style.

These two novels were published in 1976. They quickly made her famous. In 1977, she won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. This award is for promising new authors.

She built a strong connection with the Wollheim family and their publishing company, DAW Books. She often visited them in New York City. Other companies also published her books. By the late 1970s, she had published six more novels.

In 1979, her short story "Cassandra" won a Hugo Award. After this, she quit teaching to write full-time. She has won the Hugo Award for Best Novel twice since then. She won for Downbelow Station in 1982 and for Cyteen in 1989.

Later Career and Life

Besides her own stories, Cherryh has written for other shared story worlds. These include Thieves' World and Elfquest. She has written many types of science fiction and fantasy. Her books have been translated into many languages. She has also translated French books into English.

Today, she lives near Spokane, Washington. She lives with her wife, Jane Fancher, who is also a writer and artist. Cherryh enjoys skating and traveling. She often attends science fiction conventions. Her brother, David A. Cherry, is a science fiction and fantasy artist.

Writing Style

Cherryh uses a special way of writing. She calls it "very tight limited third person." This means the story is told from one character's point of view. The reader only knows what that character sees or thinks.

For example, the story might not mention things the character already knows. Even if those things are important to the reader, the character doesn't think about them. This makes you feel like you are truly inside the character's head.

Worldbuilding

Cherryh's books create fictional worlds that feel very real. She uses her strong knowledge of languages, history, archaeology, and psychology. One reviewer even compared her worldbuilding to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

She creates believable alien cultures and species. This makes readers think about what it means to be human. Her worlds are complex and realistic. She shows you details without always explaining everything directly. This is clear in her Chanur and Foreigner series. In these books, she shows how hard it is for different species to understand each other's languages.

Cherryh has explained how she creates alien societies. She asks herself many questions. The answers to these questions help her build the alien culture. She believes that a culture shows how a species lives in its environment.

Here are some things she thinks about when creating an alien race:

• The environment where the species lives.
• Their homes and how they are built.
• What they eat and how they get food.
• How they share knowledge with each other.
• Their ideas about death and the afterlife.
• How they see themselves and the fictional universe around them.

Cherryh has said that science is very important in science fiction. She tries to get things right. She even talked with astronauts to learn more about space!

Major Themes

Cherryh's stories often explore important ideas. Her main characters usually try to protect good social rules and institutions. They do this for the greater good of everyone. The bad characters often try to change things for their own selfish reasons.

Another common theme is about outsiders. Her stories show how someone who feels different finds their place in society. They also explore how people interact with those who are "The Other." Many of her books focus on military and political topics.

She also looks at different roles for men and women. Her characters, both male and female, show strengths and weaknesses. Her female main characters are often shown as very capable and determined. Many of her male characters are shown as having faced challenges or being vulnerable.

Works

Cherryh's writing career started in 1976. Her first books were Gate of Ivrel and Brothers of Earth. Since then, she has published over 80 novels and short story collections. She continues to write new stories.

She has won the Hugo, Locus, and Prometheus Awards for her books. Her novels are often grouped into different series. The most famous are the Alliance–Union universe, The Chanur novels, and the Foreigner series. She has also written many fantasy novels.

Awards and Honors

Cherryh has also received these special honors:

• John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer – 1977
• NESFA Edward E. Smith Memorial Award (The Skylark) – 1988
• Guest of Honor at BucConeer (a big science fiction convention) in 1998
• Asteroid 77185 Cherryh was named after her in 2001.
• Oklahoma Book Awards – Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award 2005
• Guest of Honor at FenCon IX in Dallas/Fort Worth in 2012.
• SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award – 2016
• Prometheus Award for Best Novel 2020 —Alliance Rising
• Robert A. Heinlein Award – 2021

Organizations

• Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA) – She is a member because of her "Morgaine" novels.
• National Space Society – She is on the Board of Advisors.
• Endangered Language Fund – She is on the Board of Directors.

Images for kids

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  Cherryh at NorWesCon in 2006

See also

In Spanish: C. J. Cherryh para niños