Caitlín R. Kiernan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Caitlín R. Kiernan
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Kiernan in 2011
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| Born | 26 May 1964 (age 61) Skerries, Ireland |
| Pen name | Kathleen Tierney |
| Occupation | Writer, paleontologist |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1992–present |
| Genre | Science fiction, dark fantasy, weird fiction |
| Notable works | Silk; Threshold; Alabaster; The Red Tree; The Drowning Girl |
Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan (born 26 May 1964) is an American writer and paleontologist. She was born in Ireland. Kiernan writes many kinds of stories, including science fiction and dark fantasy. She has written 10 novels, many comic books, and over 250 short stories. Kiernan has won the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award twice each.
Contents
Early Life and Interests
Caitlín R. Kiernan was born in 1964 in Skerries, Ireland. When she was young, she moved to the United States with her mother and younger sister. She spent much of her childhood in Leeds, Alabama.
From a young age, Kiernan was very interested in animals and ancient life. She loved herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians) and paleontology (the study of fossils and ancient life). As a teenager, she volunteered at the Red Mountain Museum in Birmingham, Alabama. She also spent summers helping on archaeological (studying human history through digging up old things) and paleontological digs.
Kiernan went to college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Colorado at Boulder. She studied geology and the paleontology of animals with backbones. She worked at museums and as a teacher before she started writing fiction full-time in 1992.
Career Highlights
Discovering Ancient Life
In 1984, Kiernan helped start the Birmingham Paleontological Society. In 1988, she helped write a paper that described a new type of mosasaur. A mosasaur was a large, lizard-like sea creature that lived long ago. The new type was called Selmasaurus russelli.
Kiernan has continued to study mosasaurs and ancient turtles. As of 2019, she works at the McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama. She helps prepare fossils and studies creatures from the Cretaceous period. In 2020, she helped describe a new large fossil sea turtle called Asmodochelys parhami. In 2022, she helped describe a new giant freshwater turtle from the Late Cretaceous period, Appalachemys ebersolei. This turtle had a shell over 80 centimeters long! In 2023, she was the main author on a paper describing two new types of a rare mosasaur called Ectenosaurus.
Kiernan is a member of several important groups that study ancient life, like the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Writing Books and Comics
Caitlín R. Kiernan's first novel, The Five of Cups, was written in the early 1990s but was published in 2003. Her first short story to be published was "Persephone" in 1995. Her first novel to be published was Silk in 1998.
Her short stories have been chosen for many "best of" collections. Her work has been translated into many languages, including German, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese.
Kiernan also wrote for comic books. She was asked by writer Neil Gaiman to write for The Dreaming, which was a comic series connected to Gaiman's The Sandman. She wrote for this series from 1996 to 2001. She wrote about characters that already existed and also created new ones. She also wrote the book version of the 2007 Beowulf movie. Later, she wrote more comic series like Alabaster: Wolves (2012).
Books Becoming Movies
Some of Kiernan's novels are being made into movies. Josh Boone's company has bought the rights to The Red Tree and The Drowning Girl. Kiernan is writing the movie script for The Red Tree.
Writing Style
Kiernan's early books, like Silk, often included elements from the goth and punk rock styles. These elements are less common in her later novels.
She has said that she is not very interested in a story's plot. Instead, she focuses on the feeling, mood, language, and characters in her writing.
Critics have praised Kiernan's unique writing style. Some have compared her to famous writers like Edgar Allan Poe. Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, who are experts in "weird fiction," have called Kiernan "perhaps the best weird writer of her generation."
Music Projects
In 1996 and 1997, Kiernan was the singer and songwriter for a band called Death's Little Sister. The band played a mix of goth, folk, and blues music. They were named after a character from Neil Gaiman's comics. The band was popular on local college radio and played shows in Athens and Atlanta, Georgia. Kiernan left the band in 1997 because she became very busy writing for DC Comics and because her novel Silk was sold.
Personal Life
Caitlín R. Kiernan lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with Kathryn A. Pollnac, who is a photographer.
Awards and Recognition
Caitlín R. Kiernan has won many awards for her writing.
Awards Won
- International Horror Guild Award, Best First Novel 1998 (Silk)
- Barnes and Noble Maiden Voyage Award, Best First Novel 1998 (Silk)
- International Horror Guild Award, Best Novel 2001 (Threshold)
- International Horror Guild Award, Best Short Story 2001 ("Onion")
- International Horror Guild Award, Best Mid-Length Fiction 2005 ("La Peau Verte")
- James Tiptree, Jr. Award Honoree, 2010 ("Galápagos")
- James Tiptree, Jr. Award Winner, 2012 (The Drowning Girl: A Memoir)
- Bram Stoker Award, Best Novel 2012 (The Drowning Girl: A Memoir)
- Bram Stoker Award, Best Graphic Novel 2013 (Alabaster: Wolves)
- Locus Award for Best Short Story 2014, ("The Road of Needles")
- World Fantasy Award—Short Fiction 2014, ("The Prayer of Ninety Cats")
- World Fantasy Award, Best Collection 2014, (The Ape's Wife and Other Stories)
Awards Nominated For (Partial List)
- Bram Stoker Award 1995, Best Short Story ("Persephone")
- Bram Stoker Award, Best First Novel 1998 (Silk)
- British Fantasy Award, Best First Novel 1998 (Silk)
- Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Award, Best Graphic Novel 1998 (The Girl Who Would Be Death)
- International Horror Guild Award, Best Collection (Tales of Pain and Wonder)
- Bram Stoker Award, Best Graphic Novel 2001 (The Dreaming No. 56, "The First Adventure of Miss Caterina Poe")
- World Fantasy Award 2010, Best Novel (The Red Tree)
- Nebula Award 2012, Best Novel (The Drowning Girl: A Memoir)
- British Fantasy Award 2012, Best Fantasy Novel (The Drowning Girl: A Memoir)
- World Fantasy Award 2012, Best Novel (The Drowning Girl: A Memoir)
- Mythopoeic Award 2012, Adult Literature (The Drowning Girl: A Memoir)
- Shirley Jackson Award 2012, Best Novel (The Drowning Girl: A Memoir)
Images for kids
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Kiernan in 2011
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Kiernan in 2001
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Kiernan in 2018, Providence, Rhode Island
See also
In Spanish: Caitlín R. Kiernan para niños
