Orson Scott Card facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Orson Scott Card
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Card at Life, the Universe, & Everything in 2008
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| Born | August 24, 1951 Richland, Washington, U.S. |
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| Education | Brigham Young University (BA) University of Utah (MA) |
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| Notable works | Ender's Game series, The Tales of Alvin Maker |
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| Spouse | Kristine Allen |
| Children | 5 |
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Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer famous for his science fiction books. He is the only person to win both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award in two years in a row. He won for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A movie based on Ender's Game came out in 2013, and Card helped make it.
Card also wrote The Tales of Alvin Maker series (1987–2003), which won the Locus Fantasy Award. His stories often feature characters with special abilities who face tough choices with big consequences. Card has also written about politics, religion, and society.
Card is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young. He was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While studying at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served as a missionary in Brazil for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Card had many short stories published early in his career. He won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981. Since 1979, he has written many novels in different genres, including science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction. He has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University. He has written books on creative writing and helps judge the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers in his "literary boot camps." He is still an active member of the LDS Church. Writers like Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton say his books have greatly influenced them.
Contents
Orson Scott Card's Early Life and Education
Orson Scott Card was born on August 24, 1951, in Richland, Washington. He is the third of six children. His family has Mormon pioneer ancestors, including Brigham Young.
When Card was a baby, his family moved to San Mateo, California. Later, they moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and then to Santa Clara, California. In school, Card took classes for gifted students. He was very interested in music, playing the clarinet and French horn. He read many books, including historical fiction and classic stories. At age ten, he wrote his first story. It was about a smart child who gets hurt by bullies. This story later inspired a scene in Ender's Game.
In 1964, Card's family moved to Mesa, Arizona. In 1967, they moved to Orem, Utah, where his father worked at Brigham Young University (BYU). Card attended BYU's special school, taking both high school and early college classes. He planned to study anthropology in college but became very interested in theater. He wrote many plays, often based on Mormon history or science fiction. He learned to tell if an audience liked his plays by watching their reactions.
Before graduating, Card served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Brazil from 1971 to 1973. He wrote a play called Stone Tables during this time. He graduated from BYU in 1975 with a degree in theater. After college, he started a theater company for two summers. When the company went into debt, Card worked as a proofreader and then a copy editor at BYU Press. In 1981, he earned his master's degree in English from the University of Utah. He started a doctoral program but left to focus on his writing career.
Orson Scott Card's Family Life
In 1977, Card married Kristine Allen. They met when Kristine was in a show Card directed. They have five children. Sadly, their son Charles died at age 17 from cerebral palsy, and their daughter Erin died the day she was born. Card has shared that it is hard for him to talk about Charles and Erin because his sadness has not gone away.
Card and his wife live in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their daughter Emily, with two other writers, adapted some of Card's short stories for the stage. Card had a mild stroke on January 1, 2011, but he made a full recovery.
Orson Scott Card's Books and Stories
Starting His Writing Career
In 1976, Card became an editor at the LDS Church's magazine Ensign. He published his first story, Gert Fram, in 1977 under a pen name. Between 1978 and 1988, Card wrote over 300 audio plays about LDS Church history and other topics.
Card started writing science fiction short stories because he thought they would be easier to sell. His first science fiction story, Ender's Game, was published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact in 1977. He left The Ensign in 1977 to become a full-time writer. Many of his science fiction stories were published in 1978.
Card's story Mikal's Songbird was similar to Ender's Game. Both featured a talented child who faced emotional challenges when adults tried to use their abilities. Mikal's Songbird was nominated for the Nebula Award and Hugo Award. Card won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978, which helped his stories become known around the world.
Card's first published book was about raising children. He also wrote his first novels, Hot Sleep and A Planet Called Treason, in 1979. He later rewrote these early novels. He also edited fantasy collections and published his own short stories. In the early 1980s, Card focused on longer books. He also wrote some non-fiction books for an LDS audience. He wrote the fantasy book Hart's Hope (1983) and a historical novel, A Woman of Destiny (1984), later called Saints. In 1983, he got a contract for his proposed Alvin Maker series, which allowed him to write full-time again.
The Ender's Game Series and Other Works (Late 1980s)
Card's 1977 short story Ender's Game was about a young boy training for space war. Card expanded this story into a full novel, Ender's Game, and then wrote its sequel, Speaker for the Dead. While Ender's Game is fast-paced, Speaker for the Dead is about honesty and growing up. Both Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead won the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award. This made Card the first author to win both top science fiction awards in two years in a row.
Card continued to write short stories and articles. He published two collections of his short stories: Cardography (1987) and The Folk of the Fringe (1989). His novella Eye for Eye won the Hugo Award for best novella in 1988. He also wrote books about how to write science fiction and fantasy.
Card was inspired by an old poem to create The Tales of Alvin Maker series. The first book, Seventh Son (1987), is a fantasy story about Alvin Maker, who is born with special magical abilities. Alvin's life has many similarities to the story of Joseph Smith. The series also explores how humans affect the environment. Seventh Son won the Mythopoeic Fantasy award in 1988. Critics praised the series for creating an American mythology from American experiences.
Books from the 1990s
Card wrote many books in the 1990s. He continued the Ender's Game series with Xenocide (1991) and Children of the Mind (1996). These books focus on Jane, an artificial intelligence that becomes self-aware.
Card also started a new series called the Homecoming Saga, which is a science fiction version of The Book of Mormon. The books in this series were published between 1992 and 1995. He also continued The Tales of Alvin Maker series with Alvin Journeyman (1995), which won a Locus Award.
In the 1990s, Card wrote several stand-alone novels. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus (1996) explores time travel and Christopher Columbus. Lost Boys (1992) is a horror story with some parts based on his own life. Treasure Box (1996) and Homebody (1998) are also horror novels. Enchantment (1999) is a fantasy novel based on Sleeping Beauty. Card said he put all his love for his wife into Enchantment.
The Shadow Series and Recent Writings
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In 1999, Card started a spin-off series in the Ender's Game universe called the "Shadow" series. These books, like Ender's Shadow, tell stories from the point of view of other characters. Card also wrote other spin-offs, including shorter stories and novels like A War of Gifts. He also worked with Aaron Johnston to write prequel novels to Ender's Game, which explain events before the first book.
While writing the "Shadow" series, Card also wrote other novels and a series of books about women in the Bible. His The Women of Genesis series includes Sarah (2000) and Rebekah (2002).
Card wrote two young-adult fantasy series in the 2010s. The Mithermages series is about a teenager with magic powers. The Pathfinder trilogy follows a young man who can change the past. He also wrote urban fantasy books, like Magic Street (2005), about teenagers with special powers.
Video Games, Comics, and TV
In the 1990s, Card helped write dialogue for video games like The Secret of Monkey Island. He continued working on video game stories in the 2000s. He also outlined the story for Shadow Complex, a game that is a prequel to his novels Empire and Hidden Empire. These novels and the game are about a future civil war in the United States.
Card has written scripts for comic books, including Ultimate Iron Man. He worked with his daughters on the graphic novel Laddertop. In 2017, Card wrote and helped create a TV series called Extinct for BYU TV.
Book and Film Adaptations
Many of Card's books have been made into comic books. For example, Red Prophet and Wyrms were adapted into comics. Marvel published comic book versions of Ender's Game.
Card was careful about selling the film rights for Ender's Game because he wanted to keep artistic control. He turned down offers when he disagreed with creative ideas. In 2009, he announced he had finished a script for a film. In 2011, Summit Entertainment decided to distribute the movie. Card wrote many versions of the script, and director Gavin Hood wrote the final one. Card was a co-producer of the film. The movie Ender's Game came out in 2013.
Newspaper Columns
Since 2001, Card has written columns, including "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything." This column features his personal reviews of films and thoughts on other topics. It appears on his website, "Hatrack River."
Orson Scott Card's Influences and Writing Style
Influences on His Writing
As a child, Card read many books, including children's classics and popular novels. His favorite book was Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. He also read science fiction stories and novels. He often mentions books by Robert A. Heinlein and J. R. R. Tolkien as inspirations. Card also credits C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters as important influences. In 2014, Card said that Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury also influenced his writing. He was also inspired by the language of the King James Version of the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare.
Card's membership in the LDS Church has greatly influenced his writing. Even though his science fiction books don't directly mention the LDS religion, they often show "moral seriousness" and deep religious ideas. For example, the life stages of the "piggies" in Speaker for the Dead can be seen as similar to ideas in the LDS plan of salvation.
Card's Homecoming Saga is a story based on Book of Mormon. Card said that writing speculative fiction is a good way to explore religious and moral questions. He also said that his church membership influences his belief in communitarian values, which means people making sacrifices for the good of their community. This idea of individuals sacrificing for their community is a common theme in his work.
His Writing Style
Because Card started by writing screenplays, his early books are easy to read and move quickly. They have good characters. His science fiction focuses more on his characters and their feelings than on the details of future technology. Some critics have said his characters feel "real" and that they grow and take on responsibilities. They often sacrifice themselves to make their societies better. These sacrifices are difficult choices where there is no easy answer.
Card's main characters often have special abilities that are both a gift and a challenge. These characters are often separated from their families and friends. They tend to relate better to adults than to other young people. When they grow up, they often become mentors to other talented young people. Alvin Maker, in The Tales of Alvin Maker series, fits this pattern. His magical abilities are very unusual, and he uses them to help his people.
Card's characters are often "lonely and manipulative Messiah-figures" who make sacrifices to show their beliefs. Family and community problems often happen when people are not fully accepted or when groups don't work together.
The original short story Ender's Game is like Robert A. Heinlein's young adult novels. It's about a young person with amazing gifts who is guided by a strict mentor. The choices made by these characters affect all of humanity. The situations in the Ender series make readers think about important topics like the rules of war and the ethics of manipulating children.
Awards and Recognition
Card won the Margaret Edwards Award in 2008. This award recognizes writers who have made important and lasting contributions to young adult literature. In the same year, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award for Mormon writers at the Whitney Awards.
In 1978, the Harold B. Lee Library started collecting Orson Scott Card's papers, including his works, notes, and letters. Many famous writers, like Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton, have said that Card's books greatly influenced them.
Card has also won many awards for individual books and stories:
- 1978: John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer for the Ender's Game short story.
- 1984: Saints: Book of the Year by the Association for Mormon Letters.
- 1985: Ender's Game: Nebula Award (1985), Hugo Award (1986).
- 1986: Speaker for the Dead: Nebula Award (1986), Hugo Award (1987), Locus Award (1987).
- 1987: "Eye for Eye": Hugo Award (1988).
- 1987: Seventh Son: Mythopoeic Society Award (1988), Locus Award (1988).
- 1989: Red Prophet: Locus winner (1989).
- 1991: How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy: Hugo Award.
- 1995: Alvin Journeyman: Locus Award winner (1996).
- 2002: Shadow of the Hegemon: ALA Best Books for Young Adults.
Other Activities
Since 1994, Card has been a judge for Writers of the Future, a science fiction and fantasy story contest for new writers. In 2005, Card started Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show, an online magazine for fantasy and science fiction.
In 2005, Card became a "distinguished professor" at Southern Virginia University. He has also taught courses on novel writing, including his own "Uncle Orson's Writing Course" and "literary boot camp." Many successful writers have attended his boot camps. Card has also been a special guest at the Life, the Universe, & Everything science fiction and fantasy arts symposium many times.
Images for kids
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Card at Life, the Universe, & Everything in 2008
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Orson Scott Card's signature
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Card (right) signing autographs at New York Comic Con in 2008
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Card in 2007
See also
- Orson Scott Card bibliography
- LDS fiction
- Descendants of Brigham Young
