Virgina Kidd facts for kids

Virginia Kidd (born June 2, 1921 – died January 11, 2003) was an American literary agent, writer, and editor. She was especially known for her work in science fiction and similar types of stories. A literary agent helps writers find publishers for their books. Virginia Kidd helped many famous science fiction authors. Some of these included Ursula K. Le Guin, Anne McCaffrey, and Gene Wolfe.

Early Life and Education

Virginia Kidd was born Mildred Virginia Kidd in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the youngest child of Charles and Zetta Kidd. When she was two years old, she had polio. This made her unable to move for about a year.

As she grew up, Virginia went to the Berlitz School of Languages. There, she learned to speak many languages fluently. These included Spanish, Latin, Italian, French, and German. She discovered science fiction when she was nine years old. She became a very active fan of science fiction.

Virginia Kidd was part of a group called the Futurians. In 1941, she helped start the Vanguard Amateur Press Association. She chose not to go to college. She said she only wanted to go to the University of Chicago, and no other school.

Career and Contributions

Virginia Kidd was a successful writer and proofreader. She also worked as a ghost writer, writing for others without getting public credit. She is well known for her work in the feminist science fiction movement. This movement focused on stories that explored women's roles and issues. She helped authors who were not always given a chance.

Kidd was a successful businesswoman. She worked with big companies like Ace Publishing. She was also a poet and published a small magazine for poetry called Kinesis. She helped many writers start their careers, including Sonya Dorman.

Virginia Kidd wrote short stories too. One of her stories, "Kangaroo Court," was published in 1966. She also edited several science fiction collections. She edited two books with her friend and client, Ursula K. Le Guin. These were Interfaces: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction (1980) and Edges: Thirteen New Tales from the Borderlands of the Imagination (1980). In 1979, Kidd won the 12th Locus Award for her book Millennial Women.

Virginia Kidd Literary Agency

In 1965, Virginia Kidd started her own business. It was called the Virginia Kidd Literary Agency. Her agency was located at her home, which was called Arrowhead, in Milford, Pennsylvania. Soon, she had many clients from the science fiction world. She was the first woman to be a literary agent in the field of speculative fiction.

She represented many important authors. Some of her clients included Ursula K. Le Guin, Anne McCaffrey, Judith Merril, and Gene Wolfe. In the mid-1990s, she stopped managing the agency. This was due to health problems. Virginia Kidd passed away in 2003. However, her literary agency still exists today.

The Milford Method

Virginia Kidd helped create a special way of giving feedback on writing. This method is known as the Milford Method. She developed it with author Damon Knight and her husband, James Blish. This method is used around the world to help writers improve their stories.