Everything about Orson Scott Card totally explained
Orson Scott Card (born
August 24,
1951) is a bestselling
American author, as well as being a
critic, political writer, and
speaker. He writes in several
genres, but primarily known for his
science fiction work. His novel
Ender's Game and its sequel
Speaker for the Dead both won the
Hugo Award and the
Nebula Award, making Card the only author (as of 2007) to win both of science fiction's top prizes in consecutive years. Card has written, "We care about moral issues, nobility, decency, happiness, goodness—the issues that matter in the real world, but which can only be addressed, in their purity, in fiction."
Early life
Card is descended from
Charles Ora Card, a son-in-law of
Brigham Young and founder of
Cardston, Alberta the first
Mormon pioneer settlement in
Canada. Card was born in
Richland, Washington, and raised in
Santa Clara, California as well as
Mesa, Arizona and
Orem, Utah. He served as a missionary for
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
Brazil and graduated from
Brigham Young University and the
University of Utah; he also spent a year in a Ph.D. program at the
University of Notre Dame. Card lives in
Greensboro, North Carolina, an environment that played a significant role in
Ender's Game.
Career
The Worthing Saga.
After returning to
Provo, Utah, from his
LDS mission in Brazil, Card started the Utah Valley Repertory Theatre Company, which for two summers produced plays at "the Castle," a
Depression-era outdoor
amphitheater behind the then-active state mental hospital in Provo; his company's were the first plays ever produced there. Meanwhile, he took part time employment as a proofreader at BYU Press, then made the jump to full time employment as a copy editor. In 1976, in the midst of a paid acting gig in the Church's musical celebrating
America's Bicentennial, he secured employment as an assistant editor at the Church's official magazine,
Ensign, and moved to
Salt Lake City. It was while working at
Ensign that Card published his first piece of fiction. His short story "
Gert Fram" appeared in the July 1977 fine arts issue of that magazine under the pseudonym
Byron Walley.
Science fiction
He first wrote the short story "
Ender's Game (short story)" while working at the BYU press, and submitted it to several publications. It was eventually purchased by
Ben Bova at
Analog Science Fiction and Fact and published in the August 1977 issue. Meanwhile, he started writing half-hour audioplays on
the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the
New Testament, and other subjects for Living Scriptures in
Ogden, Utah; on the basis of that continuing contract, some freelance editing work, and a novel contract for
Hot Sleep and
A Planet Called Treason, he left
Ensign and began supporting his family as a freelancer.
He completed his master's degree in English at the University of Utah in 1981 and began a doctoral program at the University of Notre Dame, but the recession of the early 1980s caused the flow of new book contracts to temporarily dry up. He returned to full-time employment as the book editor for
Compute! Magazine in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1983. In October of that year, a new contract for the Alvin Maker "trilogy" (now up to 6 books) allowed him to return to freelancing.
Ender's Game and its sequel
Speaker for the Dead were both awarded the
Hugo Award and the
Nebula Award, making Card the only author (as of 2007) to win both of science fiction's top prizes in consecutive years. Card continued the series with
Xenocide,
Children of the Mind,
Ender's Shadow,
Shadow of the Hegemon,
Shadow Puppets,
Shadow of the Giant, and the 2007 release of . Card has also announced his plan to write
Shadows in Flight, a book that connects the "Shadow" series and "Speaker" series together, and, a book that takes place after
Shadow of the Giant and before the short story "
Investment Counselor". Furthermore, Card recently announced that
Ender's Game will soon be made into a movie. It is slated to be directed by
Wolfgang Petersen, who also directed
The NeverEnding Story and
Das Boot. Card is writing the screenplay himself.
Other works include the alternate histories
The Tales of Alvin Maker and,
Robota, a collaboration with
Star Wars artist
Doug Chiang, and
Empire, his latest novel, which is about a near-future
civil war in the United States.
Other genres
He has since branched out into other areas of fiction with novels such as
Lost Boys,
Treasure Box and
Enchantment. Other works include the novelization of the
James Cameron film
The Abyss and the comic book
Ultimate Iron Man for Marvel Comics' Ultimate Marvel Universe series. Outside the published fiction world, Card contributed dialog to two video games, the
The Secret of Monkey Island and
The Dig in the early 1990s.
In 2000, Card published the first historical novel in
The Women of Genesis series. This series explores the lives of the principal women mentioned in the first book of the Bible and includes
Sarah (2000),
Rebekah (2002), and
Rachel and Leah (2004).
In the fall of 2005, Card also launched
Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show. He edited the first two issues, but found that the demands of teaching, writing, and directing plays for his local church theatre group made it impossible to respond to writers' submissions in a timely manner; former Card student and experienced freelance writer and editor Edmund Schubert became the new editor as of June 1, 2006.
On writing
Teaching
In 2005, Card accepted a permanent appointment as "distinguished professor" at
Southern Virginia University in
Buena Vista, Virginia, a small
liberal arts college run based on the principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Card has cited his frustration with dismal teaching methodology for
creative writing in most universities as a reason for accepting this position, along with his desire to teach the techniques of effective fiction writing to writers whose values are more harmonious with his own. Card has worked closely with colleagues to develop new and effective ways to educate aspiring writers and has published two books on the subject. He was eager for the opportunity to apply these techniques in a university environment—his assorted workshops didn't allow the follow-through he desired. After being affected by stories of his students' parents in some of their essays he decided to stop teaching regularly at the university to spend time with his youngest child who still lives at home.
Literary Boot Camp
Since 2001, Card has run an annual, one-week intensive critique workshop for aspiring writers called "Literary Boot Camp." Participants are picked from applicants who submit a sample of their fiction writing. The week-long workshop is paired with a weekend lecture-style workshop open to all comers. Graduates have gone on to win major science fiction and fantasy contests (for instance, the now-defunct Phobos contest and the
Writers of the Future contest), sell many stories to the SF and fantasy magazines such as
Asimov's Science Fiction and
Realms of Fantasy, sell books to major publishers (Judson Roberts'
Strongbow Saga trilogy is one of many examples), etc.
Books on writing
Card has written two books on the subject of creative writing. The first of these books was
Characters and Viewpoint published in 1988. The second was
How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy published in 1990. Both of the books were published by
Writer's Digest Books and remain in print.
Writers of the Future
Card also serves as a judge in the
Writers of the Future contest The Writers of the Future contest is a
science fiction and
fantasy story contest for amateur writers originated by
L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s.
Personal views
Political writing
Card is active as a critic, political writer, and speaker. During 1998 when Card published
Ender's Shadow, several versions of the book had a political statement about the "unprovoked attacks by the Clinton administration" on
Afghanistan with
cruise missiles. Shortly after the
September 11, 2001 attacks Card began to write a weekly column named variously "War Watch", "World Watch", or "Civilization Watch", depending upon the topic. The column is published in the Greensboro
Rhinoceros Times. Card also writes an "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything" column. Both columns are archived on Card's websites. Card is a vocal supporter of many aspects of
George W. Bush's leadership style, the
war on terror, aspects of the wars in
Afghanistan and
Iraq, and aspects of the
USA PATRIOT Act. Though he praises
Fox News for aspects of their news coverage, he maintains his
cynicism, as when he saw they were broadcasting soldiers' messages back to loved ones at home and said, "I thought of what it meant to them... and being human, I was touched. At the same time, being a cynical critic of pretty much everything, the thought flashed through my mind: So Fox News is profiting from the love and loneliness and fear of our military people?" Card is also known for his strong support for the
State of Israel. The afterword of
Empire discusses his views on American politics.
Political identification
Card identifies himself as a
Democrat because he's pro-
gun control/anti-
National Rifle Association, highly critical of
free-market capitalism, and because he believes that the
Republican party in the
South continues to tolerate
racism. Card encapsulated his views thus:
Moynihan
Democrat, and later as a "
Tony Blair" Democrat, saying he's to look outside the
U.S. for someone representative for his views now that Moynihan has died and the Democrats oppose Bush. He has written columns condemning extremist liberals as being part of what's wrong with America, and praises
Zell Miller for trying to save the Democratic Party. During the
2004 election Card wrote many articles supporting the Bush/
Cheney ticket, criticizing
John Kerry, and lambasting his own state's senator,
John Edwards, as being absurd, insincere, and an opportunistic
shill. Prior to the 2004 presidential race, Card had written that his state needed to regain control from people like Edwards and advocated running a strong primary opponent against Edwards should he run for reelection to the Senate. He has also been a staunch defender of Fox News, stating that "It's a good feeling to hear about our war from people who actually think it would be a good thing if we win." and has stated there's a need for moderation in
tax cuts.
On
November 6,
2006, just one day before a major election in the United States, Card wrote an
opinion piece
for
RealClearPolitics, in which he encourages voters to support the
Republicans:
Environment and science
Although he supports government-funded research into
alternative energy sources and the phasing out of
fossil fuel use, Card has also frequently criticized precipitate action on
global warming, and has voiced the suggestion that scientific evidence against global warming is suppressed because global warming has become an academic orthodoxy that discourages opposing evidence.
His short story "Angles" also features scientists fearing to pursue research because it would run counter to scientific dogma. Similarly, he's voiced distrust of
Darwinism as dogma in opposition to
Intelligent Design (which he also distrusts, for entirely different reasons). While criticizing scientists for claiming that Darwinism explains "completely how
evolution works," Card also said that "real science does not—and never can—prove or even support" Intelligent Design.
Premarital sex
Card has written that an increase in crime in USA of the 1970s and 1980s "might well have been the result" of what he calls "the New Morality and the Pill" because they may have increased the number of babies born to "the people with poor impulse control" who are "most likely to be irresponsible parents."
Homosexuality
Card's views on homosexuality have led a number of critics to accuse him of being homophobic.
Card has called
same-sex marriage a "potentially devastating social experiment" and argued that same-sex marriage isn't necessary to ensure equal rights, since "Any homosexual man who can persuade a woman to take him as her husband can avail himself of all the rights of husbandhood under the law." He also notes that "gay activism as a movement is no longer looking for civil rights, which by and large homosexuals already have." Elsewhere he writes that, with respect to the
polity, the citizens at large:
Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior can't be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society. The goal of the polity isn't to put homosexuals in jail. The goal is to discourage people from engaging in homosexual practices in the first place, and, when they nevertheless proceed in their homosexual behavior, to encourage them to do so discreetly, so as not to shake the confidence of the community in the polity's ability to provide rules for safe, stable, dependable marriage and family relationships.
Card disputes those who call these views homophobic, stating he doesn't advocate or condone "harsh personal treatment of individuals who are unable to resist the temptation to have sexual relations with persons of the same sex",
Card himself identifies his position as "walking a middle way, which condemns the sin but loves the sinner".
Awards
- 1978; John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer; from the World Science Fiction Convention
- 1981; Songmaster; Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award 81
- 1984; Saints; named Book of the Year by Association for Mormon Letters
- 1985; Ender's Game; Nebula Award 85, Hugo Award 86, Hamilton-Brackett Award 86, SF Chronicle Readers Poll Award 86
- 1987; Speaker for the Dead; Nebula Award 86, Hugo Award 87, Locus Award 87, SF Chronicle Readers Poll Award 87
- 1987; "Eye for Eye"; Hugo award 88; "Japanese Hugo" 89
- 1987; "Hatrack River"; Nebula finalist 86, Hugo finalist 87, World Fantasy Award winner 87
- 1988; Seventh Son, Hugo finalist 88, World Fantasy finalist 88, Mythopoeic Society Award 88, Locus Award (best fantasy novel) 88
- 1989; Hugo & Nebula Finalist; Red Prophet
- 1991; Hugo Award; How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Writer's Digest Books, 90)
- 1995; Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel; for Alvin Journeyman
- 2008; YALSA Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Contribution to Young Adult Literature; for Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow
Further Information
Get more info on 'Orson Scott Card'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://orson_scott_card.totallyexplained.com">Orson Scott Card Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
