Esther Friesner

Esther Mona Friesner-Stutzman ( Friesner; born July 16, 1951) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She is also a poet and playwright. She is best known for her humorous style of writing, both in the titles and the works themselves. This humor allows her to discuss with broader audiences issues like gender equality and social justice.

Life Friesner attended the Hunter College High School, a public magnet high school in New York City, as well as Vassar College. At Vassar, she completed A.B.s in both Spanish and Drama. While at Vassar, she became friendly with Paula Volsky and Jane Bishop. Together they wrote at least one film script for student production, "Lavinia: a Girl of the Street", which demonstrated Esther's trademark tongue-in-cheek style. She holds a Ph.D. in Spanish and was a college Spanish professor at Yale University before becoming a writer. She currently resides with her husband in Connecticut.

Awards Friesner was named Outstanding New Fantasy Writer by Romantic Times in 1986. She won the Skylark Award in 1994. She has been nominated a number of times for the Hugo and Nebula awards, winning the Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 1995 and 1996 for, respectively, "Death and the Librarian" and "A Birthday". "A Birthday" was additionally a Hugo Award finalist in 1996. Her short story, "All Vows" was also a finalist for the Nebula in 1994 and took second place in Asimov's SF Magazine Readers' Poll in 1993.

Friesner's Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel, Warchild, also made the USA TODAY bestseller list.

Nebula Awards and Nominations

Source:

1993- “All Vows”, published by Asimov’s Magazine, Nominated for Best Short Story 1995- “Jesus at the Bat” published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Nominated for Best Novelette 1995 1995- “Death and the Librarian” published by Asimov’s Magazine, Winner, Best Short story 1996- “A Birthday” published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Winner, Best Short Story 1999- “How to Make Unicorn Pie” published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Nominated for Best Novelette 2001- Toastmaster for World Science Fiction Convention 2001 2006- “Helen Remembers the Stork Club”, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Nominated for Best Short Story of 2006

Locus Awards

Source:

Locus Awards — for SF/F/H works, polled by readers of Locus Magazine (10 nominations)

2006: “The Fraud” (Asimov's Mar 2005) — novelette — 24th place 2006: “Last Man Standing” (F&SF Jan 2005) — novelette — 17th place 2006: “Helen Remembers the Stork Club” (F&SF Oct/Nov 2005) — short story — 15th place 2000: “How to Make Unicorn Pie” (F&SF Jan 1999) — novelette — 14th place 1999: “Brown Dust” (Starlight 2) — novelette — 16th place 1996: “A Birthday” (F&SF Aug 1995) — short story — 4th place 1996: Chicks in Chainmail (Baen) — anthology — 19th place 1993: “All Vows” (Asimov's Nov 1992) — short story — 17th place 1989: Druid's Blood (NAL Signet) — fantasy novel — 13th place 1987: New York by Knight (Signet) — fantasy novel — 19th place

Other Awards and Nominations

Source: To Storm Heaven (1997) #46 in Star Trek: The Next Generation numbered series

Short fiction Collections It's Been Fun (1991) Up The Wall & Other Tales of King Arthur and His Knights (2000) Death and the Librarian and Other Stories (2002)

Series Cthulhu Mythos series: "Love's Eldritch Ichor" (1990) Riverworld series: "Legends" (1993) Zoli of the Brazen Shield series: "Cross CHILDREN Walk" (1999) aka "Cross Children Walk" "Troll by Jury" (2000)

Stories

Anthologies (edited) Chicks in Chainmail series Chicks in Chainmail (1995) Did You Say Chicks?! (1998) Chicks 'n Chained Males (1999) The Chick is in the Mail (2000) Turn the Other Chick (2004) Chicks and Balances (2015) Chicks Ahoy! (2010) Omnibus of first three volumes Supernatural Suburbia series Witch Way to the Mall (2009) Strip Mauled (2009) Fangs for the Mammaries (2010)

Alien Pregnant By Elvis (1994 with Martin H. Greenberg)

Blood Muse (1995 with Martin H. Greenberg)

Poems "The Shield-Maiden's Honeymoon" (1984) "Chivalry" (1985) "A Gaming Son" (1985) "The Vampire of Gretna Green" (1985) "A Short Slew of SF Clerihews" (1986) "More SF Clerihews" (1986) "Yet More SF Clerihews" (1986) "The Sincere Symbiote" (1986) "Spell for a Nuclear Witch" (1988) "Who Made the Stew on Betelgeuse II?" (1988) "Cat-Tech-Ism" (1988) "Food for Thought" (1989) "Confessio" (1989) "The Hobbyist" (1989) "Lovers" (1994) "For Sale: One Moonbase, Never Used" (2009)

Essays

Source:

Letter (Locus #307) (1986) with S. P. Somtow and Sharon Webb Letter (Science Fiction Chronicle #85) (1986) with S. P. Somtow and Sharon Webb Regrets Only (1986) The Other Side: Now Revealed: Money-Making Secrets of the Shockmeisters (1987) Letter (Locus #326) (1988) About the Authors (Arabesques) (1988) with M. J. Engh and William R. Forstchen and Tanith Lee and Sandra Miesel and Larry Niven and Andre Norton and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and Melissa Scott and Susan Shwartz and Nancy Springer and Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove and Gene Wolfe and Jane Yolen Letter (Locus #331) (1988) Read This (NYRSF, November 1988) (1988) Who Was That Alien I Saw You With Last Night? (1990) Introduction (It's Been Fun) (1991) Ask Auntie Esther (Pulphouse, October 25, 1991) (1991) Ask Auntie Esther (Pulphouse, November 29, 1991) (1991) Ask Auntie Esther (Pulphouse, December 31, 1991) (1991) Ask Auntie Esther (Pulphouse, July 1992) (1992) Ask Auntie Esther (Pulphouse, September–October 1992) (1992) Ask Auntie Esther (Pulphouse #15) (1993) Ask Auntie Esther (Pulphouse #17, 1994) (1994) Introduction: Alien Pregnant by Elvis (1994) Chicks in Chainmail (introduction) (1995) There's nothing funny about mixing humor and SF (1995) Introduction (Blood Muse) (1995) Take My Wizard...Please! The Serious Business of Writing Funny Fantasy and Science Fiction (1996) The Old School Spirit (1997) Introduction (Did You Say Chicks?) (1998) But What I Really Want to Do Is Direct (1998) Introduction (Chicks 'n Chained Males) (1999) Introduction (The Chick is in the Mail) (2000) only appeared as: Variant: Introduction (The Chick Is in the Mail) (2000) If You Give a Girl a Hobbit (2001) also appeared as: Translation: Wennein Mädel an einen Hobbit gerät [German] (2002) Translation: Hobbits et jeune filles en fleur [French] (2003) Introduction (Death and the Librarian and Other Stories) (2002) Introduction to "The Stuff of Heroes" (2003) Terry Pratchett: The Man, The Myth, The Legend, The Beverage (2004) Give Beast a Chance (2005) About the Authors (Turn the Other Chick) (2006) Introduction (Turn the Other Chick) (2006) On "Helen Remembers the Stork Club" (2007) Introduction (Witch Way to the Mall) (2009) Leader of the Pack (2009) Introduction (Fangs for the Mammaries) (2010) On Judy and Darkover (2013) Introduction (Bard's Road: The Collected Fiction of Lee Martindale) (2014) Introduction (Chicks and Balances) (2015)