Robin Hobb

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Robin Hobb
Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, also known as Megan Lindholm and Robin Hobb
Hobb in 2017
BornMargaret Astrid Lindholm
(1952-03-05) March 5, 1952 (age 69)
Berkeley, California, US
Pen nameRobin Hobb, Megan Lindholm
OccupationWriter
NationalityAmerican
Period1983–present
GenreFantasy fiction
Notable worksAssassin's Apprentice
Royal Assassin
Assassin's Quest
SpouseFred Ogden
Website
www.robinhobb.com
www.meganlindholm.com

Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden (born March 5, 1952), better known by her pen names Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm, is an American writer. She has written five series set in the Realm of the Elderlings, which started in 1995 with the publication of Assassin's Apprentice and ended with Assassin's Fate in 2017.[1] Her books have sold over a million copies.[2] In 2021, she won the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, presented for outstanding service to the fantasy field.[3]

Early life[]

Margaret Astrid Lindholm was born in Berkeley, California, in 1952,[4] but from the age of ten, she grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska.[5] After graduating from Austin E. Lathrop High School, she studied at University of Denver for a year and then returned to Alaska.[6] At eighteen, she married Fred Ogden and they returned to his home town of Kodiak, located at the tip of Kodiak Island in south-central Alaska.[6]

Writing as Megan Lindholm[]

Lindholm sold her first short story to a children's magazine, leading to an early career writing for children.[1][4] Her short fiction for children appeared in magazines such as Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, and Highlights for Children.[7] She also composed educational material, short works of fiction created to a very specific vocabulary list, which were used in SRA's programmed reading material.[8]

In the 1970s, Lindholm also began to write short fantasy, publishing short stories in fanzines such as Space and Time (edited by Gordon Linzner). Her first professional sale as a fantasy writer was the short story "Bones for Dulath", which appeared in the 1979 Amazons! anthology, and which introduced her recurring characters Ki and Vandien. The anthology, published by DAW Books, won a World Fantasy Award for Year's Best Anthology.[9] A second story featuring Ki and Vandien, "The Small One," was published in Fantastic Stories in 1980.[10][11]

Until 1995, she continued to publish exclusively under the name Megan Lindholm.[4] Her fiction under that name spans several slices of the fantasy genre, from fantasy adventure (the Ki and Vandien tales) to urban fantasy. Her 1986 novel Wizard of the Pigeons was one of the precursors of the urban fantasy genre, and was the first work to bring her wider attention.[12][13]

Lindholm's first novel, Harpy's Flight, was published by Ace in 1983.[10] It was the first of four novels about the characters Ki and Vandien, the last of which was published in 1989. She contributed short stories to a shared world anthology entitled Liavek from 1985 to 1988, and co-wrote a novel, The Gypsy, with Steven Brust. The Gypsy was released both as a traditional paper book and as part of an enhanced multimedia CD which included the text of the novel as well as the Boiled in Lead album Songs From the Gypsy, which was considered the soundtrack to the novel[14] and featured songs written by Brust and his Cats Laughing bandmate Adam Stemple which had inspired the creation of both the novel and the album.[15][16]

She has continued to publish short stories as Megan Lindholm,[11] including an appearance in the 2013 anthology Year's Best SF 18.[17]

Writing as Robin Hobb[]

Hobb at the Trolls & Legends festival in Mons, Belgium in April 2011

Robin Hobb, a pseudonym that Lindholm has used for writing works of epic traditional fantasy, first appeared in 1995.[4][6]

The first Robin Hobb novel, Assassin's Apprentice (1995), was the first volume of what grew to be three trilogies narrated in first person by FitzChivalry Farseer, illegitimate son of a prince, and featuring an enigmatic character called the Fool.[18] It was followed by Royal Assassin in 1996 and Assassin's Quest in 1997. She returned to these characters in the Tawny Man Trilogy published between 2001 and 2003, which consists of Fool's Errand, The Golden Fool, and Fool's Fate. As of 2003, Robin Hobb had sold over one million copies of her first nine novels, which formed three trilogies set in the Realm of the Elderlings.[2][19][20]

From 1998 to 2000, Hobb released Ship of Magic, The Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny, about a family of traders and their living ships. From 2009 to 2013, Hobb released the four novels of The Rain Wild Chronicles (Dragon Keeper, Dragon Haven, City of Dragons and Blood of Dragons). These two series are set in the same world as Hobb's earlier trilogies.[2][4]

The Soldier Son trilogy (Shaman's Crossing, Forest Mage, and Renegade's Magic) are Hobb's only novels to be set outside of the Realm of the Elderlings, and were published between 2006 and 2009. In addition, The Inheritance, published in 2011, was a collection of short stories written both as Robin Hobb and as Megan Lindholm.[10]

In 2013,[21] Hobb announced that she would resume the story, decades later in life, of her two most popular characters in the Realm of the Elderlings series.[22] The first volume of the Fitz and the Fool trilogy, Fool's Assassin, was published in August 2014, and the second, Fool's Quest, a year later. The final volume, Assassin's Fate, was published in May 2017. Assassin's Fate is a sequel not only to her earlier books featuring Fitz but to the Liveship and Rain Wilds books.[1][18][22]

Critical reception[]

In 1981, Megan Lindholm was awarded an Alaska State Council of the Arts prize for her short story "The Poaching."[23] As Megan Lindholm, her short fiction works have been finalists for both the Nebula and the Hugo awards, and winner of the Asimov's Readers Award.[5][24][12] In July 2021, she was announced as a winner of the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, presented to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service to the fantasy field.[3][25]

Her books have been praised by Orson Scott Card, who has stated that she "arguably set the standard for the modern serious fantasy novel".[6][26] George R.R. Martin has praised her work, writing that her books are like "diamonds in a sea of zircons."[1][2]

In 2014, she was a Guest of Honor at the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention in London.[27]

Awards[]

Award Category Work Result Ref.
British Fantasy Award Novel Assassin's Apprentice (1995) Nominated [28]
David Gemmell Award Novel Assassin's Fate (2017) Won [28]
Endeavour Award Novel Ship of Magic (1998) Nominated [28]
Mad Ship (1999) Nominated [28]
Forest Mage (2006) Won [28]
Geffen Award Fantasy
Novel 		Fool's Assassin (2014) Won [28]
Fool's Quest (2015) Won [28]
Hugo Award Novella "A Touch of Lavender" (1989) Nominated [24]
Locus Award Fantasy
Novel 		Royal Assassin (1996) Nominated [28]
Assassin's Quest (1997) Nominated [28]
Nebula Award Novella "A Touch of Lavender" (1989) Nominated [24]
Novelette "Silver Lady and the Fortyish Man" (1989) Nominated [24]
Short Story "Cut" (2001) Nominated [24]
Prix Imaginales[a] Foreign
Novel 		Wizard of the Pigeons (1986) Won [30]
Shaman's Crossing (2005) Won [30]
Short Story "Homecoming" (2003) Won [30]
World Fantasy Award Lifetime Achievement Won [3]

Personal life[]

She currently publishes under both names, and lives on a small farm outside of Roy, Washington.[2][31]

Bibliography[]

Main article: Robin Hobb bibliography

Notes[]

  1. ^ French Wikipedia: fr:Prix Imaginales. The Prix Imaginales are awarded to the best fantasy published in the French language.[29] In the table, years listed in parentheses correspond to the first English (not French) publication.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Flood, Alison (July 28, 2017). "Robin Hobb: 'Fantasy has become something you don't have to be embarrassed about'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 20, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Bock, Pauline (July 27, 2018). "Robin Hobb on changing cultures, writing about violence, and the anonymity of living on a farm". New Statesman. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "2021 World Fantasy Awards Finalists". Locus Magazine. July 21, 2021. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Clute, John; Langford, David; et al., eds. (July 22, 2021). "Hobb, Robin". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (3rd ed.). Gollancz. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Hobb, Robin (2004). Vainikainen, Jussi (ed.). "5000 Words About Myself". Alienisti. No. 1/2004, Fool's Errand of #42. Jyväskylän Science Fiction Society. ISSN 1236-0449. Archived from the original on July 24, 2005 – via robinhobb.com.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Cardy, Tom (June 24, 2014). "The mother of dragons". Stuff. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021.
  7. ^ "About the Author". Robin Hobb (official website). Archived from the original on July 3, 2015.
  8. ^ "Author: Robin Hobb". Audible. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  9. ^ "World Fantasy Awards 1980". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Summary Bibliography: Robin Hobb". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "Shorts". Megan Lindholm (official website). Archived from the original on January 31, 2016.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Walton, Jo (July 6, 2010). "Homeless and Magical: Megan Lindholm's Wizard of the Pigeons". Tor.com. Macmillan. Archived from the original on August 3, 2020.
  13. ^ Clute, John; Grant, John, eds. (1997). "Lindholm, Megan". The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
  14. ^ Vess, Charles (March 7, 2006). The Book of Ballads. Tom Doherty Associates. pp. 183–190. ISBN 978-0-7653-1215-0.
  15. ^ Olson, Chris (February 3, 2003). "Interview: Steven Brust". Strange Horizons. Archived from the original on January 3, 2010.
  16. ^ Covert, Colin (July 10, 1995). "Is It a Book? Is It Computer Software? Is It a Music CD? Yes". Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.
  17. ^ Lindholm, Megan (2013). "Old Paint". In Hartwell, David G. (ed.). Year's Best SF 18. Macmillan. pp. 15–33. ISBN 9781466838185.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b Zutter, Natalie (October 24, 2019). ""I Have Been Incredibly Privileged to Write the Full Arc of Fitz's Story": Robin Hobb on 25 Years of Assassin's Apprentice". Tor.com. Macmillan. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021.
  19. ^ "Robin Hobb: About The Author". Simon & Schuster. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  20. ^ "Voyager Author Biography". Fantastic Fiction. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011.
  21. ^ "Brand new series from Robin Hobb". Harper Voyager. October 27, 2013. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b Hobb, Robin (January 29, 2016). "What Did You Miss?". Robin Hobb (official website). Archived from the original on February 11, 2016.
  23. ^ Smith, Cindy, ed. (1981). Finding the Boundaries: Poems and Short Stories. Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska State Council on the Arts. ASIN B002FD4SBW. OCLC 8417173.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Megan Lindholm Awards". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  25. ^ Clute, John; Langford, David; et al., eds. (July 22, 2021). "World Fantasy Award". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (3rd ed.). Gollancz. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021.
  26. ^ "Beach-Bag Books". The National Review. July 8, 2009. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021.
  27. ^ Clute, John; Langford, David; et al., eds. (September 5, 2012). "The 2014 London Worldcon". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (3rd ed.). Gollancz. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Robin Hobb Awards". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  29. ^ "2020 Prix Imaginales Winners". Locus Magazine. May 18, 2020.
  30. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Prix Imaginales - Les Imaginales". Imaginales. Festival Les Imaginales, Épinal. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  31. ^ "Biography". Robin Hobb (official website). Archived from the original on April 13, 2021.

External links[]

Interviews[]

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