Photo: Johan Jönsson (Julle) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on May 5, 1979 in Seattle, Washington, United States, Catherynne M. Valente is a poet, novelist and literary critic. That puts Catherynne M. Valente at 47 years old in 2026. Education on record includes University of California, San Diego. Recorded honors include Lambda Literary Award, Otherwise Award (2006), Hugo Award for Best Fancast (2012) and 4 more.
My Take
Valente is a writer I would happily follow for years. Coming up first as a poet before turning to speculative fiction, she writes prose with real texture, the kind where sentences carry sound and color, and that sensibility is exactly what hooks me. The shelf of awards, from the Tiptree and Andre Norton to multiple Locus wins, tells me the field agrees. She also keeps an official site and social media accounts, and I expect her work to last.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Catherynne M. Valente
- Name (Japanese)
- キャサリン・M・ヴァレンテ
- Reading
- きゃさりん・M・ゔぁれんて
- Born
- May 5, 1979 (age 47)
- Origin
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Occupation
- poet / novelist / writer / literary critic / science fiction writer
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Goat
2. Background
- University
- University of California, San Diego
Awards & achievements
- Lambda Literary Award
- 2006 Otherwise Award
- 2012 Hugo Award for Best Fancast
- 2010 Andre Norton Award
- Rhysling Award
- 2012 Locus Award for Best Novella
- 2014 Locus Award for Best Novella
- 2012 Locus Award for Best Novelette
3. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.catherynnemvalente.com/
- Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/catvalente/
- Xhttps://x.com/catvalente
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherynne%20M.%20Valente
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AA%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BBM%E3%83%BB%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A1%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%83%86
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q859065
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Catherynne M. Valente born?
Catherynne M. Valente was born on May 5, 1979 and is 47 years old.
Where is Catherynne M. Valente from?
Catherynne M. Valente is from Seattle, Washington, United States.
What does Catherynne M. Valente do?
Catherynne M. Valente works as poet, novelist, writer, literary critic, science fiction writer.
Where did Catherynne M. Valente study?
Catherynne M. Valente attended University of California, San Diego.
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