Photo: Johan Jönsson (Julle) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
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. What I find especially shrewd is that she pairs serious literary craft with a genuine presence online; storytellers who can both make the work and carry it to readers tend to last, and I expect she will.
Overview
Catherynne Morgan Valente (born May 5, 1979) is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. For her speculative fiction novels she has won the annual James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Andre Norton Award, and Mythopoeic Award. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, the anthologies Salon Fantastique and Paper Cities, and numerous "Year's Best" volumes.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Goat
- Origin
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- poet / novelist / writer / literary critic / science fiction writer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- 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. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Poet — see all → · Novelist — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.