Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
John Scalzi is a writer I respect for proving that science fiction can be sharp, funny, and commercially successful all at once. Winning the 2013 Hugo for Best Novel with Redshirts, a book that gleefully skewers Star Trek tropes, tells you he doesn't take the genre too solemnly, and I love that. His Old Man's War series put him on the map, but I think his blog Whatever, running since 1998, is just as important to who he is. The Japanese Seiun Awards on his shelf show his reach extends well beyond English readers. He's the rare author who treats his audience like collaborators.
Overview
John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his Old Man's War series, three novels of which have been nominated for the Hugo Award, and for his blog Whatever, where he has written on a number of topics since 1998.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- John Scalzi
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョン・スコルジー
- Reading
- じょん・すこるじー
- Born
- May 10, 1969 (age 57)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Rooster
- Origin
- Fairfield, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- science fiction writer / novelist / writer / journalist / film critic
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University of Chicago
Awards & achievements
- 2006 Astounding Award for Best New Writer
- 2008 Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer
- 2009 Hugo Award for Best Related Work
- 2010 Seiun Award for Best Translated Long Work
- 2010 Kurd Lasswitz Award for Best Foreign Work
- 2013 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
- 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel
- 2013 Seiun Award for Best Translated Long Work
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Redshirts | — | |
| Notable work | Old Man's War | — |
6. Links
Science fiction writer — 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.