English science fiction, fantasy and horror short fiction author
Sam J. Miller (born February 7, 1979) is an American
science fiction ,
fantasy and
horror short fiction author. His stories have appeared in publications such as
Clarkesworld ,
Asimov's Science Fiction , and
Lightspeed , along with over 15 "year's best" story collections. He was finalist for multiple
Nebula Awards along with the
World Fantasy and
Theodore Sturgeon Awards . He won the 2013
Shirley Jackson Award for his short story "
57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides ." His debut novel,
The Art of Starving , was published in 2017 and his novel Blackfish City won the 2019
John W. Campbell Memorial Award .
Sam J. Miller grew up in
Hudson, New York , where his family ran a
butcher shop .
[3] He grew up
Jewish
[4] and lives with his husband in
New York City , where he works as a community organizer for a
homelessness organization.
[3]
[5]
Miller studied writing as part at the 2012
Clarion Workshop under authors
Holly Black ,
Cassandra Clare
[5] and
Ted Chiang .
[6]
Miller began regularly publishing his short stories in 2013 with "57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides" in
Nightmare Magazine . The story later won the 2013
Shirley Jackson Award for best short fiction.
[7] His other stories have been published in magazines such as
Clarkesworld ,
Asimov's Science Fiction ,
Apex Magazine , and
Lightspeed . His stories have been reprinted in over 15 "year's best" story collections and have been a finalist for multiple
Nebula Awards along with the
World Fantasy and
Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Awards .
Miller states that he writes "
speculative fiction because that's how the world looks to me. Life is magic. Human society is horror. The world is science fiction."
[5] While Miller deals with politics in his work as a community organizer, he says that "arguing a political point is a pretty good way to kill a story. But I do think it's possible to explore in fiction the issues that are important to us. That's the writing that excites me the most."
[8]
Miller's prose has been called "evocative",
[9] "disturbing"
[10] and "grim stuff, but compelling".
[11]
Miller's young adult novel
The Art of Starving was released by
HarperCollins in July 2017.
[12] The novel is about a gay, bullied teenage boy who believes that extreme hunger awakens supernatural abilities and is rooted in Miller's own experience with an adolescent eating disorder.
[13] It was a finalist for the World Science Fiction Society award for Best Young Adult novel and won the
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2018.
[14]
His first novel for adults, Blackfish City , was released in April 2018 by
Ecco Press .
[15]
[16] His second young adult novel, Destroy All Monsters , was published by
HarperTeen in 2019. His second adult novel, The Blade Between , was published by
Ecco Press in 2020.
Miller's first short-fiction collection, Boys, Beasts & Men , was published in May 2022 by
Tachyon Publications .
[17] It contains previously published and new stories with an introduction written by
Amal El-Mohtar .
[18] It won the 2023
Locus Award for Best Collection .
[19]
"The Beasts We Want To Be" (short story in
Electric Velocipede , Winter 2013) was nominated for the 2014
Locus Award for Best Short Story
[20]
"57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides" (short story in
Nightmare Magazine , December 2013) won the 2013
Shirley Jackson Award for best short fiction.
[7]
"We Are the Cloud" (novelette in
Lightspeed , August 2014) was a finalist for the 2014
Nebula Award for Best Novelette
[21] and the 2015
Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award .
[22]
"When Your Child Strays from God" (short story in
Clarkesworld , July 2015) was a finalist for the 2015
Nebula Award for Best Short Story .
[23]
"The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History" (short story in
Clarkesworld , July 2015) was a finalist for the 2016
World Fantasy Award for best short fiction.
[20]
[24]
"Calved" (short story in
Asimov's Science Fiction , September 2015) was third-placed in the 2016 Asimov's Reader Poll for best short story
"Angel, Monster, Man" (short story in
Nightmare Magazine , January 2016) was a finalist for the 2017
Shirley Jackson Award for best novelette
[20]
"Things With Beards" (short story in
Clarkesworld , June 2016) was a finalist for the 2016
Nebula Award for Best Short Story
[25] and the
Shirley Jackson Award for best short fiction,
[20] and was third-placed for the 2017
Theodore Sturgeon Award
[20]
The Art of Starving (
HarperCollins , 2017) won the 2018
Andre Norton Award ,
[26] and was shortlisted for the 2018
IAFA William L. Crawford Fantasy Award for best first fantasy novel,
[20] the 2018
Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book
[27] and the 2018
Locus Award for Best First Novel
[20]
Blackfish City (
Ecco Press , 2018) won the 2018
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
[28] and was nominated for the
Nebula Award for Best Novel
[29] and the
Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
[20]
Destroy All Monsters (
HarperTeen , 2020) was a finalist for the 2020
Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book
[20]
"Let All the Children Boogie" (
Tor.com chapbook, January 2021) was a finalist for the 2022
Locus Award for Best Short Story
[30] and the
Nebula Award for Best Short Story
[20]
His collection Boys, Beasts & Men (
Tachyon Publications , May 2022) won the 2023
Locus Award for Best Collection .
[19]
Title
[32]
Year
First published
Reprinted/collected
Notes
The Beasts We Want To Be
2013
Electric Velocipede #27 (Winter 2013)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
57 Reasons for the Slate Quarry Suicides
2013
Nightmare Magazine #15 (December 2013)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
2013 Shirley Jackson Award for Short Fiction
Allosaurus Burgers
2014
Shimmer Magazine #20 (July 2014)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
We are the Cloud
2014
Lightspeed #52 (August 2014)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
Novelette
The Heat of Us: Notes Toward an Oral History
2015
Uncanny Magazine #2 (Jan/Feb 2015)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
When Your Child Strays from God
2015
Clarkesworld Magazine #106 (July 2015)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
Ghosts of Home
2015
Lightspeed #63 (August 2015)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
Calved
2015
Asimov's Science Fiction (September 2015)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
Angel, Monster, Man
2016
Nightmare Magazine #40 (January 2016)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
Novelette
Things With Beards
2016
Clarkesworld Magazine #117 (June 2016)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
The Future of Hunger in the Age of Programmable Matter
2017
Tor.com chapbook (October 2017)
[33]
Conspicuous Plumage
2018
Lightspeed #100 (September 2018)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
Shattered Sidewalks of the Human Heart
2019
Clarkesworld Magazine #154 (July 2019)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
Shucked
2019
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction #746 (Nov/Dec 2019)
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
The Nation of the Sick
2020
Entanglements: Tomorrow’s Lovers, Families, and Friends (Penguin House, 2020)
Let All the Children Boogie
2021
Tor.com chapbook (January 2021)
Sun in an Empty Room
2022
Boys, Beasts & Men (June 2022)
Kid Wolf and Kraken Boy
2022
Solaris Satellites chapbook (July 2022),
ISBN
978-1-78618-732-1
Novella
^
"Summary Bibliography: Sam J. Miller" .
Internet Speculative Fiction Database . Retrieved December 4, 2022 .
^ Miller, Sam J. [@sentencebender] (February 7, 2019).
"I'm forty today, which is blowing my mind & warping the fabric of time and space..." (
Tweet ). Retrieved March 3, 2019 – via
Twitter .
^
a
b
"Shimmer #20 Interview: Sam J. Miller" .
Shimmer Magazine . No. 20. Retrieved March 5, 2017 .
^
Wolfe, Gary K. (December 1, 2022).
Episode 595: The Coode Street Advent Calendar: Sam J. Miller .
The Coode Street Podcast (podcast). Retrieved December 4, 2022 .
^
a
b
c
"Spotlight on: Sam J. Miller, Writer" .
Locus . August 12, 2016.
^ Israel, Adam (February 7, 2012).
"Interview: Ted Chiang" .
Clarion Workshop . Retrieved March 9, 2017 .
^
a
b
"2013 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners" .
Locus . July 13, 2014.
^ Holt, Erika (December 2013).
"Author Spotlight: Sam J. Miller" .
Nightmare Magazine . No. 15.
^ Tilton, Lois (September 10, 2014).
"Lois Tilton reviews Short fiction, early September" .
Locus .
^
Mandelo, Lee (July 22, 2014).
"Review of Queering SFF: Wilde Stories 2014 , Edited by Steve Berman" .
Tor.com .
^
Dozois, Gardner (November 2015). "Gardnerspace: A Short Fiction Column".
Locus . p. 13.
^
"The Art of Starving by Sam. J. Miller" .
HarperCollins . March 5, 2017.
^ Miller, Sam J. (March 2, 2017).
"#MHYALit: Better Is Not a Place" .
School Library Journal .
^
"Here are the winners of the 2018 Nebula Awards" .
The Verge . Retrieved May 31, 2018 .
^
"Fiction Book Review: Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller. Ecco, $22.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-268482-0" .
Publishers Weekly . Retrieved April 17, 2018 .
^ Mason, Everdeen (April 5, 2018).
"Review: Best science fiction and fantasy books out this month" .
The Washington Post . Retrieved April 17, 2018 .
^
"Boys, Beasts & Men " .
Tachyon Publications . Retrieved May 7, 2022 .
^
Boys, Beasts & Men – via
NetGalley .
^
a
b
"2023 Locus Awards Winners" .
Locus . June 24, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023 .
^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
"Sam J. Miller: Awards Summary" .
Science Fiction Awards Database . Retrieved December 4, 2022 .
^
"2014 Nebula Awards Winners" .
Locus . June 6, 2015.
^
"2015 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Finalists" .
Locus . May 11, 2015.
^
"2015 Nebula Awards Ballot" .
Locus . February 21, 2016.
^
"Award summary for Sam J. Miller" .
Internet Speculative Fiction Database . March 5, 2017.
^ Liptak, Andrew (February 20, 2016),
"This year's Nebula Award nominees are incredibly diverse — read some onlin" ,
The Verge
^
"The Art of Starving" .
Science Fiction Writers of America . August 3, 2018.
^
"2018 Hugo Awards" .
Hugo Awards . March 15, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2020 .
^
"Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction News and Events" . Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. Archived from
the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2019 .
^
"Nebula Awards 2019" .
Science Fiction Awards Database .
Locus Magazine.
Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2022 .
^
"2022 Locus Awards Winners" .
Locus . June 25, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022 .
^ Winner,
Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018.
^ Short stories unless otherwise noted.
^ Miller, Sam J. (October 18, 2017).
"The Future of Hunger in the Age of Programmable Matter" .
Tor.com . Retrieved January 4, 2019 .
International National Other