Pat Murphy (writer)

Patrice Ann "Pat" Murphy (born March 9, 1955) is an American science writer and author of science fiction and fantasy novels.

Early life

Murphy was born on March 9, 1955, in Washington state.

Career

Murphy has used the ideas of the absurdist pseudophilosophy pataphysics in some of her writings. Along with Lisa Goldstein and Michaela Roessner, she has formed The Brazen Hussies to promote their work. Together with Karen Joy Fowler, Murphy co-founded the James Tiptree, Jr. Award in 1991.

With her second novel, The Falling Woman (1986), she won the Nebula Award, and another Nebula Award in the same year for her novelette, "Rachel in Love." Her short story collection, Points of Departure (1990) won the Philip K. Dick Award, and her 1990 novella, Bones, won the World Fantasy Award in 1991.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

From 1998 through 2018, Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty (a scientist and educator) jointly wrote the recurring 'Science' column in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction that typically appeared twice each year. Their last column was in the May/June 2018 issue; Doherty died in August 2017.

Personal life

She lives in Nevada and, for more than 20 years, when she was not writing science fiction, she worked at the Exploratorium, San Francisco's museum of science, art, and human perception.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There, she published non-fiction as part of the museum staff.

In 2014, Murphy was hired by Doug Peltz to join Mystery Science (company) as the first employee, creating science curriculum for elementary school teachers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She has a black belt in the martial art kenpō.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="MerrickWilliams1999">Template:Cite book</ref>

Bibliography

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Novels

• The Shadow Hunter (1982; partially rewritten and republished in 2002)
• The Falling Woman (1986)
• The City, Not Long After (1989)
• Nadya: The Wolf Chronicles (1996)
• There and Back Again (1999)
• Wild Angel (2001)
• Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell (2002)
• The Wild Girls (children's novel) (2007)
• The Adventures of Mary Darling (2025)

Short fiction

Collections

• Points of Departure (1990)
• Women Up to No Good (2013)

Stories<ref>Short stories unless otherwise noted.</ref>

• "No Mother Near" (1975)
• "Eyes of the Wolf" (1978)
• "Nightbird at the Window" (1979)
• "A Lingering Scent of Jasmine" (1980)
• "Don't Look Back" (1980)
• "Touch of the Bear" (1980)
• "Wish Hound" (1980)
• "Orange Blossom Time" (1981)
• "Sweetly the Waves Call to Me" (1981)
• "In the Islands" (1983)
• "Art in the War Zone" (1984) Novelette
• "On the Dark Side of the Station Where the Train Never Stops" (1984)
• "With Four Lean Hounds" (1984) Novelette
• "On a Hot Summer Night in a Place Far Away" (1985)
• "His Vegetable Wife" (1986)
• "A Falling Star Is a Rock from Outer Space" (1986)
• "In the Abode of the Snows" (1986) Novelette
• "Clay Devils" (1987)
• "Rachel in Love" (1987) Novelette
• "Good-Bye, Cynthia" (1988)
• "Dead Men on TV" (1988)
• "Prescience" (1989)
• "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" (1989)
• "Scavenger" (1989)
• "Bones" (1990) Novella
• "Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates" (1990)
• "Latter-Day Martian Chronicles" (1990)
• "Recycling Strategies for the Inner City" (1990)
• "Women in the Trees" (1990)
• "The Eradication of Romantic Love" (1991)
• "Peter" (1991)
• "Traveling West" (1991) Novelette
• "Desert Rain" (1991) Novella (with Mark L. Van Name)
• "South of Oregon City" (1991) Novelette
• "Going Through Changes" (1992)
• "An American Childhood" (1993) Novella
• "A Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State" (1993) Novelette
• "Games of Deception" (1994)
• "A Place of Honor" (1995)
• "Points of Departure" (1995)
• "A Flock of Lawn Flamingos" (1996)
• "Iris Versus the Black Knight" (1996)
• "Exploding, Like Fireworks" (1997)
• "The True Story" (1997)
• "Wonder Worlds" (1997) Novelette (with Richard Kadrey)
• "Attachments" (1998)
• "Ménage and Menagerie" (1998) Novelette
• "Green Fire" (1999) Novelette (with Andy Duncan, Eileen Gunn & Michael Swanwick)
• "The Wild Girls" (2003)
• "Dragon's Gate" (2003) Novelette
• "Inappropriate Behavior" (2004) Novelette
• "One Odd Shoe" (2007)
• "About Fairies" (2012)
• "Cold Comfort" (2016) Novelette (with Paul Doherty)
• "Crossing the Threshold" (2017)
• "Fix-It Shop" (2017)
• "Motherhood" (2019)
• "A Catalog of 21st Century Ghosts" (2024)
• "Not Alone" (2025)

Anthologies edited

• The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1 (2005) with Debbie Notkin, Karen Joy Fowler and Jeffrey D. Smith. Tachyon Publications<ref name="Tiptree">Anthology of winners of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.</ref>
• The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2 (2006) with Debbie Notkin, Karen Joy Fowler and Jeffrey D. Smith. Tachyon Publications.<ref name="Tiptree" />
• The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3 (2007) with Debbie Notkin, Karen Joy Fowler and Jeffrey D. Smith. Tachyon Publications.<ref name="Tiptree" />

Nonfiction

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• Imaginary Friends (1996 essay)
• Before and After (1997 travel essay)
• Explorabook: A Kid's Science Museum in a Book by John Cassidy, Pat Murphy, and Paul Doherty (1991)
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• By Nature's Design (1993) by Pat Murphy
• The Science Explorer (1996) by Pat Murphy, Ellen Klages, and Linda Shore
• The Color of Nature (1996) by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty
• The Science Explorer Out and About (1997) by Pat Murphy, Ellen Klages, and Linda Shore
• Zap Science: A Scientific Playground in a Book (1997) by John Cassidy, Paul Doherty, & Pat Murphy
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Awards

Work	Year & Award	Category	Result	Ref.
The Shadow Hunter	1983 Locus Award	First Novel	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Falling Woman	1987 Locus Award	Fantasy Novel	Template:Nominated
	1988 Mythopoeic Awards	Fantasy	Template:Nominated
	1988 Nebula Award	Novel	Template:Won
"Rachel in Love"	1988 Theodore Sturgeon Award	Short Science Fiction	Template:Won
	1988 Hugo Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
	1988 Nebula Award	Novelette	Template:Won
	1988 SF Chronicle Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1988 Asimov's Readers' Poll	Novelette	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1988 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Won
"Dead Men on TV"	1989 Nebula Award	Short Story	Template:Nominated
"Prescience"	1990 Locus Award	Short Story	Template:Nominated
The City, Not Long After	1990 Mythopoeic Awards	Fantasy	Template:Nominated
	1990 Locus Award	SF Novel	Template:Nominated
	1991 Arthur C. Clarke Award	Science Fiction Novel	Template:CFinalist
"Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates"	1991 Nebula Award	Short Story	Template:Nominated
	1991 Locus Award	Short Story	Template:Nominated
Points of Departure	1991 Philip K. Dick Award		Template:Won
	1991 Locus Award	Collection	Template:Nominated
"Bones"	1991 World Fantasy Award	Novella	Template:Won
	1991 Hugo Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
	1991 Nebula Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
	1991 Asimov's Readers' Poll	Novella	Template:CFinalist	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1991 Locus Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
"Desert Rain" (with Mark L. Van Name)	1992 Locus Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
"Traveling West"	1992 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
"An American Childhood"	1994 Hugo Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
	1994 Asimov's Readers' Poll	Novella	Template:CFinalist	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	1994 Locus Award	Novella	Template:Nominated
A Place of Honor	1996 Asimov's Readers' Poll	Short Story	Template:CFinalist	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Nadya	1996 Otherwise Award		Template:Sho
	1997 Locus Award	Fantasy Novel	Template:Nominated
"Green Fire" (with Eileen Gunn, Andy Duncan & Michael Swanwick)	2001 Asimov's Readers' Poll	Novella	Template:CFinalist	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
There and Back Again	2002 Seiun Award	Translated Long Work	Template:Won
"Dragon's Gate"	2004 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
"Inappropriate Behavior"	2005 Locus Award	Novelette	Template:Nominated
The Wild Girls	2007 Cybils Award	Fiction: Middle Grade	Template:CFinalist
	2008 Christopher Award	Books for Young People: Ages 10–12	Template:Won
Exploratopia: More than 400 kid-friendly experiments and explorations for curious minds	2008 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books	Hands-On Science Book	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Klutz Guide to the Galaxy	2012 American Institute of Physics	Science Communication Awards	Template:Won	<ref>https://www.aip.org/news/winners-2012-aip-science-communication-awards-writing-children-and-new-media</ref>
"About Fairies"	2013 Locus Award	Short Story	Template:Nominated

References

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External links

• Pat Murphy's page at Brazen Hussies
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• Pat Murphy interview at The Well
• Mystery Science: Open and Go lessons that inspire kids to love science!