View source for Tamora Pierce

{{Short description|American writer}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name        = Tamora Pierce
| image       = Tamora Pierce.jpg
| caption     = Pierce at the [[Boskone (convention)|Boskone]] science fiction convention in Boston, February 2008
| birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1954|12|13|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[South Connellsville, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| occupation  = Writer
| period      =
| genre       = [[Children's literature|Children's]] and [[young adult fiction|young adult]] [[fantasy]]
| movement    =
| notableworks= ''[[The Song of the Lioness]]''
| awards      = {{awards |[[Margaret A. Edwards Award]] |2013}}
| website     = {{URL|tamora-pierce.net}}
}}

'''Tamora Pierce''' (born December 13, 1954) is an American writer of [[fantasy fiction]] for [[teenagers]], known best for stories featuring young heroines. She made a name for herself with her first [[book series]], ''[[The Song of the Lioness]]'' (1983–1988), which followed the main character Alanna through the trials and triumphs of training as a knight.

Pierce won the [[Margaret A. Edwards Award]] from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the [[American Library Association]] in 2013, citing her two [[tetralogy|quartets]] ''[[Song of the Lioness]]'' and ''[[Protector of the Small]]'' (1999–2002). The annual award recognizes one writer and a particular body of work for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature".<ref name=edwards/>

Pierce's books have been translated into twenty languages.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Tamora+Pierce&fq=dt%3Abks&dblist=638&fc=ln:_25&qt=show_more_ln%3A |title= Search results for 'Tamora Pierce' > 'Book' |work=[[WorldCat]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/xtrans/bsresult.aspx?lg=0&a=Pierce,%20Tamora&fr=70 |title=Pierce, Tamora |work=[[Index Translationum]] |publisher=[[UNESCO]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8596.Tamora_Pierce |title=Tamora Pierce |work=[[Goodreads]]}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Pierce was born in [[South Connellsville, Pennsylvania]] in [[Fayette County, Pennsylvania|Fayette County]], on December 13, 1954 to Wayne and Mary Lou Pierce.<ref>Pierce, Tamora. "Acknowledgments." ''Power in the Storm, The''. Scholastic Press (1999)</ref> Her mother wanted to name her "Tamara" but the nurse who filled out her birth certificate misspelled it as "Tamora".<ref name=Pierce>{{cite web|last1=Pierce|first1=Tamora|title=Tamora Pierce Biography|url=http://tamorapierce.com/bio.html|website=Tamora Pierce: Author of Young Adult Fantasy|publisher=Tamora Pierce |access-date=20 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005205032/http://tamorapierce.com/bio.html |archive-date=5 October 2014}}</ref> When she was five, her sister Kimberly (on whom she based Alanna)<ref>Bonnie Kunzel & Susan Fichtelberg ''Tamora Pierce: A Student Companion'', Hardcover, Greenwood Press, 2007</ref> was born and a year later her second sister, Melanie, was born. From the time she was five until she was eight, she lived in [[Dunbar, Pennsylvania|Dunbar]]. In June 1963 she and her family moved to [[California]]. They first lived in [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]] on [[El Camino Real (California)|El Camino Real]] and then moved to the other side of the [[San Francisco Peninsula]], in Miramar. They lived in Miramar for half a year, in [[El Granada, California|El Granada]] a full year, and then three years in [[Burlingame, California|Burlingame]].

She began reading when she was very young and started writing when she was in the sixth grade. Her interest in fantasy and science fiction began when she was introduced to [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', and so she started to write the kind of books that she was reading. After her parents divorced, her mother moved her and her sisters back to Fayette County in 1969, where she spent two years at Albert Gallatin Senior High. When her family moved again, she spent her senior year at Uniontown Area Senior High School, acting, singing, and writing for the school paper. She is an alumna of the [[University of Pennsylvania]] in [[Philadelphia]].

==Career==
While at the University of Pennsylvania, Pierce wrote the books that became ''The Song of the Lioness'' quartet. The first book of this quartet, ''[[Alanna: The First Adventure]]'' was published by [[Atheneum Books]] in 1983.

Pierce lived with her husband Tim Liebe (Spouse-Creature) in [[New York City]], with their four cats and multiple other pets, until they moved to [[Syracuse, New York]].<ref>Pierce, Tamora. "Acknowledgments." ''Bloodhound: Beka Cooper Book Two''. New York: Random House Children's Books (2009). p 551.</ref>

In 2008, she donated her archive to the department of Rare Books and Special Collections at [[Northern Illinois University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.niu.edu/ulib/content/collections/rbsc/research/sc/scifi.shtml |title=Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Collection |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720013814/http://www.ulib.niu.edu/rarebooks/sciencefiction.cfm |archive-date=2011-07-20 |url-status=dead |publisher=[[Northern Illinois University]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://archon.lib.niu.edu/?p=collections/controlcard&id=401 |title=Tamora Pierce Papers, 2006-2017 |publisher=[[Northern Illinois University]] |access-date=2019-12-16 |archive-date=2021-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622112502/https://archon.lib.niu.edu/?p=collections/controlcard&id=401 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Pierce was also actively involved in moderating and discussing her novels on a message board called Sheroes Central from about 2001-2006, at which point it was acquired by a third party.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-08-14 |title=Sheroes Central - Women Heroes in Real Life and Fiction |url=http://www.sheroescentral.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi |access-date=2022-12-27 |archive-date=2001-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010814120632/http://www.sheroescentral.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-07-02 |title=Sheroes Central Home Page |url=http://www.sheroescentral.com/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |archive-date=2001-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010702090541/http://www.sheroescentral.com/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-07-20 |title=Welcome to Sheroes! |url=http://www.sheroescentral.com/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720015323/http://www.sheroescentral.com/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Francis |first=Madeleine |title=Links |url=https://www.tamora-pierce.net/et-cetera/other/links/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=Tamora Pierce |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosenberg |first=Alyssa |date=2011-06-03 |title=Tamora Pierce on 'Twilight,' Girl Heroes, and Fantasy Birth Control |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/06/tamora-pierce-on-twilight-girl-heroes-and-fantasy-birth-control/239861/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>

===Writing process===
On her homepage, Pierce states she gets most ideas from things she stumbles upon. Her concept of magic as a tapestry of threads comes from her experiences in crocheting, and in her world, all mages are somehow based on British naturalist [[David Attenborough]] after watching his nature documentaries. [[Fantasy literature|Fantasy novels]] and [[Arthurian legend]] were the base of the worlds she thought up as a girl, and later she added contemporary issues like youth crime and [[cholera]] outbreaks in [[Africa]]. In general, Pierce states: "The best way to prepare to have ideas when you need them is to listen to and encourage your obsessions."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tamora-pierce.com/faq.htm#Ideas|title=Frequently Asked Questions - Tamora Pierce|website=tamora-pierce.com|access-date=27 April 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420081516/http://www.tamora-pierce.com/faq.htm#Ideas|archive-date=20 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://readergirlz.com/issue200912.html |title=Book Buzz |work=readergirlz |date=December 2009 |access-date=27 April 2018 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730145912/http://www.readergirlz.com/issue200912.html|archive-date=2016-07-30}}</ref>

Pierce draws on elements of people and animals around her for inspiration. The character of Alanna is loosely based on Pierce's sister.<ref name="bio">{{cite web | url = http://www.tamora-pierce.com/bio.html | title = Tamora Pierce Biography | access-date = 2013-08-15 | last = Pierce | first = Tamora | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130613183932/http://www.tamora-pierce.com/bio.html | archive-date = 2013-06-13 }}</ref> Thayet's appearance is based on a friend of Pierce's. Beka's pigeon friends in ''Provost's Dog'' are all based on actual pigeons of Pierce's acquaintance.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Terrier|last = Pierce|first = Tamora|publisher = Random House|year = 2006|isbn = 9781439518830|location = New York}}</ref>

Pierce first started writing to escape from the drama of her parents' divorce. She wrote [[fan fiction]] based on her favorite stories, imitating them closely.<ref name="bio" /> Pierce says she decided to write her stories about strong female characters because she noticed a lack of them in the books she read when she was young.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/iconography-tamora-pierce-and-all-the-feminist-fantasy-heroines-you-could-want | title = Iconography: Tamora Pierce and All the Feminist Fantasy Heroines You Could Want | access-date = 2019-12-16 | first = Chally | last = Kacelnik | date = 27 December 2010 | work = [[Bitch (magazine)|bitch]] | publisher = bitch media<!--non-capitalization intentional--> | archive-date = 2021-01-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210123073853/https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/iconography-tamora-pierce-and-all-the-feminist-fantasy-heroines-you-could-want | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Nominee/Work
! Category
! Result
! Ref
|-
| 2011
| [[Goodreads Choice Awards]]
| ''[[Mastiff (novel)|Mastiff]]''
| Best Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction
| {{nom}}
| <ref>{{cite web |title=Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction |url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-young-adult-fantasy-books-2011# |website=Goodreads |access-date=13 October 2021}}</ref>
|-
| 2003
| rowspan="3" | [[Locus Award]]
| ''[[Lady Knight]]''
| rowspan="3" | [[Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book|Best Young Adult Book]]
| {{nom}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_2003 | title=Sfadb: Locus Awards 2003 }}</ref>
| rowspan="3" | 
|-
| 2004
| ''[[Trickster's Choice]]''
| {{nom}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_2004 | title=Sfadb: Locus Awards 2004 }}</ref>
|-
| 2012
| ''Mastiff''
| {{nom}}<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_2012 | title=Sfadb: Locus Awards 2012 }}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2013
| rowspan="2" | [[Margaret Edwards Award]]
| ''[[The Song of the Lioness]]'' Series
| {{N/A}}
| {{won}}
| rowspan="2" | <ref>{{cite web |title=Edwards Award 2013 |url=https://www.ala.org/yalsa/edwards/previouswinners/pierce |website=alga |date=23 January 2014 |access-date=13 October 2021}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Protector of the Small]]'' Series
| {{N/A}}
| {{won}}
|-
| 2000
| rowspan="2" | [[Mythopoeic Awards]]
| ''[[Circle of Magic]]'' Series
| rowspan="2" | Best Fantasy Series
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref name="first">{{cite web |title=Tamora Pierce: Lit by Fire |url=https://locusmag.com/2012/07/tamora-pierce-lit-by-fire/ |access-date=13 October 2021 |date=13 July 2012}}</ref>
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Provost's Dog|Beka Cooper]]'' Series
| {{nom}}
|-
| 2005
| [[Edward E. Smith Memorial Award|Skylark Award]]
| Tamora Pierce
| {{n/a}}
| {{won}}
| <ref name="first"/>
|-
|}

=== Accolades ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Year-end lists 
|-
! Year
! Publication
! Work
! Category
! Result
! Ref
|-
| rowspan="4" | 2012
| rowspan="4" | [[NPR]]
| ''[[Circle of Magic]]'' Series
| rowspan="4" | 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels
| 86
| rowspan="4" | <ref>{{cite web |title=our Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157795366/your-favorites-100-best-ever-teen-novels |website=NPR |access-date=13 October 2021 |date=7 August 2012}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[The Immortals (series)|The Immortals]]'' Series
| 83
|-
| ''[[Daughter of the Lioness|Trickster's Choice]]'' Duology
| 81
|-
| ''[[The Song of the Lioness]]'' Series
| 50
|-
| 2018
| rowspan="2" | [[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]
| ''[[Trickster's Queen]]''
| The 50 Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far)
| 17
| <ref>{{cite web |last1=Jackson |first1=Josh |display-authors=etal. |title=The 50 Best Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far) |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/books/fantasy-books/the-50-best-fantasy-novels-of-the-21st-century/ |website=Paste |access-date=13 October 2021 |date=11 April 2018}}</ref>
|-
| 2019
| ''Trickster's Choice'' Duology
| 10 Exceptional Audiobooks Written and Narrated by Women
| 4
| <ref>{{cite web |last1=Gunderson |first1=Alexis |title=10 Exceptional Audiobooks Written and Narrated by Women |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/books/audiobooks/10-exceptional-audiobooks-written-and-narrated-by/#4-the-daughter-of-the-lioness |website=Paste |access-date=13 October 2021 |date=21 March 2019}}</ref>
|-
| 2020
| [[Time (magazine)|Time]]
| ''[[Alanna: The First Adventure]]''
| 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time
| {{n/a}}
| <ref>{{cite magazine |title=100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time |url=https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/ |magazine=Time |access-date=13 October 2021 |archive-date=18 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018223422/https://time.com/collection/100-best-fantasy-books/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
|}

==Works==
{{main|Tamora Pierce bibliography}}

{{Empty section |date=October 2024}}

== Merchandise ==
In November 2018, the first line of officially licensed merchandise was created in partnership with Dual Wield Studio: pins, apparel and accessories developed in collaboration with creators from the Tamora Pierce fanbase.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pierce |first=Tamora |date=November 13, 2018 |title=@TamoraPierce |url=https://twitter.com/TamoraPierce/status/1062406837448949762?s=20 |website=Twitter}}</ref> The collection expanded in 2020 to include a rendition of the map of Tortall.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pierce |first=Tamora |date=June 25, 2020 |title=@TamoraPierce |url=https://twitter.com/TamoraPierce/status/1276212403047301120?s=20 |website=Twitter}}</ref>

At the end of 2023, Dual Wield Studio announced a new collection celebrating the 40th anniversary of ''Alanna: The First Adventure.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Raugust {{!}} |first=Karen |title=Licensing Hotline: November 2023 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/93832-licensing-hotline-november-2023.html |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=PublishersWeekly.com |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist |25em |refs=

<ref name=edwards>
[http://www.ala.org/yalsa/edwards/previouswinners/pierce "Edwards Award 2013"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324210007/http://www.ala.org/yalsa/edwards/previouswinners/pierce |date=2017-03-24 }}. [[Young Adult Library Services Association]] (YALSA). American Library Association (ALA).
<br>&nbsp; [http://www.ala.org/yalsa/edwards-award "Edwards Award"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405055545/http://www.ala.org/yalsa/edwards-award |date=2012-04-05 }}. YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2015-02-08.</ref>

}}

===Other sources===
*[http://www.marvel.com/rss/podcasts/Tamora_Pierce_talks_White_Tiger.mp3 "Podcast Interview about 'White Tiger' with Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106123930/http://www.marvel.com/rss/podcasts/Tamora_Pierce_talks_White_Tiger.mp3 |date=2006-11-06 }}
*[http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6821 "Tiger Tiger Burning Bright: Pierce Talks 'White Tiger'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311232858/http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6821 |date=2007-03-11 }} by David Richards, ''Comic Book Resources'', March 6, 2006
*[http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=deb9fea4141fbe6983d08a4e9d6f477c&threadid=61034 "Eye of the White Tiger: Meet Marvel's Tamora Pierce"]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} by ''Newsarama'', February 27, 2006
*{{cite book
|last1= Brown
|first1= Joanne
|last2 = St. Clair
|first2= Nancy
|title= Declarations of Independence: Empowered Girls in Young Adult Literature, 1990–2001
|location= Lanham, MD, & London
|publisher= The Scarecrow Press
|year= 2002 
|series= [[Scarecrow Studies in Young Adult Literature]]
|volume= 7
|isbn= 0-8108-4290-4
}}
*Cart, Michael, ''From Romance to Realism: 50 Years of Growth and Change in Young Adult Literature'' (New York: HarperCollins, 1996) {{ISBN|0-06-446161-0}}
*{{cite book
|last= Dailey
|first= Donna
|title= Tamora Pierce 
|location= New York
|publisher= Chelsea House
|year= 2006 
|series= [[Who Wrote That?]]
|isbn= 0791087956
}}
*[[Sheila Egoff|Egoff, Sheila A.]], ''Worlds Within: Children’s Fantasy from the Middle Ages to Today'' (Chicago & London: American Library Association, 1988) {{ISBN|0-8389-0494-7}}
*Melano, Anne L., [http://www.uq.edu.au/crossroads/Archives/Vol%203/Issue%202%202009/Vol3Iss209%20-%2013.Melano%20(p.89-98).pdf "Utopias of Violence: Pierce's Knights of Tortall and the Contemporary Heroic"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610213200/http://www.uq.edu.au/crossroads/Archives/Vol%203/Issue%202%202009/Vol3Iss209%20-%2013.Melano%20(p.89-98).pdf |date=2011-06-10 }} (''Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics'', vol 3 issue 2, 2009)
*[[John Lennard|Lennard, John]], ''Tamora Pierce: The Immortals'' (Tirril: Humanities-Ebooks, 2007) {{ISBN|978-1-84760-037-0}}
* -- 'Of Stormwings and Valiant Women: The Tortallan World of Tamora Pierce', in ''Of Modern Dragons and other essays on Genre Fiction'' (Tirril: Humanities-Ebooks, 2007), pp.&nbsp;191–228 {{ISBN|978-1-84760-038-7}}
*Sullivan III, C. W., ed., ''Young Adult Science Fiction'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999 [[Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy 79]]) {{ISBN|0-313-28940-9}}
*[[Roberta Seelinger Trites|Trites, Roberta Seelinger]], ''Disturbing the Universe: Power and Repression in Adolescent Literature'' (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2000) {{ISBN|0-87745-857-X}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Tamora Pierce}}
* [http://www.tamora-pierce.net Official Website]
* {{ISFDB name|867}} (ISFDB)
* {{LCAuth|n83009811|Tamora Pierce|58|}}
* [http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/index.php/Publisher:Science_Fiction_Book_Club Publisher: Science Fiction Book Club] (SFBC) at ISFDB
* [http://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Tamora-Pierce/707073 Publisher Page]
* [https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8596.Tamora_Pierce Goodreads]
* [https://www.amazon.com/Tamora-Pierce/e/B000APBE82 Amazon]
* [https://www.facebook.com/Tamora-Pierce-Fantasy-Author-95235563005/ Facebook]
* [https://twitter.com/tamorapierce Twitter]
* [http://tamorapierce.tumblr.com Tumblr]

{{Tamora Pierce}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar |Children's literature |Comics |Fantasy }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Tamora}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:American children's writers]]
[[Category:American comics writers]]
[[Category:American fantasy writers]]
[[Category:Audiobook narrators]]
[[Category:American female comics writers]]
[[Category:Margaret A. Edwards Award winners]]
[[Category:People from Burlingame, California]]
[[Category:People from Fayette County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American women science fiction and fantasy writers]]
[[Category:Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American women novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women novelists]]
[[Category:American women children's writers]]
[[Category:American women writers of young adult literature]]
[[Category:American writers of young adult literature]]
[[Category:Novelists from California]]
[[Category:Novelists from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania alumni]]