Connie Willis

Author profile

born

in The United States

December 31, 1945

gender

female

website

http://www.sftv.org/cw/

genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy

About this author

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Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s.

She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).

She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.

Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the...more Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She is one of the most honored science fiction writers of the 1980s and 1990s.

She has won, among other awards, ten Hugo Awards and six Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for All Seated on the Ground (August 2008). She was the 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).

She lives in Greeley, Colorado with her husband Courtney Willis, a professor of physics at the University of Northern Colorado. She also has one daughter, Cordelia.

Willis is known for her accessible prose and likable characters. She has written several pieces involving time travel by history students and faculty of the future University of Oxford. These pieces include her Hugo Award-winning novels Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog and the short story "Fire Watch", found in the short story collection of the same name.

Willis tends to the comedy of manners style of writing. Her protagonists are typically beset by single-minded people pursuing illogical agendas, such as attempting to organize a bell-ringing session in the middle of a deadly epidemic (Doomsday Book), or frustrating efforts to analyze Near-death experiences by putting words in the mouths of interviewees (Passage).

Other themes and stylistic devices include:

a scientist as protagonist (the main theme of Bellwether, but also present in Uncharted Territory, Passage, and—to a lesser degree—the Fire Watch universe stories)
an aversion to rampant political correctness (notably the over-appreciation of indigenous cultures in Uncharted Territory, anti-smoking stances in Bellwether, censorship of "addictive substances" in Remake)
the inclusion of meticulously researched, detailed trivia related tangentially or symbolically to the narrative (fads in Bellwether, mating customs in Uncharted Territory, old movies in Remake, the Titanic disaster in Passage, famous pairs of ill-fated lovers in To Say Nothing of the Dog)
the constant presence of trying to come to terms with grief, loss, and death; this is often attributed to her mother having died while Willis herself was still a child.[citation needed]
Willis is acclaimed as a science-fiction writer, most often exploring the "soft" or social sciences. She weaves technology into her stories only to prompt readers to question what impact it has on the world. For instance, Lincoln's Dreams plumbs not just the psychology of dreams, but also their role as indicators of disease. The story portrays a young man's unrequited love for a young woman who might or might not be experiencing reincarnation or precognition, and whose outlook verges on suicidal. Similarly Bellwether is almost exclusively concerned with human psychology.

Among other themes, Uncharted Territory contemplates the extent to which technology shapes expectations of gender; "technology" here ranges from a land rover and binoculars to Bult's online "chopping" and the pop-up holograms—even socioexozoology. Remake embraces old movies and the computer graphics revolution, as well as intellectual property, digital copyright issues, and the question of public domain.

Other Willis stories explore the so-called "hard" sciences, following in the classic science fiction tradition. "The Sidon in the Mirror" harks back to the interplanetary and interstellar romanticism of the 1930s and 1940s. "Samaritan" is another take on the theme of Heinlein's "Jerry Was a Man", while "Blued Moon" is similarly reminiscent of Heinlein's "Year of the Jackpot".
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35 posts
Connie Willis's Blog

Connie Willis isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but she does have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from her feed.

Renovation (2011 Worldcon) Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Renovation, the 2011 Worldcon held in Reno, NV in August. Photos are courtesy of Cordelia Willis.

Connie with Gary K. Wolfe (left) and Robert Silverberg (center) on the Charles Brown memorial panel.

At the Hugo Awards Ceremony (Tim Powers in the background)

Connie with the Best Novel Hugo

One more picture with the Hugo

Group shot of Hugo winners and presenters

Hu...

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Connie Willis's Books

Average rating: 3.94 · 63,125 ratings · 8,627 reviews · 129 distinct works · Similar authors

	Doomsday Book 4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 14,822 ratings — published 1992 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	To Say Nothing of the Dog 4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 12,310 ratings — published 1998 — 18 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blackout 3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 7,234 ratings — published 2010 — 18 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All Clear 4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 5,406 ratings — published 2010 — 20 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bellwether 3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 4,359 ratings — published 1996 — 17 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Passage 3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 avg rating — 4,094 ratings — published 2001 — 11 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fire Watch 3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 1,904 ratings — published 1984 — 8 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lincoln's Dreams 3.51 of 5 stars 3.51 avg rating — 2,072 ratings — published 1987 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Impossible Things 3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 1,191 ratings — published 1993 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Miracle and Other Christmas Stories 3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 905 ratings — published 1979 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Connie Willis…

Series by Connie Willis

Oxford Time Travel (4 books)
by Connie Willis
4.050854690127764 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 39,839 ratings

All Clear (2 books)
by Connie Willis
3.9135079528369077 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 12,637 ratings

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Quotes by Connie Willis

“Why do only the awful things become fads? I thought. Eye-rolling and Barbie and bread pudding. Why never chocolate cheesecake or thinking for yourself?”
― Connie Willis, Bellwether

tags: barbie, bellwether, fads, humour, independence

107 people liked it

“Cats, as you know, are quite impervious to threats”
― Connie Willis, To Say Nothing of the Dog

tags: cats

68 people liked it

“Actually, writers have no business writing about their own works. They either wax conceited, saying things like: 'My brilliance is possibly most apparent in my dazzling short story, "The Cookiepants Hypotenuse."' Or else they get unbearably cutesy: 'My cat Ootsywootums has given me all my best ideas, hasn't oo, squeezums?”
― Connie Willis

tags: on-writing

42 people liked it

See all Connie Willis's quotes »

Polls

Which of the following Joint Winners of the Hugo and Nebula should we read for our March Sci-Fi Theme book?

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon

62 votes, 19.9%

Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

59 votes, 18.9%

Ringworld, by Larry Niven

48 votes, 15.4%

Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card

36 votes, 11.5%

The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman

34 votes, 10.9%

Gateway, by Frederik Pohl

18 votes, 5.8%

Dreamsnake, by Vonda N. McIntyre

15 votes, 4.8%

The Fountains of Paradise, by Arthur C. Clarke

14 votes, 4.5%

Startide Rising, by David Brin

12 votes, 3.8%

Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke

12 votes, 3.8%

Forever Peace, by Joe Haldeman

2 votes, 0.6%

312 total votes

44 comments

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Connie Willis

Author profile

35 posts
Connie Willis's Blog

combine editions
Connie Willis's Books

Series by Connie Willis

Upcoming Events

Quotes by Connie Willis

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add NewVideos

Connie's Fans (1129)

Connie Willis

Author profile

35 postsConnie Willis's Blog

combine editionsConnie Willis's Books

Series by Connie Willis

Upcoming Events

Quotes by Connie Willis

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add New
Videos

35 posts
Connie Willis's Blog

combine editions
Connie Willis's Books