Sue Burke

more photos (1)

year in books

Sue Burke’s Followers (786)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
Raul Lugo
563 books | 25 friends

Jack Ke...
1,293 books | 39 friends

Israel ...
536 books | 134 friends

Ignacio
2,326 books | 133 friends

Kathleen
348 books | 76 friends

DivaDia...
6,174 books | 1,151 friends

BJ Lillis
545 books | 1,196 friends

Alex Helm
93,050 books | 1,243 friends

More friends…

Sue Burke

Goodreads Author


Born
in Milwaukee, The United States
Website

Twitter

Genre

Member Since
February 2012

URL


I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, lived briefly in Austin, Texas, y'all, and moved with my husband to Madrid, Spain, in December 1999. Then back to the US, specifically Chicago, in July 2016.

I've worked for fifty years as a journalist, both as a reporter and editor, and I translate from Spanish to English.

I also write poetry, essays, and fiction, especially science fiction.
...more

To ask Sue Burke questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Sue Burke I began the research before I thought about writing the novel. It started because one day I discovered that one of my houseplants had killed another p…moreI began the research before I thought about writing the novel. It started because one day I discovered that one of my houseplants had killed another plant -- a pothos had wrapped around another plant, which died from a lack of light. Then a few weeks later another plant tried to sink roots into different plant.

I decided to find out if this was normal plant behavior, and it was. Plants are often aggressive against each other and sometimes against animals, too. They often try to manipulate animals, as well. The more I learned, the more I thought there could be a story to tell.

The research took a while, since every answer led to another question and botany keeps making new discoveries, but the research also gave me more ideas to enrich the story. I now have a shelf of books.

Slowly, the novel began to take shape, although sometimes I had to research a specific detail as I went along, such as the communication scents of the Glassmakers (based on Earth ants) and how plants could duplicate the odors.(less)
Sue Burke Hello Joseph,
Thank you! I really enjoyed writing the books, and I always had in mind a trilogy.
I've just signed a contract for it with Tor books -- bu…more
Hello Joseph,
Thank you! I really enjoyed writing the books, and I always had in mind a trilogy.
I've just signed a contract for it with Tor books -- but due to covid, which has done weird things to publishing, it won't be published as soon as I'd like. I've started it, though, and I hope the story will be exciting.
Thank you again!
Sue(less)
Average rating: 3.89 · 21,606 ratings · 3,055 reviews · 53 distinct worksSimilar authors
Semiosis (Semiosis, #1)

3.91 avg rating — 14,845 ratings — published 2018 — 14 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Interference (Semiosis, #2)

3.97 avg rating — 4,162 ratings — published 2019 — 5 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Usurpation (Semiosis, #3)

3.70 avg rating — 732 ratings — published 2024 — 7 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Immunity Index

3.33 avg rating — 598 ratings — published 2021 — 5 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Dual Memory

3.68 avg rating — 487 ratings — published 2023 — 9 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issu...

by
4.14 avg rating — 333 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
ChloroPhilia

by
3.24 avg rating — 347 ratings — published 2017 — 5 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Normalized Death

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2008
Rate this book
Clear rating
Semiosis Duology

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
West African adire: Dyed an...

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by Sue Burke…

Impossible to be misunderstood

Quintilian

Back in my college days, in a Survey of Spanish Literature class, I discovered the Spanish author Azorín, who would become one of my favorite writers. A sentence he wrote about how to write became my watchword:

No basta hacerse entender; es necesario aspirar a no poder dejar de ser entendido.

It is not enough to make yourself understandable, it is necessary to aspire to be unable to be

Read more of this blog post »
1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 15, 2025 08:09
Semiosis Interference Usurpation
(3 books)
by
3.91 avg rating — 19,733 ratings

Sue’s Recent Updates

Sue Burke wrote a new blog post

Impossible to be misunderstood

QuintilianBack in my college days, in a Survey of Spanish Literature class, I discovered the Spanish author Azorín, who would become one of my favorit Read more of this blog post »
Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2020 edition by Charlie Jane Anders
"En lo personal me pareció un poco extraña la idea de Tor.com: compilar 29 de sus cuentos a lo largo de más de 600 páginas. Los cuentos en el sitio de tor.com (ahora react magazine –reactmag.com) son gratuitos, así que el libro es de libre distribució" Read more of this review »
Sue Burke and 31 other people liked BJ Lillis's review of The Song of the Lark:
The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
"“Nothing is far and nothing is near, if one desires. The world is little, people are little, human life is little. There is only one big thing—desire. And before it, when it is big, all is little.”

A sprawling, undisciplined novel, and if someone told" Read more of this review »
After the Apocalypse by Maureen F. McHugh
"Most of these stories were excellent, with the titular story, Honeymoon, and The Kingdom of the Blind sticking out as highlights. I think that some would’ve been better if they were just a little longer to build things up more (A Reporter At Large en" Read more of this review »
Sue Burke rated a book it was amazing
Crónica de una muerte anunciada by Gabriel García Márquez
Rate this book
Clear rating
Sue Burke entered a giveaway
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
Rate this book
Clear rating
Sue Burke liked a quote
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
“In the realm of totalitarian kitsch, all answers are given in advance and preclude any questions. It follows, then, that the true opponent of totalitarian kitsch is the person who asks questions. A question is like a knife that slices through the stage backdrop and gives us a look at what lies hidden behind it. In fact, that was exactly how Sabina had explained the meaning of her paintings to Tereza: on the surface, an intelligible lie; underneath, the unintelligible truth showing through.

But the people who struggle against what we call totalitarian regimes cannot function with queries and doubts. They, too, need certainties and simple truths to make the multitudes understand, to provoke collective tears”
Milan Kundera
Sue Burke wants to read
Dare to Know by James     Kennedy
Dare to Know
by James Kennedy (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
Sue Burke rated a book it was amazing
Zoi by Jane Mondrup
Zoi
by Jane Mondrup (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
Full disclosure: I was asked to write a blurb for this novel by the publisher, who supplied a copy of the book.

A lot of books are written about first contact with a species alien to Earth. This novel asks an original question — because if we ever get
...more
More of Sue's books…
Quotes by Sue Burke  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I am glad I grew the humor root. I can endure unpleasant situations better.”
Sue Burke, Semiosis

“Equality is not a fact, like the length of days... Equality is an idea, a belief, like beauty.”
Sue Burke, Semiosis

“Each of us needs to be what we are, perhaps even be more of what we are.”
Sue Burke, Semiosis

Polls

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
SciFi and Fantasy...: Bill the other does all the challenges. Comments ok. 3 222 Jan 05, 2018 07:55PM  
Beyond Reality: Welcome to April 2018! 2 20 Apr 09, 2018 06:18PM  
Beyond Reality: Welcome to May 2018! 1 17 May 01, 2018 10:08AM  
Beyond Reality: Nominations for June 2018 21 64 May 28, 2018 04:46PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Completed Tasks: PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POST IN THIS THREAD 2194 411 May 31, 2018 09:01PM  
Beyond Reality: Welcome to June 2018! 1 18 Jun 01, 2018 05:21AM  
Beyond Reality: Semiosis -- -- Roll Call and First Impressions **NO SPOILERS!** 12 29 Jun 16, 2018 07:55AM  
“Stories only happen to those who are able to tell them.”
Paul Auster

“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.”
A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

“The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness. ”
Michel de Montaigne

“The writer’s job is not to judge, but to seek to understand.”
Ernest Hemingway

“As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand.”
Ernest Hemingway

16548 Beyond Reality — 2013 members — last activity 13 hours, 21 min ago
Welcome to the Beyond Reality SF&F discussion group on GoodReads. In Beyond Reality, each of our members may nominate one SF and one fantasy book per ...more
22454 Historical Fictionistas — 15701 members — last activity 5 hours, 3 min ago
Welcome to Historical Fictionistas! We want to experience all different kinds of HF with all different kinds of people. The more diverse, the better. ...more
954 Hard SF — 1181 members — last activity Jul 01, 2025 02:53PM
This is a discussion group for this specific subgenre in SF where the plausibility of the science counts.
60565 Ciencia Ficción en Español — 2144 members — last activity 20 hours, 36 min ago
Grupo abierto a todos los hispano hablantes del mundo para charlar sobre libros de Ciencia Ficción.
6836 Literatura en Espanol / Books in Spanish — 1586 members — last activity Aug 07, 2025 09:45AM
Un grupo para discutir los libros escritos en espanol. Todos son bienvenidos!
189370 Speculative Fiction in Translation — 342 members — last activity Sep 28, 2025 11:51AM
This is a group dedicated to reading SF works from around the world translated into English. We cover both new releases and older publications, and no ...more
220 Goodreads Librarians Group — 296780 members — last activity 0 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
1219146 The book you like most — 47261 members — last activity 5 minutes ago
This group (ranked in the TOP 100 most popular groups on Goodreads) is dedicated to the "Vision and Story" project. Additionally, the group THE BOOK ...more
128467 Literatura Fantástica en Latinoamérica — 344 members — last activity Jan 17, 2022 08:33AM
Grupo abierto para charlar sobre El Salto Cuántico y ciencia ficción en general. La premisa es impulsar este género y similares entre autores y lecto ...more
197161 #LeoAutorasFantásticas — 767 members — last activity Jun 29, 2024 03:55PM
Grupo abierto para todas aquellas personas que quieran conocer (o dar a conocer) a autoras de fantasía, ciencia ficción y terror.
More of Sue’s groups…
Comments (showing 1-1)    post a comment »
dateDown arrow    newest »

message 1: by Sue

Sue Burke Win a free copy of 140 And Counting, a book of Tweet-length poetry, including work by me:

http://www.goodreads.com/event/show/3...


back to top