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Farah Mendlesohn

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Farah Mendlesohn
Mendlesohn at Archipelacon in Mariehamn, 2015
Mendlesohn at Archipelacon inMariehamn,2015
Born(1968-07-27)27 July 1968(age 55)
Manchester, England
OccupationAcademic, writer
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
SubjectCultural history,science fiction
Spouse
​
(m.2001)​

Farah Jane Mendlesohn(born 27 July 1968) is a British academic historian, writer onspeculative fiction,and active member ofscience fiction fandom.Mendlesohn is best-known for their 2008 bookRhetorics of Fantasy,which classifiesfantasy literatureinto four modes based on how the fantastic enters the story. Their work as editor includes theCambridge Companionsto science fiction and fantasy, collaborations withEdward James.The science fiction volume won aHugo Award.Mendlesohn is also known for books on the history of fantasy, includingChildren's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction,co-written with Michael Levy. It was the first work to trace the genre's 500-year history and won theWorld Fantasy Award.

Mendlesohn's academic positions have included a professorship atAnglia Ruskin University.They have served as editor and chair of the science fiction journalFoundation,and as the president of theInternational Association for the Fantastic in the Arts.In 2015, Mendlesohn received theSFRA'sClareson awardfor distinguished service to the science fiction field.

Scholarly career[edit]

Farah Jane Mendlesohn was born on 27 July 1968 inManchester,England.[1]Mendlesohn received aD. Phil.in history from theUniversity of Yorkin 1997.[2]Mendlesohn's academic positions include a stint as reader in science fiction and fantasy literature in the media department atMiddlesex University,and as professor and head of department in the department of English, communication, film and media atAnglia Ruskin University[3]from 2012 to 2017.[4]Mendlesohn joined Staffordshire University in November 2016 as professor and assistant dean in law, policing, forensics & sociology,[5]and is now an associate fellow of the Anglia Ruskin Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy.[4]

Mendlesohn writes on the history of American religions and British and American science fiction and fantasy. Mendlesohn was the editor ofFoundation - The International Review of Science Fictionfrom 2002 to 2007, and served as its chair from 2004.[1]They then served as president of theInternational Association for the Fantastic in the Artsfrom 2008 to 2010. Mendlesohn used to be reviews editor ofQuaker Studies.[1]

Mendlesohn's best known work is the 2008 non-fiction bookRhetorics of Fantasy.[1]It proposes a classification of the fantasy genre using the manner in which the fantastic interacts with the real world. The four modes, or "rhetorics", Mendlesohn proposes are:portal-quest fantasy,where the protagonists travel from our world to a fantastical one;immersive fantasy,where only the fantastical world exists;intrusion fantasy,where the barriers between the fantasy and real worlds break down; andliminal fantasy,set in a world where certain elements are seen as irrational by the reader but are unquestioned by the characters.[6][7]

In 2016 Mendlesohn wroteChildren's Fantasy Literature: An Introductionwith collaborator Michael Levy. The book traces the development of children's fantasy from the 16th to the 21st centuries, covering events such as the collection of folk tales, the impact of world wars, and the emergence ofyoung adultfiction.[8][9]It was the first work to blend the history of the fantasy andchildren's literaturefields.[10]

Awards and nominations[edit]

In 2005, Mendlesohn won theHugo AwardforBest Related WorkforThe Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction,which edited with historianEdward James.James and Mendlesohn also editedThe Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature,released in 2012, and wroteA Short History of Fantasyin 2009.[11]Mendlesohn's bookRhetorics of Fantasywon theBSFA awardfor best non-fiction book in 2009; the book was also nominated for Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.[11]

In 2010, Mendlesohn was nominated twice for the Best Related Work Hugo, forThe Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children's and Teens' Science Fiction,and forOn Joanna Russ.[11]They received theScience Fiction Research Association'sClareson awardfor distinguished service in 2015.[1]

In 2017, they won theWorld Fantasy Special Award—ProfessionalforChildren's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction.[11]Their critical biography ofRobert Heinlein(see below) was nominated for the Best Related Work Hugo in 2020. It won theBSFA Awardfor non-fiction,[11]making them the only writer besidesPaul Kincaidto win this award twice.[1]

Science fiction conventions[edit]

Mendlesohn is an activevolunteer member of the administrationforscience fiction conventions.Among other events, they co-chaired ConCussion, the 2006Eastercon,with Simon Bradshaw;[12]and was director of program forAnticipation,the MontrealWorld Science Fiction Convention,in 2009;[13]Mendlesohn was on theconvention committeeofLoncon 3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention,but resigned as a protest over the announcement thatJonathan Rosswas to bemaster of ceremoniesfor the presentation of theHugo Awards;Mendlesohn remained division head for the convention's exhibits hall.[14]

Heinlein study[edit]

In 2017, Mendlesohn announced that a critical study ofRobert Heinleinwas to be published by thecrowdfundingpublisherUnbound.[15][16]As of October 2017the pledges had exceeded the target by 18%. The book was published in 2019, under the titleThe Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein.

Selected works[edit]

As author
  • The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein.(Unbound, 2019)
  • Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction(London: Cambridge University Press, 2016) with Michael Levy
  • A Short History of Fantasy(London: Middlesex University Press, 2009) withEdward James
  • The Inter-galactic Playground: A Critical Study of Children's and Teens' Science Fiction(Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy 14) (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009).ISBN9780786435036.
  • Rhetorics of Fantasy(Middletown, CT:Wesleyan University Press,2008)
  • Diana Wynne Jones: Children's Literature and the Fantastic Tradition(Oxford: Routledge, 2005)
  • Quaker Relief Work in the Spanish Civil War(Lewiston, N.Y.:Edwin Mellen Press,2002)
As editor
  • The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012) with Edward James
  • OnJoanna Russ(Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2009)
  • Glorifying Terrorism,Manufacturing Contempt: An Anthology of Original Science Fiction(London: Rackstraw Press, 2006)
  • Polder: A Festschrift ForJohn Cluteand Judith Clute(Baltimore: Old Earth Books, 2006)
  • The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003) with Edward James
  • The True Knowledge ofKen MacLeod(Reading: Science Fiction Foundation, 2003) with Andrew Butler
  • The Parliament of Dreams: Conferring onBabylon 5(Reading: Science Fiction Foundation, 1998) with Edward James

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefKincaid, Paul(26 October 2021)."Mendlesohn, Farah".InClute, John;Langford, David(eds.).The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction(4th ed.).Retrieved9 January2022.
  2. ^Mendlesohn, Farah(1997).Practicing Peace: Quaker Relief work in the Spanish Civil War(DPhil thesis).University of York.Retrieved29 May2021.
  3. ^Professor Farah Mendlesohn – Department of English, Communication, Film and Media – Anglia Ruskin UniversityArchived28 July 2012 atarchive.today
  4. ^ab"About",farahmendlesohn.Retrieved 6 Dec. 2021.
  5. ^"Staff Directory".Staffordshire University. Archived fromthe originalon 23 December 2016.
  6. ^Sawyer (2009),pp. 176–177.
  7. ^Clute, John(9 June 2008)."[Review:] Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn".Strange Horizons.
  8. ^McClelland (2016),p. 458.
  9. ^Greenwell (2017),pp. 404–405.
  10. ^Greenwell (2017),p. 404.
  11. ^abcde"Farah Mendlesohn Chronology".Science Fiction Awards Database.Locus Science Fiction Foundation.Retrieved9 January2022.
  12. ^History – Eastercon
  13. ^AnticipationSF: English – Committee
  14. ^"Hugo MC Withdraws"Locus Online3 March 2014
  15. ^Reisz, Matthew (25 October 2017)."Crowdfunding offers new opportunities to academic authors".Times Higher Education.Retrieved30 October2017.
  16. ^Mendlesohn, Farah (2019).Robert Heinlein.ISBN9781783526789.Retrieved30 October2017.{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help)

Source[edit]

External links[edit]

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