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Mary Doria Russell has been called one of the most versatile writers in contemporary American literature. Her novels are critically acclaimed, commercial successes. They are also studied in literature, theology and history courses in colleges and universities across the United States. Mary’s guest lectures have proved popular from New Zealand to Germany as well as in the U.S. and Canada.
Her debut novel, The Sparrow, is considered a classic of speculative fiction, combining elements of First Contact sci fi and a tense courtroom drama. Its sequel, Children of God, is a sweeping three-generation family saga. Through the voices of unforgettable characters, these novels raise respectful but challenging fundamental questions about religion and faith. Together, the books have won eight regional, national and international awards. They have also been optioned for Hollywood movies starring Antonio Banderas and Brad Pitt, and they have inspired both a rock opera and a full-scale bel canto opera.
Next, Russell turned to 20th century history. A Thread of Grace is the story of the Jewish underground near Genoa during the Nazi occupation of Italy. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, this thriller “moves swiftly, with impressive authority, jostling dialog, vibrant personalities and meticulous, unexpected historical detail. The intensity and intimacy of Russell’s storytelling, her sharp character writing and fierce sense of humor bring fresh immediacy to this riveting WWII saga,” according to Publisher’s Weekly.
Her fourth novel, Dreamers of the Day, is both a romance and a disturbingly relevant political novel about the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference, when Winston Churchill, T.E. Lawrence and Gertrude Bell invented the modern Middle East. The Washington Post Book World called it “marvelous and rewarding… a stirring story of personal awakening set against the background of a crucial moment in modern history.” Currently in contention for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize, Dreamers of the Day is also being adapted for the stage by Going to Tahiti Productions in New York City.
As a novelist, Mary is known for her exacting research — no surprise, when you know that she holds a Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from the University of Michigan. Before leaving Academe to write, Mary taught human gross anatomy at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry. That background that will come in handy for her fifth novel, Eight to Five, Against, a murder mystery set in Dodge City in 1878, when the unlikely but enduring friendship between Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday began, four years before the famous shoot-out at the O.K. Corral.
“It’s about vice, bigotry, violence, and living with a terminal disease,” Russell says. “And Doc Holliday is going to break your heart.” Eight to Five, Against will be published May 3, 2011.
Praise
Brilliant… Powerful… Russell is an outstanding natural storyteller whose remarkable wit, erudition, and dramatic skills keep us turning the pages in excitement and anticipation.
— San Francisco Chronicle
In clean effortless prose, with captivating flashes of wit, Mary Doria Russell creates memorable characters who navigate the world of exciting ideas and disturbing moral issues without ever losing their humanity or humor.
— Bookwatch
Russell shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense.
— USA Today
Psychological insight and impassioned lyricism, passed through a sieve of diamond-clear prose.
— Time Out
For most writers, perhaps, the best — or at any rate, the safest — policy is to heed the oft-repeated injunction of creative writing teachers and write about what they know. But there are realms of imagination and literature beyond the limitations of this approach, and for some truly creative writers, creation begins with imagining what they do not know. Russell is a writer who writes to explore. — The Los Angeles Times
Awards
The Sparrow
Kurd Lasswitz Preis (German Nebula)
2001 Winner
Spectrum Classics, Hall of Fame
2001 Winner
John W. Campbell Award for the Best New Writer in Science Fiction
1998 Winner
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
1998 Nominee
Arthur C. Clarke Prize, Best Novel
1997 Winner
British Science Fiction Association, Best Novel
1997 Winner
James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Prize
1997 Winner
Book-of-the-Month Club First Fiction Award
1996 Finalist
Children of God
Spectrum Classics, Hall of Fame
2001 Winner
American Library Association Readers Choice Award
1999 Winner
Hugo Award
1999 Finalist
The Cleveland Arts Prize for Literature
1998 Winner
A Thread of Grace
Pulitzer Prize
2005 Nominee
Dreamers of the Day
IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards
2009 Nominee (winner to be announced in June, 2010)
Honors
2010 Glenbard East High School Alumni Hall of Fame
2009 Glenbard East High School inaugurates the Mary Doria Russell Chapter
of the National English Honor Society, Lombard IL
2008 COSE Arts Business and Innovation Award Finalist
2005 Northern Ohio Live Award of Achievement
Finalist, Writing category
Asteroid (12374) 194JG9 named “Rakhat” in tribute to The Sparrow
by its discoverer C.P. de Saint-Aignan at Palomar.
LeMoyne College, Syracuse NY
2000 Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters
Crain’s Cleveland Business
Woman of Influence 2000
