Jeff Vandermeer

Jeff VanderMeer’s novella ‘The Transformation of Martin Lake’ won the World Fantasy Award in 2000, establishing his innovative voice in speculative fiction. This followed early recognition with the Rhysling Award in 1994 for his poem ‘Flight Is for Those Who Have Not Yet Crossed Over’ and professional development at the Clarion Writers Workshop in 1992. His early contributions included ‘The Book of Frog’ (1989) and ‘The Book of Lost Places’ (1996), leading to the introduction of his acclaimed imaginary city of Ambergris in the 2001 short-story collection ‘City of Saints and Madmen’. VanderMeer continued to build the Ambergris universe with subsequent novels ‘Shriek: An Afterword’ (2006) and ‘Finch’ (2009), the latter earning a Nebula Award finalist nod.

He also authored ‘Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction’, which received a BSFA Award in 2013 and a Locus Award in 2014, and has educated aspiring writers through programs such as Shared Worlds and the Clarion Workshop.