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Martha Wells

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Martha Wells
Martha Wells, wearing a sleeveless dress, sitting at a table
Wells at the 2018 Texas Book Festival
Born (1964-09-01) September 1, 1964 (age 62)
Fort Worth, Texas, US
EducationTexas A&M University (BA)
OccupationWriter
Writing career
Period1993–present
GenresFantasy, science fiction
Websitemarthawells.com

Martha Wells (born September 1, 1964)[1] is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has published a number of science fiction and fantasy (SF/F) novels, young adult novels, media tie-ins, short stories, and nonfiction essays on SF/F subjects. Her novels have been translated into 30 languages.[2] Wells credits her academic background in anthropology for her interest in designing complex, realistically detailed societies within her novels.[3][4]

She has won five Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards and three Locus Awards for her science fiction series The Murderbot Diaries. Wells is also known for her fantasy series Ile-Rien and The Books of the Raksura.

Life

[edit]

Martha Wells was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology from Texas A&M University in 1986.[1][5] In college, she was involved in SF/F fandom and was chairman of AggieCon 17.[6] In May 2023, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.[7][8] She currently lives in College Station, Texas, with her husband.

Career

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1990s–2000s

[edit]

As an aspiring writer, Wells attended many local writing workshops and conventions, including the Turkey City Writer's Workshop taught by Bruce Sterling.[9]

Her first published novel The Element of Fire (1993) is also the first volume in the Ile-Rien series. It was a finalist for that year's Compton Crook Award and a runner-up for the 1994 Crawford Award.[10] Her second novel City of Bones (1995) is a stand-alone SF/F novel that received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, a positive review from Kirkus Reviews which concluded with the phrase “A bravura performance, to which no summary can do justice: compellingly plotted, stunningly original in concept, and glowing with utterly convincing detail”, and was on the 1995 Locus Recommended Reading List for fantasy. Her third novel and second volume in the Ile-Rien books The Death of the Necromancer (1998) was nominated for a Nebula Award.[11] The Element of Fire and The Death of the Necromancer are stand-alone novels that take place in the fictional country of Ile-Rien, which is the same universe for the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy: The Wizard Hunters (2003), The Ships of Air (2004), and The Gate of Gods (2005). Her fourth novel was a stand-alone fantasy titled Wheel of the Infinite (2000). In 2006, she released a revised edition of The Element of Fire.[12]

Her fantasy short stories include "The Potter's Daughter" in the anthology Elemental (2006), which was selected to appear in The Year's Best Fantasy #7 (2007).[13] This story features one of the main characters from The Element of Fire. Three prequel short stories to the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy were published in Black Gate Magazine in 2007[14][15] and 2008.[16]

She has written media tie-ins for the Stargate franchise, including:

  • Reliquary (2006) and Entanglement (2007) set in the Stargate Atlantis universe
  • "Archaeology 101", a short story based on Stargate SG-1 for issue No. 8 (Jan/Feb 2006) of the official Stargate Magazine[17]

2010s–present

[edit]
Wells at Worldcon 2026

Wells' longest-running fantasy series is The Books of the Raksura, which included five novels and two short fiction collections published by Night Shade Books: The Cloud Roads (2011), The Serpent Sea (2012), The Siren Depths (2012), Stories of the Raksura Vol 1: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud (2014), Stories of the Raksura Vol 2: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below (2015), The Edge of Worlds (2016), and The Harbors of the Sun (2017). The series was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2018,[18] and The Edge of Worlds was reviewed in The New York Times.[19]

Wells has written two young adult fantasy novels, Emilie and the Hollow World and Emilie and the Sky World, published by Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry in 2013 and 2014.[20] She has also written two Star Wars tie-ins, Empire and Rebellion: Razor's Edge (2013) and "Bespin Escape" The Empire Strikes Back: From a Certain Point of View (2020).[17] She was a consulting producer on Season 1 of Murderbot, an adaption of All Systems Red produced by Depth of Field for Apple TV.[21]

Wells was toastmaster of the World Fantasy Convention in 2017,[22] where she delivered a speech called "Unbury the Future"[23] about marginalized creators in the history of science fiction and fantasy, movies, and other media, and the deliberate suppression of the existence of those creators.

During 2018, Wells was the leader of the story team and lead writer for the new Dominaria expansion of the card game Magic: The Gathering.[24]

She also taught writing workshops at ArmadilloCon, WorldCon, ApolloCon, Writespace Houston,[25] and Clarion West[26], and was the Special Workshop Guest at FenCon in 2018.[27]

In 2017, Wells published All Systems Red, the first novella in her Murderbot Diaries series. The novella was number 8 on The New York Times Bestseller List for Audio in May 2018.[28] It was followed by the sequel novellas Artificial Condition (2018), Rogue Protocol (2018), and Exit Strategy (2018);[29] a short story, "Compulsory" (2018);[30] and a full novel sequel, Network Effect (2020), which made The New York Times Bestseller List for Novel.[31][32] On April 26, 2021, Tor.com publishing announced that they had signed a deal with Wells for six books, including three more in The Murderbot Diaries.[33][34]

In September 2022, Tor Books shared the cover of Witch King, the latest novel by Wells, which was released on May 30, 2023.[35] Tor describes the book as a story "of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose."[36] Its sequel, Queen Demon, was released on October 7, 2025.[37]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Work Award Category Result Ref.
1994 The Element of Fire Compton Crook Award —Shortlisted [10]
Crawford Award —Shortlisted [10]
1998 The Death of the Necromancer Nebula Award Novel Shortlisted [38]
2017 All Systems Red Nebula Award Novella Won [39]
Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award SF Novel Shortlisted [40]
2018 Alex Award —Won [41]
Hugo Award Novella Won [42]
Locus Award Novella Won [43]
Philip K. Dick Award —Shortlisted [44]
The Books of the Raksura Hugo Award Series Shortlisted [45]
Exit Strategy BSFA Award Shorter Fiction Shortlisted [46]
Artificial Condition Nebula Award Novella Shortlisted [47]
2019 Hugo Award Novella[a] Won [49]
Locus Award Novella[b] Won [50]
2020 Network Effect Nebula Award Novel Won [51]
2021 Hugo Award Novel Won [52]
Locus Award Science Fiction Novel Won [53]
The Murderbot Diaries Hugo Award Series Won [52]
2023 Witch King Dragon Awards Fantasy Novel Won [54]
Nebula Award Novel Shortlisted [55]
2024 Hugo Award Novel Shortlisted [56]
World Fantasy Award Novel Shortlisted [57]
Locus Award Fantasy Novel Won [58]
System Collapse Locus Award Science Fiction Novel Won [58]
2026 "Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy" Hugo Award Novelette Finalist [59]
Queen Demon Locus Award Fantasy Novel Shortlisted [60]
— Ignyte Award Ember Award Won [61]
  • Martha Wells declined a Nebula finalist slot in the Novella category for Fugitive Telemetry in the 2021 Nebula Awards,[62] giving the reason that The Murderbot Diaries had already won two Nebulas (for Novella and Novel) and that the spot would be of more benefit to another writer. Due to a three-way tie for sixth place, declining allowed two additional novellas a spot on the 2021 ballot.[63] Wells also declined a Hugo Nomination for Fugitive Telemetry that year.[64]
  • Martha Wells declined a Nebula finalist slot and a Hugo finalist slot in the Novel category for System Collapse in 2024.[65][66]
  • On October 19, 2022, she became a member of the Texas Literary Hall of Fame.[67]

Year-end lists

[edit]
Year Publication Work Category Result Ref
1994 Locus Recommended List The Element of Fire First Novel 12 [11]
1996 City of Bones Fantasy Novel 10 [11]
2018 New York Times All Systems Red Bestseller List for Audio Fiction 8 [28]
2020 Network Effect Bestseller List — [32]

Foreign translation

[edit]
Year Work Award Category Result Ref.
2002 The Death of the Necromancer (French edition) Prix Imaginales Award Foreign Novel Shortlisted [citation needed]
2004 The Element of Fire (French edition) Foreign Novel Shortlisted [citation needed]
2020 Sistemas críticos (translated by Carla Bataller Estruch) Premio Ignotus Foreign Short Story Won [68]
Journal d’un AssaSynth, volumes 1–4 (translated by Mathilde Montier) Grand prix de l'Imaginaire Foreign Novel Shortlisted [69]
The Murderbot Diaries (German edition) Kurd Laßwitz Award Foreign Novel Shortlisted [70]
The Murderbot Diaries Omnibus (translated by Frank Böhmert) Kurd Laßwitz Award Best Translation Shortlisted [70]
Journal d’un AssaSynth, volumes 1–4 (translated by Mathilde Montier) Prix Bob Morane Foreign Novel Won [71]
2022 The Murderbot Diaries, volumes 1–4 (translated by Naoya Nakahara) Seiun Award Best Translated Novel Shortlisted [72]
Network Effect (translated by Frank Böhmert) Kurd Laßwitz Award Best Translation Shortlisted [73]
Network Effect (translated by Naoya Nakahara) Seiun Award Best Translated Long Work Shortlisted [74]

Published works

[edit]

Stand-alone fantasy novels

[edit]
  • City of Bones (1995, ISBN 0-312-85686-5)
  • Wheel of the Infinite (2000, ISBN 0-380-97335-9)

The Rising World

[edit]
  1. Witch King (2023, ISBN 978-1250826794)
  2. Queen Demon (2025, ISBN 978-1250826916)

Ile-Rien

[edit]

Books of the Raksura

[edit]
Short stories
  • "The Forest Boy" (2009) – prequel to The Cloud Roads. In the collection Stories of the Raksura Vol 1.
  • "The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-ship Escarpment" (2011) – set in the same world. In the collection Stories of the Raksura Vol 2.
  • "Adaptation" (2012) – prequel to The Cloud Roads. In the collection Stories of the Raksura Vol 1.
  • "Mimesis" (2013) – in the anthology The Other Half of the Sky (2013, ISBN 9781936460441) and in the collection Stories of the Raksura Vol 2.
  • "Trading Lesson" (2013) – in the collection Stories of the Raksura Vol 1
  • "Birthright" (2017) – in the anthology Mech: Age of Steel (2013, ISBN 9781941987858)

Emilie

[edit]

Young-adult fantasy

Star Wars

[edit]

Stargate universe

[edit]

The Murderbot Diaries

[edit]

Science fiction series:

Other short stories

[edit]
  • "Thorns" (1995, Realms of Fantasy)
  • "Bad Medicine" (1997, Realms of Fantasy)
  • "Wolf Night" (2006, Lone Star Stories[83])
  • "Revenants" (2012, in the anthology Tales of the Emerald Serpent)
  • "Soul of Fire" (2014, in the anthology Tales of the Emerald Serpent II: A Knight in the Silk Purse)
  • "The Dark Gates" (2015, in the anthology The Gods of Lovecraft)
  • "Obsolescence" Take Us to a Better Place (2020, ISBN 978-159591-028-8)
  • "The Salt Witch" (2020, Uncanny Magazine)
  • “Data Ghost” (2025, Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology)[84]

Non-fiction

[edit]
  • "Don't Make Me Tongue You: John Crichton and D'Argo and the Dysfunctional Buddy Relationship" (2005, Farscape Forever, ISBN 1-932100-61-X)
  • "Neville Longbottom: the Hero with a Thousand Faces" (2006, Mapping the World of Harry Potter, ISBN 1-932100-59-8)
  • "Donna Noble Saves the Universe" (2012, Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who, ISBN 9781935234128)
  • "A Life Less Ordinary: The Environment, Magic Systems, and Non-Humans" (2014, A Kobold Guide to Magic, ISBN 978-1936781287)
  • "The Ups and Downs of a Long Career" (2019, The Writer's Book of Doubt, ISBN 978-0648334224)

Notes

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  1. ↑ Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy also made the preliminary shortlist but Wells declined the nominations.[48]
  2. ↑ Rogue Protocol was also shortlisted for the award.[50]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 "Martha Wells: Unburied Future". Locus Online. August 13, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Bibliography". marthawells.com. Martha Wells. Retrieved September 6, 2026.
  3. ↑ Farrell, Shaun. "Shaun Farrell interviews Martha Wells for Far Sector SFFH March 2006". Far Sector. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  4. ↑ Vincent, Jérôme (September 20, 2018). "Interview Martha Wells (VO)". actusf.com.
  5. ↑ Russell, Joshua (August 27, 2018). "Texas A&M Graduate Wins Prestigious Science Fiction Award". Texas A&M Stories. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  6. ↑ "AggieCon XVII Program exerpt". cepheids.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Lots of Travel, plus Cancer". marthawells.dreamwidth.org. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  8. ↑ Herbst, Meghan (November 26, 2024). "How Murderbot Saved Martha Wells' Life". Wired. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  9. ↑ Re:Fiction (September 19, 2017). "Interview with Martha Wells". Re:Fiction. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 Sorg, Arley. "Immortal Trauma: A Conversation with Martha Wells". Clarkesworld Magazine. Retrieved 2026-07-04.
  11. 1 2 3 "The Locus Index to SF Awards Index". Locus. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  12. ↑ "The Element of Fire by Martha Wells". official site. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  13. ↑ Hartwell, David G.; Cramer, Kathryn, eds. (2007). Year's best fantasy 7 (1st ed.). San Francisco: Tachyon Publications. ISBN 9781892391506. OCLC 153153135.
  14. ↑ "Table of Contents". Black Gate (10).
  15. ↑ "Table of Contents". Black Gate (11).
  16. ↑ "Table of Contents". Black Gate (12).
  17. 1 2 "Media Tie-ins". MarthaWells.com.
  18. ↑ "Press Release: WorldCon 76 Announces 2018 Hugo Award Finalists" (Press release).
  19. ↑ Jemisin, N. K. (April 19, 2016). "Otherworldy: The Latest in Science Fiction and Fantasy". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Young Adult Fantasy by Martha Wells". MarthaWells.com.
  21. ↑ "Murderbot (TV series 2025 - TV MA)". IMDB. October 7, 2026. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  22. ↑ "World Fantasy 2017 – An annual gathering and reunion of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of light and dark fantasy art and literature". wfc2017.org. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  23. ↑ "'Unbury the Future': Martha Wells' Full Speech from the 2017 World Fantasy Awards". November 7, 2017.
  24. ↑ Whitbrook, James. "Scifi Author Martha Wells Is Bringing Magic: The Gathering Back to Where It All Began". io9. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Writers' Family Reunion". Writespace Writing Center. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018.
  26. ↑ "The 2025 Summer Workshop Instructors & Format". Clarion West. July 24, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2026.
  27. ↑ "FenCon XV – September 21–23, 2018". www.fencon.org.
  28. 1 2 "Audio Fiction Books Bestsellers". The New York Times. May 1, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Ghosts, Robots, and Monsters: A Round-up of New Sci-Fi and Fantasy". The New York Times. November 30, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  30. ↑ "The Future of Work: 'Compulsory' by Martha Wells". Wired. December 17, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  31. ↑ Harris, Lee (March 11, 2019). "Murderbot Will Return in...Network Effect". Tor.com. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
  32. 1 2 "Network Effect: A Murderbot Novel by Martha Wells". www.marthawells.com. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  33. ↑ Templeton, Molly (April 26, 2021). "Tordotcom Publishing Acquires Six Martha Wells Books—Including Three Murderbot Diaries". Tor.com. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  34. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (April 25, 2021). "How 'Murderbot Diaries' author Martha Wells overcame a career in crisis to create the killer series". Orange County Register. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  35. ↑ Brown, Alex (May 31, 2023). "A Lavish, Crunchy Fantasy: Witch King by Martha Wells". Tor.com. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  36. ↑ "Revealing Witch King, Murderbot Author Martha Wells' New Epic Fantasy". Tor.com. September 21, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Queen Demon". Tor Publishing Group. October 2, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2025.
  38. ↑ "1998 Nebula Awards" – via nebulas.sfwa.org.
  39. ↑ "All Systems Red". Nebula Awards. Archived from the original on May 20, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018 – via nebulas.sfwa.org.
  40. ↑ "2017 Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Winners". Locus. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  41. ↑ "American Library Association announces 2018 youth media award winners". American Library Association. February 19, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  42. ↑ "2018 Hugo Awards". Hugo Awards. March 15, 2018. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018 – via thehugoawards.org.
  43. ↑ "2018 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 23, 2018.
  44. ↑ "Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Announced".
  45. ↑ "2018 Hugo and Campbell Award Finalists". Locus. March 31, 2018.
  46. ↑ "Announcing the 2018 BSFA Award Winners". Reactor. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
  47. ↑ "Announcing the 2018 Nebula Award Finalists". Tor.com. February 20, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  48. ↑ "2019 Hugo Results" (PDF).
  49. ↑ "2019 Hugo Award Finalists Announced". Tor.com. April 2, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  50. 1 2 "2019 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 29, 2019.
  51. ↑ "2020 Nebula Award Winners". Locus. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  52. 1 2 "Martha Wells Awards". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  53. ↑ "2021 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 26, 2021.
  54. ↑ "2023 Dragon Awards". September 3, 2023 – via file770.com.
  55. ↑ "2023 Nebula Award Winners". Locus. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  56. ↑ "2024 Hugo Award Finalists". March 29, 2024 – via glasgow2024.org.
  57. ↑ "2024 World Fantasy Awards". January 4, 2024 – via wfc2024.org.
  58. 1 2 "2024 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 22, 2024.
  59. ↑ "2026 Hugo, Lodestar & Astounding Awards Winners". Locus. August 31, 2026. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
  60. ↑ "2026 Locus Awards Top Ten Finalists". Locus. April 13, 2026. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  61. ↑ "2026 Ignyte Awards Winners". Locus. October 5, 2026. Retrieved October 11, 2026.
  62. ↑ "SFWA Announces Nebula Award Finalists". March 8, 2022.
  63. ↑ "The Nebula Nomination Decline".
  64. ↑ "2022 Hugo, Lodestar and Astounding Awards" (PDF).
  65. ↑ "SFWA Announces the Finalists for the 59th Nebula Awards". March 15, 2024 – via sfwa.org.
  66. ↑ "2024 Hugo Award Finalists". March 29, 2024 – via glasgow2024.org.
  67. ↑ "Texas Literary Hall of Fame". TCU Library. October 19, 2022.
  68. ↑ "Ignotus 2020 Awards for the best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror in Spain". File770. November 16, 2020.
  69. ↑ "Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire 2020".
  70. 1 2 "2020 Kurd Laßwitz Preis".
  71. ↑ "Prix Bob Morane 2020". File770. September 2020.
  72. ↑ "2020 Seiun Awards Nominees". Locus. May 7, 2020.
  73. ↑ "Kurd Laßwitz Preis 2022 Finalists". March 20, 2022.
  74. ↑ "2022 Seiun Award Nominees". File770. May 15, 2022.
  75. ↑ Holloway, Samantha. "Book review by Samantha Holloway: All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries)". New York Journal of Books. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  76. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: All Systems Red by Martha Wells". Publishers Weekly. May 2, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  77. ↑ Sheehan, Jason (January 27, 2019). "Sulky, Cynical 'Murderbot' Is One of Sci-Fi's Most Human Characters". NPR. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  78. ↑ Wells, Martha. "The Future of Work: Compulsory". Wired. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  79. ↑ Wells, Martha (April 19, 2021). "Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory". TOR.com. TOR. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  80. ↑ Wells, Martha. "System Collapse". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  81. ↑ Wells, Martha (July 10, 2025). "Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy". reactormag.com. TOR. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  82. ↑ Wells, Martha. "Platform Decay". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved May 5, 2026.
  83. ↑ Wells, Martha. "Wolf Night". Lone Star Stories. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  84. ↑ "Read This: Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology". Erica Ruppert's NerdGoblin.com. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
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