Mary Robinette Kowal is a highly accomplished American author, renowned for her work in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, romance, regency, and fiction. She is best known for her Glamourist Histories series, which has garnered significant critical acclaim and popularity among readers. Born as Mary Robinette Harrison in Raleigh, North Carolina, Kowal completed her graduation from the University of East Carolina, earning a degree in Art Education with a minor in theatre.
Before becoming a full-time author, Kowal enjoyed a successful career as a professional puppeteer and voice actor. She has performed for various productions, including LazzyTown CBS, the Puppetry Arts Center, and Jim Hensen Pictures. Her exceptional skills in puppetry have earned her two UNIMA USA Citations for Excellence, the highest award a puppeteer in America can achieve. In addition to her work as a puppeteer, Kowal is also an accomplished voice actor, lending her voice to audiobooks for several authors, including Cory Doctorow, John Scalzi, Seanan McGuire, and Kage Baker.
As an author, Kowal has received numerous accolades for her work. She won the 2008 Campbell Award for Best New Writer and the Hugo Award in 2011 for her short story For Want of a Nail. Her stories have been featured in several popular literary magazines, including Asimov's, Tablebones Magazine, Apex Digest, and Strange Horizons, and have even appeared in a few Best of the Year anthologies. Kowal's novel Calculating Stars is one of only eighteen novels to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards in a single year.
Kowal is also a member of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses, which provides valuable insights and advice to aspiring writers. She currently lives in Chicago with her husband, Rob, and continues to write and create captivating stories that resonate with readers and critics alike.
Glamourist Histories Books
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Shades of Milk and Honey
2010
2
Glamour in Glass
2012
3
Without a Summer
2013
4
Valour and Vanity
2014
5
Of Noble Family
2015
Lady Astronaut Books (with C.C. Finlay)
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Lady Astronaut of Mars
2012
2
The Calculating Stars
2018
3
The Fated Sky
2018
4
Articulated Restraint
2019
5
The Relentless Moon
2020
Lady Astronaut Books
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Lady Astronaut of Mars
2012
2
The Calculating Stars
2018
3
The Fated Sky
2018
4
Articulated Restraint
2019
5
The Relentless Moon
2020
6
In the Moon's House
2024
7
The Martian Contingency
2025
Lady Astronaut Series in Chronological Order
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
The Calculating Stars
2018
2
Articulated Restraint
2019
3
The Fated Sky
2018
4
The Relentless Moon
2020
5
The Martian Contingency
2025
6
The Lady Astronaut of Mars
2012
7
In the Moon's House
2024
Standalone Novels
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Ghost Talkers
2016
2
Katwalk
2014
3
The Original (With: Brandon Sanderson)
2020
4
The Spare Man
2022
5
The Original
2020
Short Stories/Novellas
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Evil Robot Monkey
2008
2
First Flight
2009
3
For Want of a Nail
2011
4
Kiss Me Twice
2012
5
A Fire in the Heavens
2014
6
The Escapement of Blackledge
2016
7
Forest of Memory
2016
8
Marginalia
2024
Children's Books
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Molly on the Moon
2022
Short Story Collections
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Scenting the Dark and Other Stories
2009
2
Word Puppets
2015
Clockwork Phoenix Books
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Clockwork Phoenix (By: Tanith Lee, John C. Wright, Deborah Biancotti, Laird Barron, Mike Allen, Vandana Singh, Catherynne M. Valente, Cat Rambo, Cat Sparks, John Grant, Ekaterina Sedia, Leah Bobet, Erin Hoffman, Michael J. DeLuca, Jennifer Crow, C.S. MacCath, David Sandner, Marie Brennan, Joanna Galbraith)
2008
2
Clockwork Phoenix 2 (With: Tanith Lee, Steve Rasnic Tem, Saladin Ahmed, Forrest Aguirre, Mike Allen, Catherynne M. Valente, Claude Lalumière, Kelly Barnhill, Gemma Files, Ian McHugh, Leah Bobet, Barbara Krasnoff, Marie Brennan, Ann Leckie, Joanna Galbraith, Stephen J. Barringer)
2009
3
Clockwork Phoenix 3: New Tales of Beauty and Strangeness (By: Tanith Lee, John C. Wright, Gregory Frost, Michael M. Jones, Mike Allen, Cat Rambo, John Grant, Kenneth Schneyer, Shweta Narayan, C.S.E. Cooney, Gemma Files, Georgina Bruce, Marie Brennan, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Tori Truslow, S.J. Hirons)
2010
4
Clockwork Phoenix 4 (By: Tanith Lee, Richard Parks, A.C. Wise, Mike Allen, Yves Meynard, Cat Rambo, Kenneth Schneyer, Gemma Files, Alisa Alering, Ian McHugh, Benjanun Sriduangkaew, Shira Lipkin, Barbara Krasnoff, Patricia Russo, Camille Alexa, Marie Brennan, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Yukimi Ogawa, Corinne Duyvis)
2013
5
Clockwork Phoenix 5 (By: Alex Dally MacFarlane, A.C. Wise, Mike Allen, Keffy R.M. Kehrli, Rich Larson, Cassandra Khaw, C.S.E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez, Benjanun Sriduangkaew, Sonya Taaffe, Beth Cato, Barbara Krasnoff, Patricia Russo, Gray Rinehart, Marie Brennan, Sam Fleming, Shveta Thakrar, Holly Heisey, Jason Kimble, Rachael L. Jones, Rob Cameron, Sunil Patel)
2016
METAtropolis Books
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
METAtropolis
2008
2
The Dawn of Uncivilization
2009
3
METAtropolis: Cascadia
2010
4
A Symmetry of Serpents and Doves
2014
5
Byways
2014
6
METAtropolis:The Wings We Dare Aspire
2014
7
Stochasticity
2016
8
Tensegrity
2016
Mary Robinette Kowal Anthologies
#
Title
Year
Goodreads
Amazon
1
Prime Codex
2007
2
Science Fiction: The Best of the Year, 2008 Edition
2008
3
Evil Robot Monkey
2008
4
The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009
2008
5
The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 22
2008
6
Clockwork Phoenix 2
2009
7
The Hugo Award Showcase: 2010 Volume
2010
8
Realms 2
2010
9
Asimov's Science Fiction, September 2010
2010
10
The Best of Talebones
2010
11
Apex Magazine #10, March 2010
2010
12
2020 Visions
2010
13
The Book of Apex: Volume 2 of Apex Magazine
2010
14
Robots: The Recent A.I.
2012
15
The Mammoth Book of Steampunk
2012
16
Apex Magazine #20, January 2011
2011
17
Apex Magazine - October 2012
2012
18
The Year's Top Short SF Novels 2
2012
19
The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination
2013
20
The Book of Apex: Volume 4
2013
21
Coming Soon Enough Six Tales of Technology's Future
2014
22
Athena's Daughters, Vol. 1
2014
23
Shadows Beneath
2014
24
The Many Tortures of Anthony Cardno
2014
25
Time Travel: Recent Trips
2014
26
You're Not Alone
2014
27
Unbound
2016
28
Women in Practical Armor
2016
29
Whitehall - Season One Volume One
2016
30
Whitehall - Season One Volume Two
2016
31
Shimmer Magazine 35
2017
32
Forever Magazine Issue 13
2016
33
Futurescapes: Cities of Empowerment
2017
34
The Long List Anthology Volume 3
2017
35
Shimmer 2017: The Collected Stories
2017
36
Robots vs. Fairies
2018
37
Futurescapes
2017
38
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction July/August 2018
2018
39
The Long List Anthology Volume 3: More Stories From the Hugo Award Nomination List
2017
40
Worlds Seen in Passing
2018
41
The Long List Anthology Volume 4
2018
42
The Best of Uncanny
2019
43
Shimmer: The Best Of
2020
44
Worlds Seen in Passing: Ten Years of Tor.com Short Fiction
2018
45
Escape Pod
2020
46
The Long List Anthology Volume 4: More Stories From the Hugo Award Nomination List
2018
47
The Long List Anthology, Volume 6
2020
48
Relics, Wrecks and Ruins
2021
49
The Long List Anthology Volume 8
2022
50
Uncanny Magazine Issue 50: January-February 2023
2023
51
Life Beyond Us
2023
52
Uncanny Magazine Issue 56: January/February 2024
2024
53
The Long List Anthology Volume 8: More Stories From the Hugo Award Nomination List