Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Elizabeth Moon Papers
Date(s)
- 1989-2010 (Creation)
Extent
12 Boxes
Name of creator
Biographical history
Elizabeth Moon, born Susan Elizabeth Norris, is a Texas native and a former Marine. Born in 1945, she grew up in McAllen, TX. Moon attended Rice University in Houston, where she obtained a B.A. in History in 1968; she joined the U.S. Marine Corps in that year and rose to the rank of 1st Lieutenant.
Her professional writing career was launched in 1986, with the publication of the stories "Bargains" in the Sword and Sorceress III anthology and "ABCs in Zero-G" in Analog Science Fiction. Moon published her first novel, the fantasy Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, in 1988; it won the 1989 Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. That novel was the first entry Moon's "Paksenarrion" series, which includes 10 novels and several shorter works. The most recent work in the series was the 2014 novel Crown of Renewal.
Outside the fantasy genre, Moon has built a popular and critically acclaimed career in science fiction, particularly with her military-based science fiction and space operas. Among these are her Familias Regnant 7-novel space opera series (the first, Hunting Party, was released in 1993), and the Vatta's Universe series (7 novels so far from 2003 through 2018). Between 1990-1993, Moon co-wrote with Anne McCaffrey three novels in the Planet Pirates space opera series - Sassinak, The Death of Sleep, and Generation Warriors.
Moon's 1996 SF novel Remnant Population was nominated for the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and is unusual in the genre for featuring an elderly woman as the story's heroine. Additionally, her stand-alone novel The Speed of Dark was a finalist for the 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award and won the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novel; the book is notable for its inclusion of an autistic protagonist, still rare in SF. In 2007 Moon was awarded the Robert A. Heinlein Award, which honors "outstanding published works in hard science fiction or technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space.”
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The collection consists primarily of manuscript material and publication proofs, with the bulk of the material dating circa 1995-2005.
System of arrangement
Arrangement for manuscripts is alphabetical by title; other material is arranged as received.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
Physical access
These materials are stored offsite and require additional time for retrieval.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Donation
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Archivist's note
Finding Aid Authors: Cait Coker.
Archivist's note
© Copyright 2011 Cushing Library. All rights reserved.