Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card
Card at Life, the Universe, & Everything in 2008
Born	(1951-08-24) August 24, 1951 (age 72) Richland, Washington, U.S.
Pen name	Frederick Bliss Brian Green P.Q. Gump Dinah Kirkham Scott Richards Byron Walley
Education	Brigham Young University (BA) University of Utah (MA)
Genre	Science fiction Fantasy Thriller Horror Historical fiction and biblical fiction LDS fiction
Notable works	Ender's Game series, The Tales of Alvin Maker
Notable awards	Hugo Award (Ender's Game, 1986) Hugo Award (Speaker for the Dead, 1987) Hugo Award (How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, 1991) Nebula Award (Ender's Game, 1986) Nebula Award (Speaker for the Dead, 1987) Nebula Award ("Eye for Eye", 1988)
Spouse	Kristine Allen
Children	5
Signature
Website
www.hatrack.com

Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).

Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.

Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.^[1]

Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.