Sean McMullen
Sean Christopher McMullen is an Australian science fiction and fantasy author.
Biography
McMullen is one of Australia's leading science-fiction and fantasy authors and has written over seventy stories and seventeen books. In 2011, his novelette "Eight Miles" was the runner-up in the Hugo Awards, and has won the Analog Reader's Award twice, for "Ninety Thousand Horses" in 2013 and "Tower of Wings" in 2002.His first novel was originally published in Australia as two separate books, Voices in the Light and Mirrorsun Rising. His first internationally published novel was "The Centurion's Empire", which featured a time machine built during the Roman Empire. After the success of "The Centurion's Empire", his first two novels were rewritten and combined for a publication in the US as Souls in the Great Machine, which, in turn, became the first volume of the Greatwinter trilogy, a unique mix of the generally anti-genres Steampunk and Cyberpunk. This was followed by the "Moonworlds" series, which saw McMullen blend science and romance in a fantasy setting. His most recent series is the "Century War" series for young adult readers, set in Melbourne in 1901.
Sean's non-fiction work includes the non-fiction , a history of Australian science fiction jointly written with Van Ikin and Russell Blackford. He also co-wrote the first histories of Australian fantasy and horror with Steven Paulsen.
McMullen has a degree in physics and history from Melbourne University, a postgraduate degree in library and information science, and a PhD in Medieval Literature. He was a professional musician in the 1970s, concentrating on singing and guitar playing. Sean has recently retired from a career in scientific computing to concentrate on his literary work. He is s a fourth dan black belt in karate, teaching at the Melbourne University Karate club. He is the father of C. S. McMullen, an Australian speculative fiction author.
Novels
Greatwinter- Souls in the Great Machine
- The Miocene Arrow
- Eyes of the Calculor
- Voyage of the Shadowmoon
- Glass Dragons
- Voidfarer
- The Time Engine
- Voices in the Light
- Mirrorsun Rising
- The Centurion's Empire
- The Ancient Hero
- Before the Storm
Collections
- Call to the Edge
- Walking to the Moon
- Ghosts of Engines Past
- Colours of the Soul
Non-fiction
- The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction & Fantasy
Short fiction
- "At the Focus" in Eidolon Spring 1990
- "The Deciad" in Call to the Edge
- "The Colors of the Masters" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction March 1988
- "While the Gate Is Open" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction February 1990
- "Alone in His Chariot" in Eidolon Summer 1991
- "The Dominant Style" in Aurealis No. 4
- "The Eyes of the Green Lancer" in Call to the Edge
- "Destroyer of Illusions" in Call to the Edge
- "The Porphyric Plague" in Intimate Armageddons
- "Pax Romana" in Call to the Edge
- "The Devils of Langenhagen" in Call to the Edge
- "An Empty Wheelhouse" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact January 1992
- "Souls in the Great Machine" in Universe 2
- "The Glasken Chronicles" in Eidolon Autumn 1992
- "Pacing the Nightmare" in Interzone May 1992
- "A Greater Vision" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact October 1992
- "The Way to Greece" in Eidolon Winter 1993
- "Charon's Anchor" in Aurealis No. 12
- "The Miocene Arrow" in Alien Shores: An Anthology of Australian Science Fiction
- "The Blondefire Genome" in The Lottery: Nine Science Fiction Stories
- "A Ring of Green Fire" in Interzone November 1994
- "Lucky Jonglar" in Dream Weavers
- "The Weakest Link" in Dream Weavers
- "Slow Famine" in Interzone May 1996
- "Queen of Soulmates" in Dreaming Down-Under
- "Chronicler" in Fantastic Worlds
- "Rule of the People" in Aurealis #20/21,
- "Souls in the Great machine" an excerpt in The Centurion's Empire
- "New Words of Power" in Interzone August 1999
- "Colours of the Soul" in Interzone February 2000
- "Unthinkable" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact June 2000
- "Mask of Terminus" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact October 2000
- "Voice of Steel"
- "Tower of Wings" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact December 2001
- "SVYAGATOR" in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine No. 3
- "Walk to the Full Moon" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction December 2002
- "The Cascade" in Agog! Smashing Stories
- "The Empire of the Willing" in Future Washington
- "The Engines of Arcadia" in Futureshocks
- "The Twilight Year" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction January 2008
- "The Constant Past" in Dreaming Again
- "The Spiral Briar" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction April–May 2009
- "The Art of the Dragon" in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction August–September 2009
- "Mother of Champions" in "Interzone" No. 222
- "Eight Miles" in "Analog" September 2010
- "Enigma" in "Analog" Jan/Feb 2010
- "Spacebook" in "Anywhere But Earth" 2011
- "Ninety Thousand Horses" in "Analog" Jan/Feb 2012
- "Electrica" in "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction" March/April 2012
- "Steamgothic" in "Interzone" July/August 2012
- "Hard Cases" in Light Touch Paper, Stand Clear'' 2012
- "The First Boat" in "Aurealis" March 2012
- "Running Invisible" in "Trust Me Too" 2012
- "Culverelle" in "The Feathered Edge" 2012
- "Lost Faces" in "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction" March/April 2013
- "The Firewall and the Door" in "Analog" March 2013
- "Acts of Chivaltry" in "Tales of Australia – Great Southern Land" 2013
- "Technarion" in "Interzone" Sept/Oct 2013
Essays
- Beyond Our Shores in Eidolon Winter 1990
- The High Brick Wall in Eidolon Spring 1990
- Not in Print but Worth Millions in Eidolon Winter 1991
- Book Review in Aurealis No. 5
- Going Commercial and Becoming Professional in Eidolon Spring 1991
- Australian SF Art Turns 50 in Eidolon Summer 1992
- Far from Void: The History of Australian SF Magazines in Aurealis #7
- Skirting the Frontier in Eidolon Autumn 1992
- Showcase or Leading Edge: Australian SF Anthologies 1968–1990 in Aurealis #9,
- From Science Fantasy to Galileo in Eidolon Spring 1992
- Australian Content: The State of Quarantine in Eidolon Summer 1993
- Australian Content: Suffering for Someone Else's Art in Eidolon Autumn 1993
- Protection, Liberation and the Cold, Dangerous Universe: The Great Australian SF Renaissance in Aurealis #11,
- No Science Fiction Please, We're Australian in Eidolon Winter 1993
- The Quest for Australian Fantasy in Aurealis No. 13,
- Australian Content: The Great Transition in Eidolon Winter 1994
- The Hunt for Australian Horror Fiction in Aurealis No. 14
- A History of Australian Horror in Bonescribes: Year's Best Australian Horror: 1995
- SF in Australia in Locus January 1995
- Australian Content: Recognition Australian Style in Eidolon Summer 1995
- George Turner and the Nova Mob in Eidolon, Issue 25/26 Spring 1997
- The Road to 1996 in Nebula Awards 32
- The British Benchmark in Interzone August 1999
- Time Travel, Times Scapes, and Timescape in The New York Review of Science Fiction August 2000,
- 25 in Interzone September–October 2007
Awards
2011 Runner-up, Best Novelette – "Eight Miles"
Ditmar Awards
1991 Best Australian Short Fiction – While the Gate is Open
1992 Best Short Fiction – Alone in His Chariot; William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism – Going Commercial
1993 William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism – Australian SF Art Turns 50
1996 Best Australian Long Fiction – Mirrorsun Rising; William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism – The Hunt for Australian Horror Fiction
1998 William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism – Fantasy in Australia
2000 William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism – Strange Constellations
Aurealis Awards
1998 Best Novel – The Centurion's Empire
2001 Best Novel – The Miocene Arrow
2003 Best Short Story -Walk to the Moon
Analog Reader's Award
2002 Best Novellette – Tower of Wings
2013 Best Novellette – Ninety Thousand Horses
Nova Fantastyka Reader's Award
2003 Best Foreign Story – Voice of Steel