Yoon Ha Lee (born January 26, 1979 in Houston, Texas) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer,^[1] known for his Machineries of Empire space opera novels and his short fiction. His first novel, Ninefox Gambit, received the 2017 Locus Award for Best First Novel.

Life[edit]

When he was young, Lee's Korean American family lived in both Texas and South Korea, where he attended high school at Seoul Foreign School, an English-language international school. He went to college at Cornell University, majoring in mathematics, and earned a master's degree in secondary mathematics education at Stanford University. He has worked as an analyst for an energy market intelligence company, done web design, and taught mathematics.^[2]

Lee is a trans man and describes himself as queer.^[3] He lives in Louisiana with his husband and daughter.^[2]

Career[edit]

Since his first sale in 1999, Lee has published short fiction in Fantasy & Science Fiction, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed magazine and elsewhere. Three of his stories have been reprinted in Gardner Dozois's The Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies. Dozois wrote that Lee is "one of those helping to move science fiction into the twenty-first century".^[4]

Aliette de Bodard wrote the introduction for Conservation of Shadows and has twice recommended one of Lee's stories in her best of year round-ups: she selected "Ghostweight" as a favorite of 2011^[5] and "The Knight of Chains, the Deuce of Stars" was chosen in her 2013 eligibility and recommendations post as "the one that most blew me away this year".^[6] "Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" and "Ghostweight" were both nominated for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award and Locus Award and were both reprinted in two "Year's Best" anthologies. "The Pirate Captain's Daughter" was nominated for the WSFA Small Press Award.^[7]

His debut novel, Ninefox Gambit, received the 2017 Locus Award for Best First Novel.^[8] It was also nominated for the 2016 Nebula and Hugo Awards for Best Novel and the 2017 Clarke award.^[9][10][11]

Bibliography[edit]

Novels[edit]

Machineries of Empire trilogy

1. 
   Ninefox Gambit, Solaris, 14 June 2016, ISBN 978-1781084496
   


2. 
   Raven Stratagem, Solaris, 13 June 2017, ISBN 978-1781085370
   


3. 
   Revenant Gun, Solaris, 12 June 2018, ISBN 978-1781086070
   

Collection[edit]

• 
  Conservation of Shadows, Prime Books, 16 April 2013, ISBN 978-1-60701-387-7
  

Short fiction[edit]

Lee has written over forty short stories, many of which are collected in his first book, Conservation of Shadows.

Machineries of Empire prequels

• "Extracurricular Activities" – Tor.com (February 2017)


• "The Battle of Candle Arc" – Clarkesworld Magazine #73 (October 2012). Selected by David G. Hartwell for Year's Best SF 18, reprinted in Conservation of Shadows. An audio version read by Kate Baker is also available.


• "Gamer's End" – "Press Start to Play" (August 2015)


• "How the Andan Court", self-published flashfic
  


• "The Robots Math Lessons", self-published


• "The Chameleon's Gloves" – Cosmic Powers (April 18, 2017)


• Assorted flash fiction

Other short fiction

• "The Cold Inequalities" – "Meeting Infinity" (December 2015)


• "Interlingua" – "Uncanny Magazine" (December 2015)


• "Variations on an Apple" – "Tor.com" (October 2015)


• "The Old Road" – "Not One of Us" #54 (October 2015)


• "Snakes" – "Clarkesworld Magazine" (July 2015)


• "Apocalypse Foxes" – "Daily Science Fiction" (June 2015)


• "Two to Leave" – "Beneath Ceaseless Skies" (May 2015)


• "The Graphology of Hemorrhage" – Operation Arcana (March 2015)


• "The Queen's Aviary" – Daily Science Fiction (January 2015)


• "Distinguishing Characteristics" – Dangerous Games (December 2014)


• "Always the Harvest" – Upgraded (September 2014)


• "Warhosts" – War Stories (September 2014)


• "The Contemporary Foxwife" – Clarkesworld Magazine #94 (July 2014). An audio version read by Kate Baker is also available.


• "Combustion Hour" – Tor.com (June 2014)


• "The Bonedrake's Penance" – Beneath Ceaseless Skies #143 (March 2014)


• "Wine" – Clarkesworld Magazine #88 (January 2014). An audio version read by Kate Baker is also available.


• "The Coin of Heart's Desire" – Once Upon a Time: New Fairy Tales (October 2013)


• "The Knight of Chains, the Deuce of Stars" – Lightspeed #39 (August 2013)


• "Iseul's Lexicon" – Conservation of Shadows (April 2013)


• "Effigy Nights" – Clarkesworld Magazine #76 (January 2013). Reprinted in Conservation of Shadows. An audio version read by Kate Baker is also available.


• "The Book of Locked Doors" – Beneath Ceaseless Skies #91 (March 2012). Reprinted in Conservation of Shadows. An audio version is also available.


• "A Vector Alphabet of Interstellar Travel" – Tor.com (August 2011). Selected by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer for Year's Best SF 17 and by David G. Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden for Twenty-First Century Science Fiction, reprinted in Conservation of Shadows.


• "Conservation of Shadows" – Clarkesworld Magazine #59 (August 2011). Reprinted in Conservation of Shadows. An audio version read by Kate Baker is also available.


• "Ghostweight" – Clarkesworld Magazine #52 (January 2011).


• "The Winged City" – Giganotosaurus #2 (December 2010)


• "Flower, Mercy, Needle, Chain" – Lightspeed #4 (September 2010). Selected by Gardner Dozois for The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Eighth Annual Collection, reprinted in Conservation of Shadows.


• "The Territorialist" – Beneath Ceaseless Skies #47 (July 2010)


• "Between Two Dragons" – Clarkesworld Magazine #43 (April 2010). Reprinted in Conservation of Shadows. An audio version read by Kate Baker is also available.


• "The Pirate Captain's Daughter" – Beneath Ceaseless Skies #27 (October 2009). An audio version is also available.


• "Dragon Logic" – Japanese Dreams: Fantasies, Fictions & Fairytales (August 2009)


• "The Bones of Giants" – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol 117, no 1&2 (August 2009). Reprinted in Conservation of Shadows.


• "Swanwatch" – Federations (April 2009). Reprinted in Conservation of Shadows.


• "The Unstrung Zither" – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol 116, no 3 (March 2009). Selected by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer for Year's Best SF 15, reprinted in Conservation of Shadows.


• "The Fourth Horseman" – Electric Velocipede #17/18 (Spring 2009)


• "Architectural Constants" – Beneath Ceaseless Skies #2 (October 2008). An audio version is also available.


• "Blue Ink" – Clarkesworld Magazine #23 (August 2008). Reprinted in Conservation of Shadows. An audio version read by Cat Rambo is also available.


• "Behind the Mirror" – Coyote Wild, vol 1, no 1 (Winter 2007)


• "Notes on the Necromantic Symphony" – Farrago's Wainscot Part IV (October 2007)


• "The Inferno" – Behind the Wainscot: The Five Senses (September 2007)


• "The Shadow Postulates" – Helix SF #5 (July 2007). Reprinted in Conservation of Shadows.


• "Screamers" – Ideomancer, vol 6, no 2 (June 2007)


• "Hopscotch" – Twenty Epics (August 2006)


• "Unstringing the Bow" – Ideomancer, vol 5, no 2 (June 2006)


• "So that Her High-Born Kinsmen Came" – Sybil's Garage #3 (March 2006)


• "Nine Tails, Hundred Hearts" – Fantasy Magazine #2 (January 2006)


• "The Sun's Kiss" – Ideomancer, vol 4, no 3 (September 2005)


• "Words Written in Fire" – Shadows of Saturn #3 (August 2005)


• "Moon, Paper, Scissors" – Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet #16 (July 2005)


• "Eating Hearts" – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol 108, no 6 (June 2005). Selected by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer for Year's Best Fantasy 6 and Sean Wallace for Best New Fantasy, reprinted in Conservation of Shadows. An audio version read by Ann Leckie is available at Podcastle
  


• "The Third Song" – Lenox Avenue #4 (January 2005)


• "The Black Abacus" – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol 102, no 6 (June 2002). Selected by Robert Silverberg and Karen Haber for Science Fiction: The Best of 2002, reprinted in Conservation of Shadows.


• "Counting the Shapes" – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol 100, no 6 (June 2001). Reprinted in Conservation of Shadows.


• "Alas, Lirette" – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol 100, no 1 (January 2001)


• "Echoes Down an Endless Hall" – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol 98, no 4 (April 2000)


• "The Hundredth Question" – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, vol 96, no 2 (February 1999)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Short stories available free online


• 
  Yoon Ha Lee at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  


• 
  Interview at Clarkesworld, May 2013


• 
  Review of Conservation of Shadows at Strange Horizons
  


• 
  Review of Ninefox Gambit by N.K. Jemisin at NY Times