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Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is a prolific and best-selling author working in numerous genres.

Card's launch in the publishing industry was with science fiction (Hot Sleep and Capitol) and later fantasy (Hart's Hope). He remains best known for the seminal Ender's Game, which has been among the most popular SF novels ever since its publication in 1985. Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead were awarded both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, making Card the only author (as of 2005) ever to win both of SF's top prizes in consecutive years. Card continued the series with Xenocide, Children of the Mind, Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, and the 2005 release of Shadow of the Giant. Card has also announced a 'Christmas in Battle School' book, a book that connects the "Shadow" series and "Speaker" series together, and a book that takes place after Shadow of the Giant and before Card's short story "Investment Counselor". Furthermore, Card recently announced that Ender's Game will soon be made into a movie (see Ender's Game (movie)).

He has since branched out into contemporary fiction, such as Lost Boys, Treasure Box and Enchantment. Other works demonstrating his versatility include the novelization of the James Cameron film The Abyss, the alternate histories The Tales of Alvin Maker and Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, the comic book Ultimate Iron Man for Marvel Comics' Ultimate Marvel Universe series, and Robota, a collaboration with Star Wars artist Doug Chiang.

His writing is dominated by detailed characterization and moral issues. As Card says, "We care about moral issues, nobility, decency, happiness, goodness—the issues that matter in the real world, but which can only be addressed, in their purity, in fiction."

Some of his novels, for example Stone Tables, about the life of the Biblical prophet Moses; his Women of Genesis series; The Folk Of The Fringe stories; and Saints, about Latter-day Saint pioneers, have explicit religious themes. In his other writings, the influence of his Mormon beliefs is less obvious; Card's Homecoming and Alvin Maker sagas are partly retellings of the Book of Mormon and the life of LDS founder Joseph Smith, Jr.

In addition to his novels and short stories, Card has had an active career as a nonfiction writer. During the 1980s he wrote many technical articles and columns, primarily for Compute!'s Gazette and Ahoy!, two magazines covering Commodore home computers.

Contents 1 Early life, family, and career 2 Personal views 3 Other 4 Selected bibliography 4.1 Pre-Ender's Game works 4.2 The Ender saga 4.3 The Shadow series 4.4 The Tales of Alvin Maker 4.5 The Homecoming Saga 4.6 The "Women of Genesis" series 4.7 Other post-Ender's Game works 4.8 Plays 4.9 Non-fiction works 4.10 Books on writing 4.11 Columns 4.12 Other projects 5 See also 6 External links

Early life, family, and career

Card is descended from Charles Ora Card, a son-in-law of Brigham Young who founded the town of Cardston, Alberta, the first Mormon pioneer settlement in Canada. Card was born in Richland, Washington; raised in Palo Alto, California, as well as Arizona and Utah; served an LDS mission in Brazil; graduated from Brigham Young University and the University of Utah; and now lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. He and his wife Kristine are the parents of five children: Geoffrey (a published author in his own right), Emily (who adapted his short story "A Sepulchre of Songs" to the stage in Posing as People), Charlie Ben (deceased), Zina Margaret, and Erin Louisa (deceased). The children are named for the authors Chaucer, Brontë and Dickinson, Dickens, Mitchell, and Alcott. While Geoffrey attended Brigham Young University, he asked at least some people who knew he was Card's son not to disseminate that information to others.

In 2005, Card accepted a permanent appointment as professor at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista, Virginia. Card has justified this action by citing his frustration with pervasive and dismal teaching methodology for creative writing. Card has worked closely with colleagues to develop new and effective ways to educate aspiring writers and has published two books on the subject. He was eager for the opportunity to apply these techniques in a university environment—his assorted workshops did not allow the follow-through he desired. Card splits his time evenly between writing and teaching.

Card has stated that one of the most important elements of writing is gauging reader interest. This can be achieved by having someone be a specially "trained reader" who makes a note of every time attention flags. This allows him to spot weak sections and shore them up. But he cautions that this "training" ruins the ability of this person to just go with the flow and enjoy good books, without constantly making mental notes of places where interest lags. He says that his wife fulfills this function of "trained reader" for him, even though it ruins her abilty to enjoy many good books.

Personal views

Card is also active as a critic, political writer and speaker. Shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks Card began to write a weekly "War Watch" (renamed to "World Watch" and then to "Civilization Watch") column for the Greensboro Rhino Times, as well as an "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything" column, both of which are archived on Card's websites. A self-described Moynihan, Tony Blair, Zell Miller Democrat, Card is a vocal supporter of George W. Bush, the war on terror, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the USA PATRIOT Act, and U.S. support of Israel. Card argues that a continuing strain of tolerating racism within the Republican party in the South morally obligates him to be a Democrat. Card is also publicly endorsing children of illegal immigrants receiving in-state college tuition rates and is opposing tax cuts and unfettered deregulation; however, he also opposes same-sex marriage.

He has written columns condemning liberals as being what's wrong with America, and praises Zell Miller for trying to save the Democratic Party. At one point, he has stated that he's a "Tony Blair" Democrat, saying he has to look outside the U.S. for someone representative for his views now that Moynihan has passed away and the Democrats oppose Bush. Partly due to his Mormon upbringing, he is opposed to pre-marital sex (castigating Smallville for interjecting sensuality into a teen-oriented show) and gay rights (believing homosexuality to be a sin). He has also been a staunch defender of Fox News, stating that he likes his news to share an American viewpoint.

Card is pro-gun control/anti-NRA and has cited this as the prime reason why he has not changed his voter registration from Democrat to Republican.

Although he supports government-funded research into alternative energy sources and the phasing out of fossil fuel use, Card has also frequently criticized precipitous action on global warming, and has voiced the suggestion that scientific evidence against global warming is suppressed because global warming has become an academic orthodoxy that discourages opposing evidence. His short story "Angles" also features scientists fearing to pursue research because it would run counter to scientific dogma.

Other

In his short story "The Originist" (1989) he describes a research system that has a number of parallels with Wikipedia.

Card's description in Ender's Game (1985) of two precocious children achieving political prominence through pseudonymous postings on the "Nets" is an early and uncannily accurate prediction of the Internet and the popularity of Blogs.

Card's views on homosexuality, as conveyed in some of his non-fiction writing from more recently in his career, have generated a certain amount of controversy in the community of science fiction fandom. As a member of the LDS Church, Card believes that homosexuality is a violation of the law of chastity and that homosexuals, as well as all others who violate this law, must repent. Card is opposed to gay marriage. This dichotomy of "hate the sin" (homosexuality) and "love the sinner" (people he considers goodhearted but misguided who commit what he considers the terrible sin of homosexuality) has confused many as to how a writer who sometimes portray gays positively in his fiction can be so virulently anti-gay rights in his nonfiction writing. He believes it is not evil to be attracted to members of one's own gender, but that it is evil to act on those impulses. Card has also shown support for the idea that at least some homosexuals can make a successful transition to heterosexuality in his Homecoming series where a gay male scientist renounces his past and chooses to marry a woman and have a child in order to "rejoin the web-of-life."

Card has made many comments about homosexuality that are viewed as homophobic by the GLBT community and those who support gay rights, as when he called affirming homosexuals hypocrites. “The argument by the hypocrites of homosexuality that homosexual tendencies are genetically ingrained in some individuals is almost laughably irrelevant. We are all genetically predisposed toward some sin or another; we are all expected to control those genetic predispositions when it is possible.” wrote Card. “The hypocrites of homosexuality are, of course, already preparing to answer these statements by accusing me of homophobia, gay-bashing, bigotry, intolerance; but nothing that I have said here—and nothing that has been said by any of the prophets or any of the Church leaders who have dealt with this issue—can be construed as advocating, encouraging, or even allowing harsh personal treatment of individuals who are unable to resist the temptation to have sexual relations with persons of the same sex” (Sunstone 14:1 [Feb 1990]: 44). Yet, in the same essay, Card writes that he believes "Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books" and "Those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society" (ibid).

Selected bibliography

Pre-Ender's Game works

• Capitol (1978)
• Hot Sleep (1978)
• A Planet Called Treason (1978)
• Songmaster (1979)
• Unaccompanied Sonata and Other Stories (1980)
• Hart's Hope (1983)
• The Worthing Chronicle (revised edition of Hot Sleep and Capitol) (1983)
• Saints (1983)

The Ender saga

• Ender's Game (1985)
• Speaker for the Dead (1986)
• Xenocide (1991)
• Children of the Mind (1996)
• First Meetings (collection of short stories) (2002)

The Shadow series

• Ender's Shadow ("parallel" novel to Ender's Game) (1999)
• Shadow of the Hegemon (2001)
• Shadow Puppets (2002)
• Shadow of the Giant (2005)

The Tales of Alvin Maker

• Seventh Son (1987)
• Red Prophet (1988)
• Prentice Alvin (1989)
• Alvin Journeyman (1995)
• Heartfire (1998)
• The Grinning Man (short story, published in Legends) (1998)
• The Yazoo Queen (short story, published in Legends II) (2003)
• The Crystal City (2003)
• Master Alvin (forthcoming)

The Homecoming Saga

• The Memory of Earth (1992)
• The Call of Earth (1992)
• The Ships of Earth (1994)
• Earthfall (1995)
• Earthborn (1995)

The "Women of Genesis" series

• Sarah (2000)
• Rebekah (2001)
• Rachel and Leah (2004)
• The Wives of Israel (forthcoming)

Other post-Ender's Game works

• Cardography (short story collection) (1987)
• Wyrms (1987)
• Treason (revised edition of A Planet Called Treason) (1988)
• The Folk Of The Fringe (1989)
• The Abyss (1989) (with James Cameron)
• Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card (1990)

• The Changed Man (short story collection) (1992)
• Flux (short story collection) (1992)
• Cruel Miracles (short story collection) (1992)
• Monkey Sonatas (short story collection) (1993)

• Eye For Eye / Tunesmith (Tor double novel) (1990) (Eye For Eye is by Card, Tunesmith is by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.)
• The Worthing Saga (1990) (revision of The Worthing Chronicle)
• Lost Boys (1992)
• Lovelock (1994) (with Kathryn H. Kidd)
• Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus (1996)
• Treasure Box (1996)
• Stone Tables (1997)
• Homebody (1998)
• Enchantment (1999)
• Magic Mirror (1999) (children's book, art by Nathan Pinnock)
• Robota (2003) (art by Doug Chiang)
• Magic Street (2005)
• Pastwatch: The Flood (forthcoming)
• Rasputin (forthcoming) (with Kathryn H. Kidd)
• Ultimate Iron Man [1] (graphic novel) (2005)

Plays

• Posing as People (2004) (three one-act plays based on short stories by Card, first production directed by Card)

• Clap Hands and Sing (adapted by Scott Brick)
• Lifeloop (adapted by Aaron Johnston)
• Sepulchre of Songs (adapted by Emily Janice Card)

Non-fiction works

• Listen, Mom and Dad (1978)
• Ainge (1982)
• Saintspeak (1982)
• A Storyteller in Zion (1993)

Books on writing

• Characters and Viewpoint (1988)
• How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (1990)

Columns

• Civilization Watch (formerly known as War Watch or World Watch) for the Rhinoceros Times (an independent Greensboro, NC newspaper)
• Uncle Orson Reviews Everything for the Rhinoceros Times (an independent Greensboro, NC newspaper)
• Hymns of the Heart for Meridian Magazine [2] (an LDS online magazine)

Other projects

• Ender's Game (movie) (forthcoming)
• Advent Rising (June, 2005) a third-person shooter developed for Windows and Xbox by GlyphX
• Advent Shadow (forthcoming, July 12, 2005) a video game, being developed for the Sony PSP by Majesco
• Alvin's World (forthcoming) an MMORPG, being developed for Windows by eGenesis
• The Secret of Monkey Island wrote the insults for the insult swordfighting section
• The Dig (wrote dialogues)
• Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show (online magazine)
• Stories of Strength (ISBN 1411655036) (2005) (charity anthology)

See also

• Science fiction
• Science fiction authors
• Science fiction novels
• Science fiction short stories
• Signature Books
• LDS fiction

External links

• The official Orson Scott Card website -includes popular discussion forums frequented by thousands of fans.
• Biography at the Orson Scott Card website
• Detailed bibliography at the Orson Scott Card website
• Intergalactic Medicine Show - Online science fiction magazine published by Orson Scott Card. Features a new Ender's world story in every issue.
• Strong Verse - Online poetry magazine published by Orson Scott Card
• The Ornery American - Orson Scott Card's political site; includes his weekly column
• Riots of the Faithful - Contains Card's criticism of Muslim reaction to Newsweek's report of Qur'an desecration
• "The Hypocrites of Homosexuality" - Card's controversial essay about homosexuality
• "Orson Scott Card: Criminalize Homosexual Behavior" - A criticism of Card's viewpoint on homosexuality
• "Why I Am Teaching at SVU... and Why SVU is Important" by Orson Scott Card
• "Under the Influence" an essay by Card on Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith and its Jedi religious concepts
• A Fan resource website and community.
• Ender's Game at the Internet Movie Database on the forthcoming film
• Orson Scott Card at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Creating the Innocent Killer - An essay critical of the morality expressed in Card's writing.
• An audio interview with Orson Scott Card (MP3 format) from Hour 25

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series
Ender Quartet	Ender's Game | Speaker for the Dead | Xenocide | Children of the Mind
Bean Quartet	Ender's Shadow | Shadow of the Hegemon | Shadow Puppets | Shadow of the Giant
Short stories	First Meetings: "The Polish Boy" | "Teacher's Pest" | "Investment Counselor"
Books | Characters | Miscellanea

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