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Marjorie Liu

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Marjorie Liu
Liu at a signing for Monstress #22 at Midtown Comics in Manhattan
Liu at a signing for
Monstress #22 at Midtown Comics in Manhattan
BornPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation
LanguageEnglish, Chinese
NationalityAmerican
Alma materLawrence University
University of Wisconsin Law School
Period2007–present
GenreAdventure, urban fantasy, romance, superhero fantasy
Notable worksMonstress
Tiger Eye
NYX
X-23
Dark Wolverine
Website
marjoriemliu.com

Marjorie M. Liu is an American New York Times best-selling author and comic book writer. She is acclaimed for her horror fantasy comic Monstress, and her paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels[1] including The Hunter Kiss and Tiger Eye series. Her work for Marvel Comics includes NYX, X-23, Dark Wolverine, and Astonishing X-Men. In 2015 Image Comics debuted her creator-owned series Monstress, for which she was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best New Series. In 2017 she won a Hugo Award for the first Monstress trade paperback collection. In July 2018 she became the first woman in the 30-year history of the Eisner Awards to win the Eisner Award for Best Writer for her work on Monstress.[2]

Early life

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Marjorie M. Liu was born in Philadelphia, and grew up in Seattle, Washington.[3] Her father is Taiwanese, while her mother is an American of French, Scottish and Irish descent.[4] She developed an early love of reading, from books such as Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie books, and the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Campbell, Charles de Lint and Jorge Luis Borges.[5]

Liu majored in East Asian Languages and Cultures and minored in Biomedical Ethics at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.[3][5] During her undergraduate years, she practiced her web design skills by designing a fan site called The Wolverine and Jubilee page, after her discovery of numerous X-Men fan sites that she admired. Although she had never read comic books as a child, she was familiar with the X-Men through the animated TV series and via fan fiction. She first purchased X-Men and Wolverine comics for reference for her fanfic from Powerhouse Comics in Appleton, Wisconsin. Writing fanfic helped her improve her storytelling skills.[5][6]

After graduating, she attended law school at the University of Wisconsin, as she was impressed with their East Asian legal center, and the presence of top U.S. experts in Biotech Law on the University's faculty. She found an internship in Beijing working at the Foreign Agriculture Service at the U.S. Embassy, which at the time, was dealing with the Chinese government's new rules regarding the import of genetically modified food. She graduated in May 2003, and was soon admitted to the bar.[3][5]

Career

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Liu at a 2011 book signing at Midtown Comics Times Square in Manhattan

Despite enjoying law school, Liu was disillusioned with the life of a lawyer. Instead she decided to become a writer.[3] She published poetry, short stories, and non-fiction pieces, then submitted her first novel, a paranormal romantic adventure set in China and the United States entitled Tiger Eye. She wrote it in one month. She submitted it to several publishers before it was acquired by Dorchester,[5] and published in November 2007.[7] She wrote a sequel to Tiger Eye, then produced A Taste of Crimson, the sequel to Liz Maverick's Crimson City, which was published in August 2005.[8]

After seeing a little boy dressed as Spider-Man at a book convention in Tucson, Arizona, Liu told her former literary agent Lucienne Diver that she would enjoy writing for Marvel Comics. Diver, who knew a Marvel acquisition editor seeking authors for Marvel tie-in novels at Pocket Books, made inquiries. Pocket had already hired enough authors for the Spider-Man books, but they had not hired anyone to write tie-in novels for the X-Men.[3][6]

Liu produced the X-Men novel Dark Mirror for Pocket in 2005, but it was three years before that she landed her first comics assignment at Marvel, the X-Men spin-off NYX.[6][9][10] She served as co-writer on Marvel's Daken: Dark Wolverine with Daniel Way, and wrote the X-23 series, which ended with #21.

Liu wrote the final 21 issues for Marvel's Astonishing X-Men series with artist Mike Perkins from 2012 to 2013. The series received media attention for featuring Marvel Comics' first gay wedding between Northstar and longterm partner Kyle in issue #51 (August 2012).[11] According to Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Axel Alonso, the issue comes as a response to real-world legalization of same sex marriage in New York.[12] Liu was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 2013.[13]

In 2015, Liu taught a course at MIT on comic book writing and participated at the VONA/VOICES Workshop as guest lecturer at UC Berkeley for popular fiction.[14][15]

In 2015 Image Comics debuted Liu's comics series, Monstress, which gained wide publicity for its exploration of racism, the effects of war, and feminism.[16]

In July 2018 Liu became the first woman in the 30-year history of the Eisner Awards to win the Eisner Award for Best Writer for her work on Monstress. She shared the award with writer Tom King, who received it for his work on Batman books and Mister Miracle.[2]

Personal life

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As of December 2012, Liu had been in a relationship with author Junot Díaz and living with him in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[17]

Writings

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Novels

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Dirk & Steele series

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# Title Also In Publication Date Comments
1 Tiger Eye 2005
2 Shadow Touch 2006
3 The Red Heart of Jade 2006
3.5 A Dream of Stone and Shadows Dark Dreamers Sep 2006 NYT Best Seller[1]
4 Eye of Heaven 2006
5 Soul Song 2007
6 The Last Twilight 2008
7 The Wild Road 2008
8 The Fire King 2009
9 In the Dark of Dreams 2010
10 Within the Flames 2011
11 Where the Heart Lives[18] Aug 2012

Hunter Kiss

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# Title Also In Publication Date
1 The Iron Hunt 2008
2 Darkness Calls 2008
2.5 Hunter Kiss Wild Thing[19] May 2007
2.6 Armor of Roses Inked[20]

Armor of Roses and the Silver Voice[21]

Jan 2010
3 A Wild Light Jul 2010
3.5 The Silver Voice Armor of Roses and the Silver Voice'[21] Dec 2011
4 The Mortal Bone 2011
5 Labyrinth of Stars 2014
Other novels
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  • A Taste of Crimson: Crimson City, Book 2 (2005)
  • X-Men: Dark Mirror (2005)

Short fiction

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Anthology or Collection Contents Publication

Date

Dark Dreamers[22] "A Dream of Stone and Shadows" (Dirk & Steele noella) Sep 2006
Holidays are Hell "Six" Jan 2007
Wild Thing[19] "Hunter Kiss" May 2007
My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon "Where the Heart Lives" Dec 2007
Hotter than Hell (edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Kim Harrison) "Minotaur in Stone" Jun 2008
Huntress The Robber Bride Jun 2009
Never After "The Tangleroot Palace" Nov 2009
Inked[20] "Armor of Roses" Jan 2010
Masked (edited by Lou Anders) "Call Her Savage" (a.k.a. "The Light and the Fury") Jul 2010
Songs of Love and Death (edited by Gardner Dozois and George R. R. Martin) "After the Blood" Nov 2010
Armor of Roses and The Silver Voice[21] "Armor of Roses"

The Silver Voice

Dec 2011
An Apple for the Creature (edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni Kelner) Sympathy for the Bones Sep 2012
The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination (edited by John Joseph Adams) "The Last Dignity of Man" Feb 2013
The Starlit Wood (edited by Dominick Perisen and Navah Wolfe) "Briar and Rose" Oct 2016

Comics

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  • NYX: No Way Home #1 - 6 (Marvel Comics, 2008–2009)
  • Dark Wolverine #75 - 90 (co-written with Daniel Way, Marvel Comics, 2009–2010)
  • X-23 Vol. 2 #1- Women of Marvel one-shot (Marvel Comics, 2010)
  • Black Widow Vol. 4 #1 - 5 (Marvel Comics, 2010)
  • Girl Comics #3 (Wolverine & Jubilee story only, Marvel Comics, 2010)
  • Wolverine: Road to Hell - one-shot (Marvel Comics, 2010)
  • Daken: Dark Wolverine #1 - 9 (co-written with Daniel Way, Marvel Comics, 2010–2011) (continuation of Dark Wolverine)
  • X-23 Vol. 3 #1 - 21 (Marvel Comics, 2010–2012)
  • Jim Henson's Storyteller ("Puss in Boots", Archaia, 2013)
  • Astonishing X-Men Vol. 3 #48 - #68, (Marvel Comics, 2012–2013)
  • X-Termination #1 (Marvel Comics, 2013)
  • X-Treme X-Men Vol. 2 #13 (Marvel Comics, 2013)
  • Legends of Red Sonja #4 (Dynamite, 2014)
  • Monstress (Image Comics, 2015-2022)
  • Star Wars: Han Solo (Marvel Comics, 2016)
  • The Night Eaters (Abrams, 2022)

Nonfiction

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  • "Ghost" in The Secret Lives of Geek Girls (2015) edited by Hope Nicholson

Awards and nominations

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Year Work Award Name Category Result Ref
2005 A Taste of Crimson PEARL Award Best Futuristic Won [23]
n/a PEARL Award Best New Author Won [23]
Tiger Eye Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award Best Contemporary Paranormal Romance Won [24]
2008 The Last Twilight Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award Best Shapeshifter Romance Nominated [25]
The Iron Hunt Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award Best Urban Fantasy Nominated [26]
2011 The Mortal Bone Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Nominee Paranormal Romance Nominated [27]
Within the Flames Romantic Times Book of the Year Editor's Choice Nominated [28]
2012 The Mortal Bone Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award Urban Fantasy Worldbuilding Won [29]
2013 Astonishing X-Men GLAAD Media Award Outstanding Comic Book Nominated [13]
2016 Monstress Eisner Awards Best Writer Nominated [30][31]
2017 Han Solo Eisner Awards Best Limited Series Nominated [32]
Monstress Eisner Awards Best Publication for Teens Nominated [32]
Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening Hugo Award Best Graphic Story Won [33]
2018 Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood Hugo Award Best Graphic Story Won [34]
2019 Monstress, Volume 3: Haven Bram Stoker Award Best Graphic Novel Nominated
Monstress, Volume 3: Haven Hugo Award Best Graphic Story Won [35]
Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen Bram Stoker Award Best Graphic Novel Nominated [36]
2020 Monstress, Volume 4: The Chosen Hugo Award Best Graphic Story Nominated [37]
2022 Monstress, Volume 6: The Vow Hugo Award Best Graphic Story Nominated [38]
2023 Monstress, Volume 7: Devourer Hugo Award Best Graphic Story Nominated [39]

References

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  1. ^ a b "PAPERBACK BEST SELLERS: September 24, 2006". New York Times. 2006-09-24. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  2. ^ a b Ducharme, Jamie (July 21, 2018). "A Woman Has Finally Won the Top Writing Award in Comic Books". Time. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e Liu, Marjorie M. "About the Author", marjoriemliu.com, accessed December 29, 2010.
  4. ^ Tan, Tiffany (October 17, 2010). "Marjorie's fantasies". China Daily. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e White, Claire E. "A Conversation With Marjorie M. Liu", The Internet Writing Journal, accessed December 29, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Press, David. "INTERVIEW: Marjorie Liu talks 'Dark Wolverine' and 'Darkness Calls'." Archived 2017-10-16 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Planet, June 23, 2009
  7. ^ Tiger Eye at Amazon.com, accessed December 30, 2010.
  8. ^ A Taste of Crimson at Amazon.com, accessed December 29, 2010.
  9. ^ Lin, Peter. "X-23: Daddy's Little Girl", Here Be Geeks, November 20, 2010
  10. ^ "Interview with NYX writer Marjorie Liu live from Comic-Con". Comic Vine. Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
  11. ^ Moore, Matt (May 22, 12). "Marvel Comics plans wedding for gay hero Northstar". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  12. ^ "Marvel Comics Hosts First Gay Wedding in 'Astonishing X-Men'". Rolling Stone. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  13. ^ a b Veselinovic, Milena (16 December 2014). "How a lawyer left the courtroom to discover she had X-Men powers". CNN. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  14. ^ "Marjorie Liu - MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing". MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  15. ^ "Books: Comic book author Marjorie Liu on the writing of superheroes". Hyphen Magazine. May 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  16. ^ "'Monstress': Inside The Fantasy Comic About Race, Feminism And The Monster Within". The Hollywood Reporter. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  17. ^ Swidey, Neil (June 20, 2013). "Acclaimed novelist Junot Diaz delivers". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  18. ^ "Where the Heart Lives". Marjorie Liu. February 18, 2020. Archived from the original on April 1, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Wild Thing". Marjorie Liu. February 18, 2020.
  20. ^ a b "Inked". Marjorie Liu. February 18, 2020.
  21. ^ a b c "Armor of Roses and the Silver Voice". Marjorie Liu. February 18, 2020.
  22. ^ "Dark Dreamers". Marjorie Liu. February 18, 2020.
  23. ^ a b "ParaNormalRomance: 2005 Paranormal Excellent Award for Romantic Literature PEARL Nomination". www.paranormalromance.org. Archived from the original on 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  24. ^ "Contemporary Paranormal Romance | RT Book Reviews". www.rtbookreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  25. ^ "Shapeshifter Romance | RT Book Reviews". www.rtbookreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  26. ^ "Urban Fantasy Protagonist | RT Book Reviews". www.rtbookreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  27. ^ "Paranormal Romance | RT Book Reviews". www.rtbookreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  28. ^ "RT Book of the Year | RT Book Reviews". www.rtbookreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  29. ^ "Urban Fantasy Worldbuilding | RT Book Reviews". www.rtbookreviews.com. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  30. ^ "Here Are Your 2016 Eisner Award Nominees". Kotaku Australia. April 20, 2016.
  31. ^ "Comic-Con 2016: 2016 Eisner Award Winners Revealed - IGN". 23 July 2016 – via www.ign.com.
  32. ^ a b Brown, Tracy (2017-05-03). "2017 Eisner Award nominees include 'The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye' and 'Saga'". Los Angeles Times.
  33. ^ "2017 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 31 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  34. ^ "2018 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  35. ^ Morgan, Cheryl (August 19, 2019). "2019 Hugo Award Winners". The Hugo Awards. World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  36. ^ "2019 Stoker Awards Final Ballot". Locus. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  37. ^ "2020 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  38. ^ "2022 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  39. ^ "2023 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
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