Patrice Ann "Pat" Murphy (born March 9, 1955) is an American science writer and author of science fiction and fantasy novels.
Early life Murphy was born on March 9, 1955, in Washington state.
Career Murphy has used the ideas of the absurdist pseudophilosophy pataphysics in some of her writings. Along with Lisa Goldstein and Michaela Roessner, she has formed The Brazen Hussies to promote their work. Together with Karen Joy Fowler, Murphy co-founded the James Tiptree, Jr. Award in 1991.
With her second novel, The Falling Woman (1986), she won the Nebula Award, and another Nebula Award in the same year for her novelette, "Rachel in Love." Her short story collection, Points of Departure (1990) won the Philip K. Dick Award, and her 1990 novella, Bones, won the World Fantasy Award in 1991.
From 1998 through 2018, Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty (a scientist and educator) jointly wrote the recurring 'Science' column in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction that typically appeared twice each year. Their last column was in the May/June 2018 issue; Doherty died in August 2017.
Personal life She lives in Nevada and, for more than 20 years, when she was not writing science fiction, she worked at the Exploratorium, San Francisco's museum of science, art, and human perception. There, she published non-fiction as part of the museum staff.
In 2014, Murphy was hired by Doug Peltz to join Mystery Science (company) as the first employee, creating science curriculum for elementary school teachers.
She has a black belt in the martial art kenpō.
Bibliography
Novels The Shadow Hunter (1982; partially rewritten and republished in 2002) The Falling Woman (1986) The City, Not Long After (1989) Nadya: The Wolf Chronicles (1996) There and Back Again (1999) Wild Angel (2001) Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell (2002) The Wild Girls (children's novel) (2007) The Adventures of Mary Darling (2025)
Short fiction Collections Points of Departure (1990) Women Up to No Good (2013) StoriesShort stories unless otherwise noted.
"No Mother Near" (1975) "Eyes of the Wolf" (1978) "Nightbird at the Window" (1979) "A Lingering Scent of Jasmine" (1980) "Don't Look Back" (1980) "Touch of the Bear" (1980) "Wish Hound" (1980) "Orange Blossom Time" (1981) "Sweetly the Waves Call to Me" (1981) "In the Islands" (1983) "Art in the War Zone" (1984) Novelette "On the Dark Side of the Station Where the Train Never Stops" (1984) "With Four Lean Hounds" (1984) Novelette "On a Hot Summer Night in a Place Far Away" (1985) "His Vegetable Wife" (1986) "A Falling Star Is a Rock from Outer Space" (1986) "In the Abode of the Snows" (1986) Novelette "Clay Devils" (1987) "Rachel in Love" (1987) Novelette "Good-Bye, Cynthia" (1988) "Dead Men on TV" (1988) "Prescience" (1989) "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" (1989) "Scavenger" (1989) "Bones" (1990) Novella "Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates" (1990) "Latter-Day Martian Chronicles" (1990) "Recycling Strategies for the Inner City" (1990) "Women in the Trees" (1990) "The Eradication of Romantic Love" (1991) "Peter" (1991) "Traveling West" (1991) Novelette "Desert Rain" (1991) Novella (with Mark L. Van Name) "South of Oregon City" (1991) Novelette "Going Through Changes" (1992) "An American Childhood" (1993) Novella "A Cartographic Analysis of the Dream State" (1993) Novelette "Games of Deception" (1994) "A Place of Honor" (1995) "Points of Departure" (1995) "A Flock of Lawn Flamingos" (1996) "Iris Versus the Black Knight" (1996) "Exploding, Like Fireworks" (1997) "The True Story" (1997) "Wonder Worlds" (1997) Novelette (with Richard Kadrey) "Attachments" (1998) "Ménage and Menagerie" (1998) Novelette "Green Fire" (1999) Novelette (with Andy Duncan, Eileen Gunn & Michael Swanwick) "The Wild Girls" (2003) "Dragon's Gate" (2003) Novelette "Inappropriate Behavior" (2004) Novelette "One Odd Shoe" (2007) "About Fairies" (2012) "Cold Comfort" (2016) Novelette (with Paul Doherty) "Crossing the Threshold" (2017) "Fix-It Shop" (2017) "Motherhood" (2019) "A Catalog of 21st Century Ghosts" (2024) "Not Alone" (2025)
Anthologies edited The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1 (2005) with Debbie Notkin, Karen Joy Fowler and Jeffrey D. Smith. Tachyon PublicationsAnthology of winners of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2 (2006) with Debbie Notkin, Karen Joy Fowler and Jeffrey D. Smith. Tachyon Publications. The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3 (2007) with Debbie Notkin, Karen Joy Fowler and Jeffrey D. Smith. Tachyon Publications.
Nonfiction
Imaginary Friends (1996 essay) Before and After (1997 travel essay) Explorabook: A Kid's Science Museum in a Book by John Cassidy, Pat Murphy, and Paul Doherty (1991)
By Nature's Design (1993) by Pat Murphy The Science Explorer (1996) by Pat Murphy, Ellen Klages, and Linda Shore The Color of Nature (1996) by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty The Science Explorer Out and About (1997) by Pat Murphy, Ellen Klages, and Linda Shore Zap Science: A Scientific Playground in a Book (1997) by John Cassidy, Paul Doherty, & Pat Murphy
Awards Work Year & Award Category Result Ref.The Shadow Hunter1983 Locus AwardFirst NovelThe Falling Woman1987 Locus AwardFantasy Novel1988 Mythopoeic AwardsFantasy1988 Nebula AwardNovel"Rachel in Love"1988 Theodore Sturgeon AwardShort Science Fiction1988 Hugo AwardNovelette1988 Nebula AwardNovelette1988 SF Chronicle AwardNovelette1988 Asimov's Readers' PollNovelette1988 Locus AwardNovelette"Dead Men on TV"1989 Nebula AwardShort Story"Prescience"1990 Locus AwardShort StoryThe City, Not Long After1990 Mythopoeic AwardsFantasy1990 Locus AwardSF Novel1991 Arthur C. Clarke AwardScience Fiction Novel"Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates"1991 Nebula AwardShort Story1991 Locus AwardShort StoryPoints of Departure1991 Philip K. Dick Award1991 Locus AwardCollection"Bones"1991 World Fantasy AwardNovella1991 Hugo AwardNovella1991 Nebula AwardNovella1991 Asimov's Readers' PollNovella1991 Locus AwardNovella"Desert Rain" (with Mark L. Van Name)1992 Locus AwardNovella"Traveling West"1992 Locus AwardNovelette"An American Childhood"1994 Hugo AwardNovella1994 Asimov's Readers' PollNovella1994 Locus AwardNovellaA Place of Honor1996 Asimov's Readers' PollShort StoryNadya1996 Otherwise Award1997 Locus AwardFantasy Novel"Green Fire" (with Eileen Gunn, Andy Duncan & Michael Swanwick)2001 Asimov's Readers' PollNovellaThere and Back Again2002 Seiun AwardTranslated Long Work"Dragon's Gate"2004 Locus AwardNovelette"Inappropriate Behavior"2005 Locus AwardNoveletteThe Wild Girls2007 Cybils AwardFiction: Middle Grade2008 Christopher AwardBooks for Young People: Ages 10–12Exploratopia: More than 400 kid-friendly experiments and explorations for curious minds2008 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science BooksHands-On Science BookThe Klutz Guide to the Galaxy2012 American Institute of PhysicsScience Communication Awards"About Fairies"2013 Locus AwardShort StoryThe Adventures of Mary Darling2026 World Fantasy AwardNovel
References
External links Pat Murphy's page at Brazen Hussies
Pat Murphy interview at The Well Mystery Science: Open and Go lessons that inspire kids to love science!