About Lynne/Press Kit

Long bio:

Ten-time Hugo Award winner Lynne M. Thomas is the Head of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. She previously served as the Head of Distinctive Collections and Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL (2004-2017) where she was responsible for popular culture special collections that included the literary papers of over 75 SF/F authors and the official archives of SFWA. She is the co-author of Special Collections 2.0, with Beth Whittaker (Libraries Unlimited, 2009) and the co-editor of New Directions for Special Collections: An Anthology of Practice, also with Beth Whittaker (ABC-CLIO, 2016), as well as academic articles about cross-dressing in dime novels and using libraries to survive the zombie apocalypse. She is one of the founding members of the Digital POWRR project. An alumna of Smith College with a degree in French and Comparative Literature, she also holds an MS in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MA in English and American Literature from Northern Illinois University.

Lynne is the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of the six-time Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine with her husband Michael Damian Thomas. She is the co-editor of the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords (2010) with Tara O’Shea, Whedonistas (2011) with Deborah Stanish, and the Hugo Award-nominated Chicks Dig Comics (2012) with Sigrid Ellis , all published by Mad Norwegian Press.  Along with the Geek Girl Chronicles book series, Lynne was the Editor-in-Chief (2011-2013) of the Hugo Award-nominated (2012 & 2013) Apex Magazine, an online professional prose and poetry magazine of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mash-ups of all three.  She moderated the Hugo Award-winning SF Squeecast, a monthly podcast (with Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Michael Damian Thomas and Catherynne M. Valente) in which a group of SF/F professionals get excited about stuff they like, and currently contributes to the Verity! Podcast (with Erika Ensign, L.M. Myles, Katrina Griffiths, Tansy Rayner Roberts and Deborah Stanish),  where a bunch of smart women talk about Doctor Who.

Lynne lives in Champaign, IL with her husband Michael (a writer and editor), and their daughter Caitlin. Caitlin has a rare congenital disorder called Aicardi syndrome, and Michael is her full-time caregiver and an advocate for children with disabilities. They have a cat named Hugo.

Short pop bio:

Ten-time Hugo Award winner Lynne M. Thomas is the Co-Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of the six-time Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine with her husband Michael Damian Thomas. The former Editor-in-Chief of Apex Magazine (2011-2013),  she co-edited the Hugo Award-winning Chicks Dig Time Lords, as well as Whedonistas and Chicks Dig Comics. She moderated the Hugo-Award winning SF Squeecast and contributes to the Verity! Podcast.  In her day job, she is the Head of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. You can learn more about her shenanigans at lynnemthomas.com.

Short academic bio:

Ten-time Hugo Award winner Lynne M. Thomas is the Head of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library and Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Rare Book and Manuscript Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the largest public university rare book collections in the country. She previously served as Head of Distinctive Collections and Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University. She co-authored Special Collections 2.0, (Libraries Unlimited, 2009) and co-edited  New Directions for Special Collections: An Anthology of Practice, both with Beth Whittaker (ABC-CLIO, 2016), and is a founding member of the Digital POWRR project. An alumna of Smith College with a degree in French and Comparative Literature, she also holds an MS in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an MA in English and American Literature from Northern Illinois University.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3504-1836

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Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry

Science Fiction Awards Database entry

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