Haber, Karen 1955-

views updated

HABER, Karen 1955-

PERSONAL: Born January 7, 1955, in Bronxville, NY; daughter of David Haber and Edythe Cohen Marinoff; married Robert Silverberg (a writer), February 14, 1987. Education: Cedar Crest College, B.A., 1976. Hobbies and other interests: Antiques, music, theater, gardening, and crafts.

ADDRESSES: Home—P.O. Box 13160, Station E, Oakland, CA 94661. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer, editor, and journalist. Art book reviewer for Locus magazine.

MEMBER: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Friends of Ethnic Art (board member, 2001—).

WRITINGS:

fiction

Thieves' Carnival (novella), Tor Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Star Trek Voyager: Bless the Beasts, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1996.

"THE MUTANT SEASON" SERIES

(With husband, Robert Silverberg) The Mutant Season, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1989.

The Mutant Prime, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1990.

Mutant Star, Bantam/Spectra (New York, NY), 1992.

Mutant Legacy, Bantam/Spectra (New York, NY), 1993.

"WAR MINSTRELS" SERIES

The War Minstrels, DAW Books, Inc. (New York, NY), 1995.

Woman with a shadow, DAW Books, Inc.. (New York, NY), 1995.

Sister Blood, DAW Books, Inc., (New York, NY), 1996.

editor

(With Robert Silverberg) Universe 1, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1990.

(With Robert Silverberg) Universe 2, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1992.

(With Robert Silverberg) Universe 3, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Meditations on Middle Earth, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Robert Silverberg) Fantasy: The Best of 2001, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Robert Silverberg) Science Fiction: The Best of2002, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Robert Silverberg) Fantasy: The Best of 2002, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Exploring the Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Present, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Jonathan Strahan) Science Fiction: Best of 2003, ibooks (New York, NY), 2004.

nonfiction

(With Linc Yaco) Science of the X-Men, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Todd Lockwood) Transitions: The Art of ToddLockwood, Sterling Publishers (New York, NY), 2003.

Also author of numerous short stories and articles which have appeared in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Full Spectrum, Women of Darkness, and Journeys to the Twilight Zone, as well as other journals and anthologies.

SIDELIGHTS: Karen Haber has written several works of fantasy fiction, both as novels as well as in the short-story form. Six of her novels have been written as trilogies. Her "Mutant Season" series follows the lives and adventures of a group of mutants, while her "War Minstrels" series captures the challenges that protagonist Kayla John Reed must face. These stories are filled with battles between the dark and light forces, as each side struggles for survival and dominance. Haber has also worked as editor on several anthologies. With her husband, Robert Silverberg, she has compiled the "Universe" series, and annual Best Science Fiction and Best Fantasy anthologies. In 2003, Haber assumed the senior editor role for the "Best" series, with Jonathan Strahan as her coeditor.

Haber's most acclaimed work as an editor is her Meditations on Middle Earth, a Hugo Award-nominated collection of essays by prominent science fiction and fantasy writers, such as Ursula K. LeGuin, Terry Pratchett, George R. R. Martin, Esther Friesner, Robin Hobb, and others. Each author focuses on the writing of J. R. R. Tolkien, stating how the author of The Lord of the Rings influenced their own writing. After reading this collection, Ray Olson of Booklist wrote, "This is good stuff."

Also well-received has been Exploring the Matrix: Visions of the Cyber Present, featuring essays by science fiction writers and artists discussing the world posited by the popular "Matrix" movie series.

Haber once told CA: "I think that love of reading inevitably leads to writing. That was certainly the case for me: I was an early reader, drawn to books, magazines, and even the backs of cereal boxes. A trip to the library with my parents was a marvelous treat: I could roam the stacks, pulling out any books I fancied, and actually bring them home with me. By the time I was in grade school, I was writing my own little stories and had composed two books by the age of sixteen—now safely buried.

"After college, I pursued journalism because I enjoyed the people, the diversity, and the stimulation. What I didn't enjoy were the hours and low pay. Eventually, I was lured by fiction, and I found the field rewarding both artistically and in terms of compensation. (I like to have things both ways, however, and I still dally with a couple of articles a year, primarily on art-related topics.) I find writing to be an intriguing, slow-motion form of communication, peculiar for the quasi-intimate relationship it creates between reader and writer.

"Science fiction and fantasy keep the imagination fresh and vital. Dealing with what might be is so often more interesting than writing about what is: a broadening exercise for both reader and writer—one hopes."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, March 1, 1992, Roland Green, review of Universe 2, p. 1198; January 15, 1994, Roland Green, review of Universe 3, p. 904; November 1, 2002, Ray Olson, review of Meditations on Middle-Earth, p. 456.

Fantasy and Science Fiction, March, 1992, Algis Budrys, review of Universe 2, p. 47.

Library Journal, September 15, 1990, Jackie Cassada, review of Mutant Prime, p. 104; December, 1992, Jackie Cassada, review of Mutant Legacy, p. 191.

People, January 8, 1990, David Hiltbrand, review of The Mutant Season, p. 24.

Publishers Weekly, March 16, 1990, Penny Kaganoff, review of Universe 1, p. 66; October 22, 2001, review of Meditations on Middle-Earth, p. 68.

Science Fiction Chronicle, December, 2001, Don D'Ammassa, review of Meditations on Middle Earth, p. 50.