Andre Norton

Readers readily relate to Andre Norton’s protagonists, who are often young women successfully undertaking a challenging rite of passage; the stories feature a high degree of narrative control and a universe fundamentally responsive to virtue, good will, and spunk.  

Born Alice Mary Norton, Andre Norton spent two decades as a librarian before turning to writing full-time. Although she was for many years marketed successfully as a writer for children and adolescents, much of her work is as adult in theme as most general science fiction.

From 1950 to 1970, Norton concentrated on science fiction novels, most of which were gathered into individual series that are in turn part of a broadly conceived galactic superseries. From 1970 onward, following the success of her Witch World science fantasy series (begun in 1963), she produced numerous fantasies as well.

Norton was the first woman to win the Grand Master of Fantasy (Gandalf) Award (1977), as well as the first to win a Nebula Grand Master Award (1984).