Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal is an American science fiction and fantasy author and professional puppeteer. She won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for The Calculating Stars (2019), which also won the Hugo and Nebula awards. She is known for her Lady Astronaut series, set in an alternate history in which the United States accelerates its space program due to a global catastrophe. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Kowal works as a voice actor and puppeteer in addition to her writing career. The Calculating Stars—about a female mathematician and pilot fighting to become an astronaut in the 1950s—was praised for its historical texture, accessible prose, and feminist themes. She served as president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Kowal is known for her warm engagement with the SF community and her advocacy for marginalized voices in the genre.