Justina Ireland
Justina Ireland in 2018 at the National Book Festival
Justina Ireland in 2018 at the National Book Festival
Born (1985-02-07) February 7, 1985
French Camp, California, U.S.
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAmerican
EducationArmstrong Atlantic State University (BA)
Hamline University (MFA)
GenreScience fiction
Young Adult
Website
justinaireland.com

Justina Ireland (born 7 February 1985)[1] is an American science-fiction and fantasy author of young adult fiction and former editor-in-chief of the FIYAH Literary Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction.[2][3][4][5][6] She received the 2018 World Fantasy Award for Non-Professional Work.[7] Her novel Dread Nation won the 2019 Locus Award, and was nominated for the Andre Norton, Bram Stoker, and Lodestar Awards.[8]

Biography

As a teen, Ireland had aspirations to become a historian. She enlisted in the military at nineteen, where she would serve as an Arabic linguistics expert.[5] Now based in York, Pennsylvania, she works for the U.S. Navy as a director of logistics and weapon-systems support, and teaches creative writing at York College of Pennsylvania, where she is an adjunct lecturer in the department of Communication and Writing.[9][5]

Ireland holds a BA in History from Armstrong Atlantic State University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University, where she wrote a thesis on "microaggressions in children’s literature".[10][5] She is currently pursuing her PhD in English Literature.[5]

Writing

Ireland is known for writing strong female characters, and for addressing issues of race, class, power, misogyny, sexism, and colorism in her fiction.[11][12]

Dread Nation

Her best-known novel, Dread Nation, is an alternate history set in 19th century U.S. In this timeline, the Civil War ends when zombies emerge from their graves at Gettysburg. The enslaved are then freed, but Black and Indigenous children are then trained to fight the undead and protect the nation. The main character, Jane McKeene, is a biracial teen sent to a prestigious combat school where she trains in hopes of being assigned to a wealthy white family.[13]

Dread Nation received largely positive reviews that praised Ireland for her skillful approach to dealing with difficult issues related to slavery and its legacy. Kirkus Reviews wrote, "With a shrewd, scythe-wielding protagonist of color, Dread Nation is an exciting must-read."[14] School Library Journal, in their review, stated, "Ireland skillfully works in the different forms of enslavement, mental and physical, into a complex and engaging story" and declared that the novel is "A perfect blend of horrors real and imagined".[15] Alex Brown of Tor.com wrote, "Dread Nation is the perfect example of why we need more diversity in the YA author pool. Only a Black American woman could write Dread Nation."

Advocacy and activism

Ireland is known as an outspoken advocate for diversifying YA literature.[5][16] Lila Shapiro, in a 2018 article in New York magazine, called her "YA Twitter’s Leading Warrior."[5] She has been vocal about the need for more authors of color, and stories that feature characters of color in YA literature.

Ireland is also the founder of Writing in the Margins, an organization that provides mentorship to writers from historically marginalized groups.[2]

Bibliography

Standalone novels

  • Vengeance Bound (2013; Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers) – ISBN 978-1442444621
  • Promise of Shadows (2014; Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers) – ISBN 978-1442444645
  • Scream Site (2018; Capstone Editions) – ISBN 978-1630791025
  • Ophie's Ghosts (2021; Balzer + Bray) – ISBN 978-0062915894
  • Rust in the Root (2022; Balzer + Bray) – ISBN 978-0063038226

Dread Nation Series

  • Dread Nation (2018; Balzer + Bray) – ISBN 978-0062570604
  • Deathless Divide (2020; Balzer + Bray) – ISBN 978-0062570635

Collections:

Three for the Road"- Stories from Dread Nation- E-book- ASIN B08JLC2V1Q

  • "Dread South" (2017)
  • "Letters From Home" (2018)
  • "Dread Quarter" (2020)

Devils' Pass

(All published by Stone Arch Books unless otherwise noted)

  • Evie Allen vs. the Quiz Bowl Zombies (2017) – ISBN 978-1496549884
  • Jeff Allen vs. the Time Suck Vampire (2017) – ISBN 978-1496549860
  • Tiffany Donovan vs. the Cookie Elves of Destruction (2017) – ISBN 978-1496549877
  • Zach Lopez vs. the Unicorns of Doom (2017) – ISBN 978-1496549891
  • Tiffany Donovan vs. the Poison Werewolves (2018) – ISBN 978-1496565259
  • Zach Lopez vs. the Shadow Cats (2018) – ISBN 978-1496565242

Star Wars contributions

All published by Disney Lucasfilm Press unless otherwise noted

  • Flight of the Falcon
    • Star Wars: Lando's Luck (2018) – ISBN 978-1368041508
  • Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
  • The High Republic:
    • Light of the Jedi Series:
      • A Test of Courage (2021) – ISBN 978-1368057301
      • Out of the Shadows (2021) – ISBN 978-1368060653
      • Mission to Disaster (2022) – ISBN 978-1368068000
    • Starlight:
      • 6 Hidden Danger Part 2 (2021)- ISBN 978-1787738652
      • The Edge of Balance Vol. 1 (2021)- ISBN 978-1974725885
      • Path of Deceit (2022)- ISBN 978-1368076128

Contributions to anthologies

Year Contribution Anthology Editor ISBN
2015 "Such a Lovely Monster" (short story) Among the Shadows: Thirteen Stories of Darkness and Light ed. Demitria Lunetta, Mindy McGinnis, Kate Karyus Quinn ISBN 978-1516860654
2017 "Dread South" (short story) Three Sides of a Heart: Stories About Love Triangles ed. Natalie C. Parker ISBN 978-0062424495
2017 "Jackie's Story" Feral Youth ed. Shaun David Hutchinson, Suzanne Young, Marieke Nijkamp ISBN 978-1481491112
2019 "Calendar Girls" (short story) A People's Future of the United States ed. John Joseph Adams, Victor LaValle ISBN 978-0525508809
2019 "Kissing Sarah Smart" Black Enough: Stories of Being Young and Black in America ed. Ibi Zoboi 9780062698742
2020 "Melie" (novelette) A Phoenix First Must Burn ed. Patrice Caldwell ISBN 978-1984835659
2021 "I Know the Way" This Is Our Rainbow: 16 stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us ed. Katherine Locke, Nicole Melleby 9780593303962

Awards and nominations

Year Awarded Nominee Award Category Result Ref
2018 Justina Ireland & Troy L. Wiggins, for FIYAH World Fantasy Awards WFA–Non-Professional Won [17]
2019 Dread Nation Bram Stoker Awards BSA–Young Adult Nominated
Andre Norton Award Nominated
Lodestar Award Nominated
Locus Award Locus–Young Adult Won (1st)
2021 Deathless Divide Locus Award Locus–Young Adult Nominated (8th)

References

  1. ↑ "Summary Bibliography: Justina Ireland".
  2. 1 2 "Justina Ireland: 2018 National Book Festival". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  3. ↑ Brown, Alex (2019-08-07). "Hugo Spotlight: The Devastating Alternate History of Justina Ireland's Dread Nation". Tor.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  4. ↑ Liptak, Andrew (2019-01-14). "Justina Ireland on how systems create oppression and how to break free". The Verge. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Shapiro, Lila (2018-04-03). "Meet Justina Ireland, YA Twitter's Leading Warrior". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  6. ↑ Patches, Matt (2020-03-11). "High Republic author Justina Ireland on exploring and inscribing a new era of Star Wars". Polygon. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  7. ↑ Tor.com (2018-11-04). "Announcing the 2018 World Fantasy Award Winners". Tor.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  8. ↑ "Justina Ireland Awards". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Faculty and Staff Directory | York College of PA". www.ycp.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  10. ↑ "Author Interview - Justina Ireland, author of Dread Nation". BookPage.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  11. ↑ Sorg, Arley (September 26, 2018). "Arley Sorg Reviews Dread Nation by Justina Ireland". Locus Magazine. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Children's Book Review: Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  13. ↑ Brown, Alex (2018-04-03). "A Tale of Two Americas: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland". Tor.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  14. ↑ DREAD NATION | Kirkus Reviews.
  15. ↑ SLJ. "Dread Nation by Justina Ireland | SLJ Review". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  16. ↑ Mason, Everdeen (February 10, 2017). "There's a new way for novelists to sound authentic. But at what cost?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019.
  17. ↑ "sfadb : Justina Ireland Awards". www.sfadb.com. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
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