Sandra Louise Miesel (born Sandra Louise Schwartz on November 25, 1941) in New Orleans)[1] is an American medievalist, writer, editor and fiction critic. Her early work was in science fiction and fantasy criticism, while her later writings focus on religious critiques.

Writing career

Miesel was a member of science fiction fandom (a connection which sprang from a letter she had published in IF magazine[2]). She published several critical articles in the science fiction fanzine Yandro, especially on Anderson and Dickson, as well as other fanzines such as Granfalloon.

She started her career as a critic in 1970s with Myth, Symbol and Religion in The Lord of the Rings (1973 chap) on J R R Tolkien.

She was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer three times (1973, 1974 and 1975)[3] and had two monographs published by Fannish small presses: Myth, Symbol and Religion in The Lord of the Rings (T-K Graphics, 1973) and Against Time's Arrow: The High Crusade of Poul Anderson (Borgo Press, 1978).[4]

Miesel has written many articles for the Catholic press, chiefly focusing on history, art, and hagiography. She wrote regularly for the now-defunct Crisis Catholic magazine and is a columnist for the diocesan paper of the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut.

Miesel is also a public speaker, having spoken at religious and academic conferences, appeared on EWTN, and given numerous radio interviews.

Highlighted works

Miesel has co-authored, The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code, with Carl E Olson. This is a detailed critique of the popular novel based on her knowledge of Catholic history and teachings.

She is also the co-author of The Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy with Catholic journalist and canon lawyer Pete Vere. The book, published by Ignatius Press, offers a detailed critique of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy from a Catholic point of view.[5]

Personal life

Miesel holds master's degrees in biochemistry and medieval history from the University of Illinois. She lives in the Indianapolis, Indiana area.[6] She was married to John Miesel for 42 years until his death in 2006.[7]

Selected works

Fiction

  • Miesel, Sandra (1989). Shaman. Baen. ISBN 0-671-69844-3. Speculative fiction. An earlier version was published as Dreamrider (Ace Books, 1982).

Non-fiction

  • Miesel, Sandra (1973). Myth, Symbol, and Religion in The Lord of the Rings. T-K Graphics. OCLC: 1242807.
  • Miesel, Sandra (1978). Against Time's Arrow: The High Crusade of Poul Anderson. Borgo Press. ISBN 0-89370-124-6.
  • "The Fan As Critic" in Science fiction fandom Joe Sanders, ed. (Contributions to the study of science fiction and fantasy, no. 62) Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994. ISBN 0-313-23380-2
  • Olson, Carl E.; Sandra Miesel (2004). The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code. Ignatius Press. ISBN 1-58617-034-1.

References

  1. ↑ Science Fiction Encyclopedia website
  2. ↑ "Catholics & Science Fiction: An Interview with Sandra Miesel". ignatiusinsight.com. Ignatius Insight. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  3. ↑ Hugo Nominees Database
  4. ↑ Reid, Robin Anne. Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy: Volume 1: Overviews Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2009; p. 284
  5. ↑ Miesel, Sandra and Pete Vere. "Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy". www.AtheismForChildren.com. Ignatius Press. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2010.
  6. ↑ Burton, David. "'Credentials?' We Don't Need No Stinkin' Credentials" Catchpenny Gazette #1 (February 2004), p. 2
  7. ↑ Silver, Steven H. "News: Obituary" SF Site September 2006
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