K. D. Wentworth
K. D. Wentworth, born in 1951 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a prolific science fiction author known for her engaging storytelling and contributions to the genre. After an extensive education that included attending thirteen different schools and earning a B.A. in liberal arts from the University of Tulsa, she spent twenty-seven years teaching elementary school. Wentworth’s writing career began in earnest in 1988 with her award-winning short story "Daddy's Girls," which led to her publication of novels starting with "The Imperium Game" in 1994.
Her notable works include the House of Moons trilogy and the Heyoka Blackeagle series, which draws inspiration from Native American culture and features the wolf-like ranger Heyoka Blackeagle. In addition to her novels, Wentworth has written over fifty short stories, earning recognition with Nebula Award nominations. She actively participates in the writing community, serving as the coordinating judge for the Writers of the Future contest and as secretary of the Science Fiction Writers of America, while also engaging with fans through online forums and at conventions.
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K. D. Wentworth
Writer
- Born: January 27, 1951
- Birthplace: Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Died: April 18, 2012
Biography
Prolific science fiction author Kathy D. Wentworth, better known as K. D. Wentworth, was born in 1951 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her family moved frequently during her school years and she attended thirteen different schools before graduation. She completed high school in New York but returned to Oklahoma to attend the University of Tulsa. She earned her B.A. in liberal arts and then got a job teaching elementary school at Keystone School in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. She taught there for twenty- seven years, retiring in 2003.
An avid reader as a child, Wentworth had always wanted to be a writer but was disappointed in the fiction-writing classes she took in college. One summer during the school hiatus, instead of getting a part-time job she dedicated herself to developing her writing, reading about writing, or drafting her own stories. Influenced by Algis Budrys and inspired by fellow Oklahoman C. J. Cherryh, as well as Andrea Norton and Anne McCaffrey, she read voraciously, continuing her “part-time” writing job for two hours a day after school resumed. Her fiction-writing career officially began in 1988, when she was the fourth quarter winner in L Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest with her short story “Daddy’s Girls.” In 1991, she received the Teachers as Writers Award from Field Publications.
Her first novel, The Imperium Game, was published in early 1994. She quickly followed it up with the first two novels in the House of Moons trilogy, Moonspeaker and House of Moons. The last volume in the trilogy, Moonchild, appeared in 2004.
Wentworth followed the first two Moon volumes with the Heyoka Blackeagle series, including the novels Black on Black and Stars over Stars. Although set on the planet Oleaaka, these novels feature the wolf-like ranger Heyoka Blackeagle, who is descended from Earth’s Oglala Sioux Indians, and are inspired by Native American culture and lore. Two stand-alone novels followed this series, This Fair Land and The Course of Empire, written with popular author Eric Flint. Two more collaborations with Flint, The Torus War and a sequel to The Course of Empire, were scheduled for publication in 2007.
Although best known for her novels, Wentworth has written more than fifty short stories, two of which, “Tall One” and “Burning Bright,” were finalists for Nebula Awards in 1998 and 1999, respectively. She has published stories in Aboriginal SF, Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Pulphouse, and Realms of Fantasy, as well as the well-known magazine, Fantasy and Science Fiction. Her stories are included in the anthologies Return to the Twilight Zone (1994) and The Chick is in the Mail (2000).
In 2000, Wentworth became the coordinating judge for the Writers of the Future contest and she is secretary of the Science Fiction Writers of America. She has a newsgroup on SFF.net where she frequently chats with fans and is a regular guest at various science-fiction conventions.