Pat York
Pat York was an award-winning science fiction writer and a dedicated schoolteacher based in the Buffalo, New York area. Her writing career began in the mid-1990s, during which she contributed short stories to various notable periodicals, including *Tomorrow*, *Realms of Fantasy*, and *Odyssey*. York's work was recognized in anthologies such as *Full Spectrum 5* and *Silver Birch, Blood Moon*, and her Nebula-nominated story, "You Wandered Off Like a Foolish Child to Break Your Heart and Mine," was included in the prestigious *Nebula Awards Showcase 2002*. Throughout her career, she was also involved in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and received nominations for various awards, including the Rhysling Award for her poetry.
In addition to her creative writing, York was an active researcher, exploring themes of religion and spirituality in women's speculative fiction. She participated in numerous workshops and received grants to further her studies in teaching methods and writing. Tragically, York's life was cut short in May 2005 due to a car accident in Columbus, Ohio, as she was returning from a family gathering. At the time of her death, she was 57 years old and had recently retired to focus on her writing, including her first full-length novel. She is remembered by her family, including her husband and two adult children.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Pat York
Writer
- Born: c. 1948
- Died: May 21, 2005
- Place of death: Columbus, Ohio
Biography
Award-winning science-fiction writer Pat York was a career schoolteacher in the vicinity of Buffalo, New York. She began publishing short fiction in the mid-1990’s, contributing stories to periodicals such as Tomorrow, Realms of Fantasy, and Odyssey. Her stories have been anthologized in the publications Full Spectrum 5, New Altars, and The Roycroft Review, as well as Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling’s collection of alternate fairy tales, Silver Birch, Blood Moon (1999). York’s Nebula-nominated story You Wandered Off Like a Foolish Child to Break Your Heart and Mine (1999) was reprinted in the Nebula anthology Nebula Awards Showcase 2002. Two of her short stories, 1995’s “Cool Zone” and 1998’s “Lustman,” were Nebula preliminary nominees.
A volunteer and long-term member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, York’s 1996 poem “A Faerie’s Tale” was nominated for the 1997 Rhysling Award from the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Her other stories—including “Truckin’” and “Sport” from 1995, “The Gift of the Toxic Baby” from 1996, “The Toxic Baby” from 1997, 1998’s “The Great Leaving,” and 2001’s “Wishes”—all were popular with readers and critics alike. “Wishes” has been made publicly available online by Clocktower Fiction. In both 1994 and 1995, York was a finalist in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest.
In addition to her writing, York was an active researcher. In l995, she received a research grant from the Council on Basic Education/National Institute on the Humanities to investigate religion and spirituality in women’s speculative fiction. She was a Fulbright Memorial Fund teacher-scholar in 1998, conducting a project on teaching methods in Japanese schools. A Donald Wollheim Scholarship from the New York Science Fiction Society funded her attendance at the Michigan State University Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop in 1993, and she was awarded additional writing grants from the National Writer’s Project and Canisius College.
York was killed in an automobile accident in Columbus, Ohio, while returning from a family gathering in May, 2005, when the car she was riding in collided with a bus. Her daughter, Nora, was driving and was hospitalized, as was the driver of the bus. York was fifty-seven years old at the time of her death and had recently retired to pursue her writing full time. She had recently completed and begun seeking a publisher for her first full-length novel, a far-future tale set in Chautauqua County, New York. She is survived by her husband, James, and two adult children.