{{Short description|American writer (born 1981)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}} {{Infobox writer | name = Molly Tanzer | image = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1981|10|29}} | birth_place = Marietta, Georgia, U.S. | alma_mater = Rollins College (BA)<br>Florida State University (MA) | website = {{URL|mollytanzer.com}} | genre = {{Hlist|Horror|fantasy|science fiction|erotica|Lovecraftian horror}} | occupation = {{Hlist|Novelist|social worker|barista}} | movement = {{Hlist|Bizarro fiction|New weird}} }}
'''Molly Tanzer''' (born October 29, 1981) is an American fantasy, horror, and science fiction writer.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Claustrophobic Ending: Creatures of Charm and Hunger by Molly Tanzer|url=https://www.tor.com/2020/04/27/book-reviews-creatures-of-charm-and-hunger-by-molly-tanzer/|last=Bourke|first=Liz|date=2020-04-27|website=Tor.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref> She won the Colorado Book Award for historical fiction, and has been nominated for the Locus Award, British Fantasy Award, and the Wonderland Book Award. She is known for genre-bending fiction that combines horror and fantasy with strong female protagonists, depth of characterization, and realistic interpersonal relationships.<ref>{{Cite web|title=16 science fiction and fantasy books to read this November|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/1/16495524/sci-fi-fantasy-books-recommendations-november-2017|last=Liptak|first=Andrew|date=2017-11-01|website=The Verge|language=en|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Tanzer was born in Marietta, Georgia. She moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, when she was 12. She studied Art History at Rollins College, and received a Master's in Humanities from Florida State University, with a focus on 18th-century novels written by women about the transatlantic slave trade.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Molly Tanzer: Ghosts 'n' Shit|url=https://locusmag.com/2016/05/molly-tanzer-ghosts-n-shit/|last=admin|date=2016-05-22|website=Locus Online|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Books bound in yellow|url=https://www.boulderweekly.com/entertainment/books-bound-yellow/|last=Scott|first=Anna Mary|date=2018-06-28|website=Boulder Weekly|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref>
== Style and themes == Tanzer's books often combine elements of multiple genres including horror, fantasy, science fiction, realism, and comedy.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Walter|first=Damien|date=2013-04-03|title=Indie SF and fantasy hunt yields prize catch|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/apr/03/indie-sf-fantasy-hunt-prize-haul|access-date=2020-05-04|issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/molly-tanzer/creatures-of-charm-and-hunger/|title=CREATURES OF CHARM AND HUNGER {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|language=en}}</ref> She frequently sets her books in alternate historical settings, in which she incorporates people of color, LGBTQIA characters, and strong female protagonists.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title='Vermilion' Finds New Magic In The Old West|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/04/22/400178830/vermilion-finds-new-magic-in-the-old-west|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref> Tanzer has stated that she strives for inclusivity in her works and that she is especially interested in the "queering of history."<ref name=":0" /> Tanzer has been noted for the strong characterizations in her novels, complex relationships, as well as sharp and witty dialogue.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Liz Bourke Reviews Creatures of Want and Ruin by Molly Tanzer|url=https://locusmag.com/2019/02/liz-bourke-reviews-creatures-of-want-and-ruin-by-molly-tanzer/|date=2019-02-27|website=Locus Online|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Vermilion|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-939905-08-6|last=|first=|date=|website=Publishers Weekly|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Creatures of Will and Temper|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-328-71026-0|last=|first=|date=|website=Publishers Weekly|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> Women's relationships are a prominent part of Tanzer's novels, which frequently include more than one female protagonist.<ref name=":2" /> Her novels often have "slow-burn" pacing with a longer build up that eventually gives way to action.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Creatures Of Will And Temper' Is A Slow-Burn Slide Into Deviltry|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/11/22/563736025/creatures-of-will-and-temper-is-a-slow-burn-slide-into-deviltry|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref>
== Awards ==
=== Won ===
* Colorado Book Award, Historical Fiction 2020 (''Creatures of Charm and Hunger'')<ref>{{Cite web|last=admin|title=COLORADO BOOK AWARDS|url=https://coloradohumanities.org/programs/colorado-book-awards/|access-date=2021-11-09|website=Colorado Humanities|language=en}}</ref>
=== Nominated ===
* Locus Award, Best Fantasy Novel 2018 (''Creatures of Want and Ruin'')<ref>{{Cite web|title=2019 Locus Awards Finalists|url=https://locusmag.com/2019/05/2019-locus-awards-finalists/|last=locusmag|date=2019-05-07|website=Locus Online|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref> *British Fantasy Award, Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer 2013 (''A Pretty Mouth'')<ref>{{Cite web|title=Award Category: 2013 The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer (British Fantasy Award)|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/award_category_year.cgi?101+2013|website=www.isfdb.org|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref> *Wonderland Book Award, Best Collection 2013 (''A Pretty Mouth'')<ref>{{Cite web|title=wonderland book award|url=https://bizarrocentral.wordpress.com/tag/wonderland-book-award-2/|website=Bizarro Central|language=en|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref>
=== Best Book Lists ===
* NPR Best Books of 2015 (''Vermilion'')<ref>{{Cite web|title=NPR's Book Concierge: Our Guide To 2015's Great Reads|url=https://apps.npr.org/best-books-2015/|last=|first=|date=|website=NPR|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> * io9 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2015 (''Vermilion'')<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Very Best Science Fiction And Fantasy Books Of 2015|url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-very-best-science-fiction-and-fantasy-books-of-2015-1748164151|website=io9|date=21 December 2015 |language=en-us|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref>
== Published works ==
===Novels===
* ''Vermilion'' (2015)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Vermilion |url=https://wordhorde.com/books/vermilion/ |first=Molly |last=Tanzer |isbn=978-1-93990-5-086 }}</ref> * ''The Pleasure Merchant'' (2015)<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Pleasure Merchant |url=https://wordhorde.com/books/the-pleasure-merchant/ |first=Molly |last=Tanzer |isbn=978-1-93990-5-666 }}</ref>
==== Diabolist's Library Trilogy ====
* ''Creatures of Charm and Hunger'' (2020) * ''Creatures of Want and Ruin'' (2018) * ''Creatures of Will and Temper'' (2017)
===Novellas=== * ''And Side by Side They Wander'' (Tordotcom, 2026)<ref>{{Cite book|title=And Side by Side They Wander |url=https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250382054/andsidebysidetheywander/ |first=Molly |last=Tanzer |isbn=978-1-25038-2-054 }}</ref>
=== Collections ===
* ''Rumbullion and Other Liminal Libations'' (2013) * ''A Pretty Mouth'' (2012)
=== Edited anthologies ===
*''Mixed Up: Cocktail Recipes (and Flash Fiction) for the Discerning Drinker (and Reader)'' (2017) *''Swords v. Cthulhu'' (2016)
=== Manga adaptation ===
* ''The Drifting Classroom,'' perfect edition, vol. 1–3, by Kazuo Umezu (2019)<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Kazuo Umezu's landmark horror manga 'The Drifting Classroom' returns with new 'Perfect Edition'|url=https://www.newsweek.com/drifting-classroom-manga-perfect-edition-omnibus-kazuo-umezu-1465457|first=Andrew |last=Whalen |date=2019-10-15|magazine=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=2020-05-16}}</ref>
=== Short stories ===
* "Les Chimeres: an Ode", ''Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (Sep/Oct 2022) * "In the Garden of Ibn Ghazi", ''Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (Mar/Apr 2021), * "The Deductive Method: A Miskatonic University Story", Chaosium.com * "A Judgment Made Can Never Bend", ''Forbidden Futures'' #4 * "The Real You™", ''Lightspeed Magazine'' #101<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Real You™ |url=https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-real-you/ |website=lightspeedmagazine.com}} Retrieved 2026-05-17.</ref> * "Le Cygne Baiseur", ''Mechanical Animals'' * "The Language of Flowers", ''Dark Discoveries'' #37 * "Nine Tenths of the Law", ''Lightspeed'' * "Cognac, Communism, and Cocaine", with Nick Mamatas, ''Through A Mythos Darkly'' * "That Nature Which Peers Out In Sleep", ''The Madness of Dr. Caligari'' * "But Only Because I Love You", ''Dreams from the Witch House'' * "The Stricken", ''Tomorrow’s Cthulhu'' * "Civilization and its Discontented", ''Aleriel, A Voyage to Other Worlds: The lost classic of Victorian science fiction, with a new sequel'' * "The Curse of the Old Ones" (with Jesse Bullington), ''Cthulhu Fthagn!'' * "The Thing on the Cheerleading Squad", ''She Walks in Shadows'' * "One Hot Chapatha", ''Strange Aeons'' * "Do Not Loiter in the Glen", ''Burning Maiden 2'' * "La Fée Verte", ''Gods, Memes, and Monsters'' * "Grave-Worms", ''Cassilda's Song'' * "Four Seasons in the Floating World" (with Jesse Bullington), Pornokitsch.com * "Hieron Aigypton", ''The Starry Wisdom Library'' * "Food From the Clouds", ''Letters to Lovecraft'' * "Good Lord, Show Me The Way", ''Children of Old Leech'' * "Qi Sport", ''Schemers'' * "Mysterium Tremendum", ''The Book of the Dead'' * "Tantivy", ''Zombies: Shambling Through the Ages'' * "Ho Pais Kalos", ''Geek Love: An Anthology of Full Frontal Nerdery'' * "All This For the Greater Glory of the 7th and 329th Children of the Black Goat of the Woods", ''The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction'' #7 * "Herbert West in Love", ''The Lovecraft eZine'', December 2012 * "Tubby McMungus, Fat from Fungus" (co-authored with Jesse Bullington), ''Fungi'' * "The Poison-Well", ''The Lion and the Aardvark'' * "Hour of the Tortoise", ''The Book of Cthulhu II'' * "Holiday at Two Hoots", ''Coming Together: Arm in Arm in Arm'' * "Go, Go, Go, Said the Byakhee", ''Future Lovecraft'' * "How John Wilmot Contracted Syphilis", ''Lacuna'', October 2011 * "The Devil's Bride", ''Palimpsest: A Creative Journal of the Humanities'' * "The Infernal History of the Ivybridge Twins", ''Historical Lovecraft,'' reprinted in ''The Book of Cthulhu'' * "In Sheep's Clothing", ''Running with the Pack''
=== Anthology appearances === * {{cite book |title=The Big Book of Cyberpunk |chapter=The Real You™ |publisher=Vintage Books |year=2023 |isbn=978-0593467237}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Future Treasures: The Big Book of Cyberpunk edited by Jared Shurin |first=John |last=O’Neill |url=https://www.blackgate.com/2023/09/20/future-treasures-the-big-book-of-cyberpunk-edited-by-jared-shurin/ |website=blackgate.com}} Retrieved 2026-05-17.</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{ISFDB name|147888}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanzer, Molly}} Category:21st-century American women novelists Category:21st-century American novelists Category:Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Rollins College alumni Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:Novelists from Florida Category:People from West Palm Beach, Florida Category:People from Marietta, Georgia Category:Florida State University alumni Category:American science fiction writers Category:American fantasy writers Category:American horror novelists Category:American women science fiction and fantasy writers Category:American women horror writers