# Sonya Taaffe

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**Sonya Taaffe** is an American author of short fiction and poetry based out of Massachusetts. She grew up in [Arlington](/source/Arlington,_Massachusetts) and [Lexington](/source/Lexington,_Massachusetts), Massachusetts and graduated from [Brandeis University](/source/Brandeis_University) in 2003 where she received a [B.A.](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts) and [M.A.](/source/Master_of_Arts) in [Classical Studies](/source/Classics). She also received an M.A. in Classical Studies from [Yale University](/source/Yale_University) in 2008.

Taaffe was first published in 2001, with "Shade and Shadow" in *[Not One of Us](/source/Not_One_of_Us)*, "Turn of the Century, Jack-in-the-Green" in *[Mythic Delirium](/source/Mike_Allen_(poet))*, and "Constellations, Conjunctions" in *Maelstrom Speculative Fiction*.[1]

Taaffe often writes for the small press magazine *[Not One of Us](/source/Not_One_of_Us)*, for whose website she is the contributing editor.[2] She served as a co-editor in the Poetry Department of *[Strange Horizons](/source/Strange_Horizons)* magazine alongside [AJ Odasso](/source/AJ_Odasso) and Romie Stott until 2016.

Taaffe proposed the name [Vanth](/source/Vanth_(moon)) for the moon of dwarf planet [Orcus](/source/Orcus_(dwarf_planet)) to its discoverer, [Michael E. Brown](/source/Michael_E._Brown), which was approved by the [International Astronomical Union](/source/International_Astronomical_Union) (IAU).[3][4]

## Influences

Among her influences, Taaffe highlights [Angela Carter](/source/Angela_Carter) for impressing her with "language that voluptuous, overblown, and precise all at the same time." She also lists [Harlan Ellison](/source/Harlan_Ellison), [Theodore Sturgeon](/source/Theodore_Sturgeon), [Ursula K. Le Guin](/source/Ursula_K._Le_Guin), [Tanith Lee](/source/Tanith_Lee), [Patricia A. McKillip](/source/Patricia_A._McKillip), [Susan Cooper](/source/Susan_Cooper), [Diana Wynne Jones](/source/Diana_Wynne_Jones), [Jane Yolen](/source/Jane_Yolen), [Caitlín R. Kiernan](/source/Caitl%C3%ADn_R._Kiernan), [Kathe Koja](/source/Kathe_Koja), [Peter S. Beagle](/source/Peter_S._Beagle).[1]

## Awards

Taaffe's poem "Matlacihuatl's Gift" won the [Rhysling Award](/source/Rhysling_Award) in 2003, and her poem "Follow Me Home" appeared in *The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008: 21st Annual Collection*. Her short story "Retrospective" was shortlisted for the Speculative Literature Foundation's [Fountain Award](/source/Fountain_Award) in 2004 and her poem "Muse" placed 2nd for the [Dwarf Stars Award](/source/Dwarf_Stars_Award) in 2008.[5] Taaffe's collection *Forget the Sleepless Shores* was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in LGBT Speculative Fiction.

## Selected bibliography

### Poetry

- "Matlacihuatl's Gift" (*Dreams and Nightmares*, Issue 63, 2002) (2003 [Rhysling Award](/source/Rhysling_Award) winner)
- "Philon from Ithaka, Theas's Son" (*[Paradox](/source/Paradox_(magazine))*, Issue 2, Summer 2003)
- *[Postcards from the Province of Hyphens](/source/Postcards_from_the_Province_of_Hyphens)* (2005, [Prime Books](/source/Prime_Books))
- "Muse" (*Strange Horizons*, March 12, 2007; 2nd place in the *2008 Dwarf Stars Anthology*)
- *Postscripts from the Red Sea*, published in a limited, handbound edition by [Papaveria Press](/source/Papaveria_Press)
- "Apotropaism" (*Goblin Fruit*, Winter 2009; featured in the *2010 Dwarf Stars Anthology*)
- "Amal and the Night Visitors" (*Goblin Fruit*, Winter 2009)
- "Homeric Hymn to Demophoon" (*Goblin Fruit*, Fall 2009)
- "Anthology" (*Cabinet des Fees*, September 2009)
- "ὡς πολλοῖς ὄμμασιν εἰς σὲ βλέπω" (*Strange Horizons*, November 2009)
- "The Gambler"
- "Logos"
- "Titania's Dream"
- "Fasti"

### Short fiction

- *Singing Innocence and Experience* (a collection, 2005, Prime Books)
- *On the Blindside* (2005)
- *Forget the Sleepless Shores* (a collection, finalist for the Lambda Literary Award, 2018, Lethe Press)
- "Moving Nameless” in King David and the Spiders from Mars (Dybbuk Press collection)

## References

1. (30 November 2004) [A Conversation with Sonya Taaffe](https://mumpsimus.blogspot.com/2004/11/conversation-with-sonya-taaffe.html), Matthew Cheney, *The Mumpsimus* accessdate=February 2, 2011

1. (April 2005) [Interview with Sonya Taaffe](http://www.bookslut.com/features/2005_04_005006.php). Geoffrey H. Goodwin, *Bookslut*. Accessdate=February 3, 2011

1. Michael E. Brown (2009-04-06). ["Orcus Porcus"](http://www.mikebrownsplanets.com/2009/04/orcus-porcus.html). Mike Brown's Planets (blog). Retrieved 2011-10-08.

1. ["Minor planet circular"](http://www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/2010/MPC_20100330.pdf). minorplanetcenter.org. 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-08.

1. [SFPA Dwarf Stars](http://www.sfpoetry.com/dwarfstars.html) accessdate=February 2, 2011

## External links

- [Sonya Taaffe's Dreamwidth](http://sovay.dreamwidth.org/)
- [Sonya Taaffe's LiveJournal](http://sovay.livejournal.com/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sonya Taaffe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonya_Taaffe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonya_Taaffe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.