J.M. Frey

Jessica Marie Frey /ˈfraɪ/ FRY is a Canadian science fiction and fantasy author. While she is best known for her debut novel Triptych, Frey's work encompasses poetry, academic and magazine articles, screenplays, and short stories. Frey calls herself a "professional geek.". Frey's fiction work generally follows the conventions of literary fiction mixed with the tropes of science fiction and fantasy, and usually focuses on themes of personal merit, family, queerness, gender, and revisionist literature, as well as genre-deconstruction and meta themes.
Her academic work focuses on gender in science fiction, the anthropology of fandom (fanthropology), fanfiction and fanworks (specifically on Mary Sues and Cosplay), as well as the television programs Doctor Who and Stargate: Atlantis.
Frey has appeared at Toronto-area science fiction conventions and is involved with charity and community fan groups and initiatives. She regularly appears on radio shows, television talk shows, and podcasts discussing fandom and genre works.

Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Frey is the first of three children of Donna Frey (née Winer) and Danny Frey. She attended Centre Wellington District High School in Fergus, Ontario, and graduated in 2000, then went on to do her Ontario Academic Credits at Orangeville District Secondary School and graduated in 2001.

Frey began writing at the age of eleven. She began by writing fanfiction, which she calls her "apprenticeship to the fandom community", and which led her to write original stories at the age of eighteen. Frey's academic and creative writing focused primarily on Japanese mythology, the Classics, and traditional Japanese theatre. She began her first novel while at Brock University, which has not yet been published, and first began to seriously study creative writing there.

After earning her Bachelor of Arts, Dramatic Literature (honors) in 2005, Frey lived in Fukuoka, Japan for two years, where she taught English as a Japanese Exchange Teacher, and worked on several other to-date-unpublished manuscripts. In 2007, Frey returned to Canada to attend Ryerson and York Universities for a Masters of Arts.

She made her first professional sale upon returning to Canada, a novella titled "(Back)," which she eventually expanded into the first third of her debut novel "Triptych."

Dragon Moon Press acquired "Triptych" in late 2009 after Frey and the acquisitions editor Gabrielle Harbowy met at a party at the Ad Astra science fiction convention. The book was released April 2011.

Frey completed her Masters of Arts, Communications and Culture (honors) in 2009, where her thesis focused on fanfiction, creative writing and fandom, and the self-insert fiction trope known as a Mary Sue. Other papers Frey presented focused on cosplay, the anthropology and sociology of fandom, and the science fiction television program Doctor Who.

Frey is currently represented by Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary, Inc.

Triptych received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and was named the #3 best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror book of 2011 by Publishers Weekly's Rose Fox. Triptych was also nominated for the CBC Bookie Award for Science Fiction, the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Fiction, and the Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction. Triptych won best Science Fiction Book at the 2012 San Francisco Book Festival, and was given an honourable mention for Science Fiction Book at the 2012 London Book Festival.

"To A Stranger" (unproduced feature film screenplay) was named an Official Selection for the NEU WORLD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (2016), named an Official Selection and received an honourable mention with the DEPTH OF FIELD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (2016), and was an official Quarter-Finalist for the CARMESI HOUSE INTERNATIONAL SCREENWRITING CONTEST FOR DIVERSE VOICES (2017).

Frey has frequently presented an academic view on the geek scene in documentaries, podcasts, radio interviews, and television interviews.

Novels and Novellas

• (Back), SilverThought Press, Spring 2008
• Triptych, Dragon Moon Press, April 2011
• The Dark Side of the Glass, Double Dragon Press, June 2012
• The Untold Tale, REUTS Publications, December 2015
• Ghosts, REUTS Publications, April 2016
• The Forgotten Tale, REUTS Publications, December 2016
• Arrivals, REUTS Publications, April 2017
• The Silenced Tale, REUTS Publications, December 2018

Short fiction

• "The Once and Now-ish King", in When the Hero Comes Home. Dragon Moon Press, July 2011
• "On His Birthday, Reginald Got", in Klien. FutureCon Publications, December 2011
• "Maddening Science", in When the Villain Comes Home, Dragon Moon Press. August 2012
• "The Moral of the Story”, in Wresting With Gods, Tesseracts 18. EDGE Publishing, January 2015
• “The Twenty Seven Club”, in Expiration Date. EDGE Publishing, Spring 2015
• “Zmeu” in Gods, Memes and Monsters, Stone Skin Press, Summer 2015
• “How Fanfiction Made Me Gay” in The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, Bedside Press, December 2015

Poetry

• "On the Hazards of Dating a Vancouver-Based Actor", in In My Bed Magazine vol 5, Fall 2009
• "Tobogganing", in The White Wall Review vol 32, Ryerson University Press, 2008
• "Water Garden", in The White Wall Review vol 32, Ryerson University Press, 2008

Academic

• "Social, Political and Artistic Contexts, Affecting The Development of Kabuki from Origins to Contemporary Supakabuki, Prevalent in Masahi Todayama's Inu Yasha" – Bachelor of Arts thesis, Spring 2005, Brock University
• "Identiplay: Cosplay, Cons, Camp, and the Carnivalesque" – presented at the Pop Culture Association of America's annual conference, San Francisco, March 2008
• "Whose Doctor?" – presented at the Whoniversal Appeal academic conference at the University of Cardiff, Wales, November 2008
• "Un-caped Crusaders: Illness Memoirs, 9/11, and Comics" – presented at the Ryerson Grad Seminar, Spring 2009.
• "Modern Mixed Media: Techniques for Using Online Fandoms for Teaching and Research" – presented at the Technology and Pedagogy conference at York University in March, 2009.
• "Water Logged Mona Lisa: Who Is Mary Sue and Why Do We Need Her?" – Master of Arts thesis, Spring 2009, Ryerson University & York University
• "Whose Doctor?", in Doctor Who In Time And Space, McFarland Books, Fall 2012.

Graphic Novels and Comics

• “Bloodsuckers” and “Toronto the Rude” in The Toronto Comic Anthology, May 2015
• Ivy, an Accidental Turn prequel comic, November 2015

Screenplays

• To A Stranger, currently making the festival rounds, 2016

Short Films

• Sarah, Ext. 5683 (L-o-v-e) a.k.a. Telemarketing: The Musical, (Elaine Poon, Ryerson University, 2009)
• Girlfriend, Skeletons in the Closet (Sean Archer, Ryerson University, 2008)
• Torchwood Agent, Torchwood 4 (Karen Wood Productions, 2008)
• Colonel Joan Sheppard, Swirlygate Atlantis (Karen Wood Productions, 2007–2009)

Webseries

• Casey, LESlieVILLE (Make Go Work Productions, Fall 2012)
• Barista, Out With Dad, (JLeaver Presentations, Fall 2013)

Documentaries

• Academic expert, Leaving Mundania (Jiro C. Okada, 2009)
• Anne Shirley, The Maud Squad, (Lisa Lightbourn-Lay, 2008)

Television

• Academic Expert, Doctor Who Live Panel! on "InnerSPACE" for the Space Channel, July 2010

Commercials

• "Jessica's Story", Works For Me, McDonalds Employment Campaign at www.worksforme.ca, (McDonald's Canada 2008)

Voice Acting / Radio Plays

• Monica Monnaroachkillah & Flo, The Weight of Information, Part 1, (Les Page Aux Folles, 2010)
• Lillian H. Smith, "A Life In The Library" Musical (demo singer, Fall 2011)

Awards

• "To A Stranger" (unproduced Feature Film Screenplay) named an Official Selection for the NEU WORLD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (2016), named an Official Selection and received an honourable mention with the DEPTH OF FIELD INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (2016), and was an official Quarter-Finalist for the CARMESI HOUSE INTERNATIONAL SCREENWRITING CONTEST FOR DIVERSE VOICES (2017).
• "Bloodsuckers" (Comic in Toronto Comics Vol 2 with Artist Ryan C. Cole) nominated for Prix Aurora Awards (2015)
• "Triptych" named best Science Fiction / Fantasy book at the San Francisco Book Festival (May 2012)
• "When the Hero Comes Home" nominated for best Anthology in the ForeWord Book Of the Year Awards (April 2012)
• "Triptych" nominated in the Bisexual and LGBT SF/F categories of the Lambda Literary Awards (March 2012)
• "Triptych" nominated in the 2nd Annual CBC Bookies awards (March 2012)
• "Triptych" named one of the Best Overlooked Books of 2011 by The Advocate (Dec-Jan 2011-2012)
• "Triptych" named the #3 Best Book of 2011 in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror category by Publishers Weekly & Genreville's Rose Fox.
• Best Short Story, Dragon*Con 2007 for Zoh Onna Omote (The Nothing Woman's Mask)

Degrees

• Bachelor of Arts (Honors), Dramatic Arts. Brock University, 2005
• Master of Arts, Communications and Culture. Ryerson University & York University, 2009.