Sean McMullen

Sean Christopher McMullen (born midnight 21 December 1948 in Sale, Victoria) is an award-winning Australian science fiction and fantasy author.

McMullen is one of Australia's leading science-fiction and fantasy authors, and has written over seventy stories and seventeen books. In 2011, his novelette "Eight Miles" was the runner-up in the Hugo Awards, and has won the Analog Reader's Award twice, for "Ninety Thousand Horses" in 2013 and "Tower of Wings" in 2002.

His first novel was originally published in Australia as two separate books, Voices in the Light (1994) and Mirrorsun Rising (1995). His first internationally published novel was "The Centurion's Empire" (1998), which featured a time machine built during the Roman Empire. After the success of "The Centurion's Empire", his first two novels were rewritten and combined for a publication in the US as Souls in the Great Machine (1999), which, in turn, became the first volume of the Greatwinter trilogy, a unique mix of the generally anti-genres Steampunk and Cyberpunk. This was followed by the "Moonworlds" series, which saw McMullen blend science and romance in a fantasy setting. His most recent series is the "Century War" series for young adult readers, set in Melbourne in 1901.

Sean's non-fiction work includes the non-fiction Strange Constellations: A History of Australian Science Fiction, a history of Australian science fiction jointly written with Van Ikin and Russell Blackford. He also co-wrote the first histories of Australian fantasy and horror with Steven Paulsen.

McMullen has a degree in physics and history from Melbourne University (1974), a postgraduate degree in library and information science, and a PhD in Medieval Literature. He was a professional musician in the 1970s, concentrating on singing and guitar playing. Sean has recently retired from a career in scientific computing to concentrate on his literary work. He is s a third dan black belt in karate, teaching at the Melbourne University Karate club. He is the father of C. S. McMullen, an Australian speculative fiction author.

Hugo Awards

2011 Runner-up, Best Novellette – Eight Miles

Ditmar Awards

1991 Best Australian Short Fiction – While the Gate is Open

1992 Best Short Fiction – Alone in His Chariot; William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism – Going Commercial

1993 William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism – Australian SF Art Turns 50

1996 Best Australian Long Fiction – Mirrorsun Rising; William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism – The Hunt for Australian Horror Fiction (together with Steven Paulsen and Bill Congreve)

1998 William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism – Fantasy in Australia (together with Steven Paulsen)

2000 William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism – Strange Constellations (together with Van Ikin and Russell Blackford)

Aurealis Awards

1998 Best Novel – The Centurion's Empire

2001 Best Novel – The Miocene Arrow

2003 Best Short Story -Walk to the Moon

Analog Reader's Award

2002 Best Novellette – Tower of Wings

2013 Best Novellette – Ninety Thousand Horses

Nova Fantastyka Reader's Award

2003 Best Foreign Story – Voice of Steel