Hannu Rajaniemi

Hannu Rajaniemi
Born	9 March 1978 Ylivieska, Finland
Occupation	Writer, entrepreneur
Nationality	Finnish
Period	2003–present
Genre	Science fiction, fantasy

Hannu Rajaniemi (born 9 March 1978) is a Finnish author of science fiction and fantasy, who writes in both English and Finnish. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was a founding director of a commercial research organisation, ThinkTank Maths.^[1]

Biography

Rajaniemi was born in Ylivieska, Finland. He holds a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Oulu, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in Mathematical Physics from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to starting his PhD candidature, he completed his national service as a research scientist for the Finnish Defence Forces.^[1]

While pursuing his PhD in Edinburgh, Rajaniemi joined Writers' Bloc,^[2] a writers' group in Edinburgh that organizes semi-regular spoken word performances and counts Charlie Stross amongst its members. Early works included his first published short story "Shibuya no Love" in 2003 and his short story "Deus Ex Homine" in Nova Scotia, a 2005 anthology of Scottish science fiction and fantasy, which caught the attention of his current literary agent, John Jarrold.^[3]

Rajaniemi gained attention in October 2008 when John Jarrold secured a three-book deal for him with Gollancz,^[4] on the basis of only twenty-four double-spaced pages.^[3][5] His debut novel, The Quantum Thief, was published in September 2010 by Gollancz in Britain^[6] and was published in May 2011 by Tor Books in the U.S.^[7][8] The novel has been nominated for the 2011 Locus Award for Best First Novel.^[9] A sequel, The Fractal Prince, was published in September 2012 by Gollancz in Britain, and in October 2012 by Tor in the US.^[10] The third book in the series is called The Causal Angel, and was published in July 2014 by Gollancz in the UK and by Tor in the US.^[11]

Awards and honors

• 2012 Tähtivaeltaja Award, winner (best science fiction book published in Finnish) for The Quantum Thief.^[12]
• 2011 Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards, winner, Short Form category, translation of Hannu Rajaniemi's "Elegy for a Young Elk".^[13]
• 2011 Locus Award for Best First Novel, nominee, The Quantum Thief^[9]
• 2011 John W. Campbell Memorial Award, third place, The Quantum Thief^[14]
• 2013 John W. Campbell Memorial Award, nominee, The Fractal Prince^[15]

Bibliography

Novels

The Jean le Flambeur series

• The Quantum Thief (2010, ISBN 978-0-575-08888-7)
  • Third place, John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel^[16]

• The Fractal Prince (2012, ISBN 978-0-575-08891-7)
• The Causal Angel (2014, ISBN 978-0-575-08896-2)^[17]

Collections

• Words of Birth and Death (2006, Bloc Press), as a limited edition chapbook.^[18]
  • "The Viper Blanket"
  • "Barley Child"
  • "Fisher of Men"
• Hannu Rajaniemi: Collected Fiction (2015)^[19] ISBN 978-1-61696-192-3

Short fiction

A partial list follows.

• "Shibuya no Love"
  • Published in futurismic.com, 2003
  • Available online
• "Deus Ex Homine"
  • First anthologized in Nova Scotia: New Scottish Speculative Fiction, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84183-086-5
  • The Year's Best Science Fiction 23, 2006, edited by Gardner Dozois, ISBN 0-312-35334-0
  • Year's Best SF 11, 2006, edited by David Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, ISBN 0-06-087341-8
• "His Master's Voice"
  • Published in Interzone 218, October 2008
  • Available online in English and Finnish
  • Audio version available online as a podcast on the Escape Pod (episode #227) and Starship Sofa (Aural Delights No. 98)
• "Elegy for a Young Elk"
  • Published in Subterranean, Spring 2010
  • Won the award for short from in the 2011 Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards.^[20]
• "The Server and the Dragon"
  • Published in Engineering Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan, December 2010^[21][22][23]
• "Invisible Planets"
  • Published in Reach for Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan, May 2014^[24]

References

1. "About us". ThinkTank Maths. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
2. "Writers' Bloc » Hannu Rajaniemi". Writers' Bloc. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
3. Sam Bandah (3 November 2010). "Interview: Hannu Rajaniemi". SciFiNow. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
4. Jarrold, John (6 October 2008). "Major three-book pre-empt deal for debut SF novelist". LiveJournal. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
5. Richard Lea (9 November 2010). "Hannu Rajaniemi: the science of fiction". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
6. Hannu Rajaniemi on the publisher's site
7. John Jarrold (23 July 2010). "Three-book US rights deal for Hannu Rajaniemi". Retrieved 7 January 2015.
8. Jussi Ahlroth, Hannu Rajaniemen romaanit julkaistaan myös Yhdysvalloissa, Helsingin Sanomat, 20.7.2010, p. B 1
9. "2011 Locus Award Finalists". Locus. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
10. Hannu Rajaniemi - The Fractal Prince cover art, release date, and preorder details on Upcoming4.me
11. Endgame: The Causal Angel by Hannu Rajaniemi
12. "Tähtivaeltaja Award 2012"
13. "And The Winners Are…", SF&FTA website, June 18, 2011.
14. "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2011 John W. Campbell Memorial Award". Locus. Archived from the original on 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2012-11-23.
15. "Campbell Memorial Award Finalists". Locus. May 10, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
16. "The John W. Campbell Memorial Award". The John Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. The University of Kansas. Updated 11 July 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
17. Hannu Rajaniemi - The Causal Angel announced
18. "Writer's Bloc - Chapbooks". Retrieved 31 July 2014.
19. "Tachyon 2015 preview: HANNU RAJANIEMI: COLLECTED FICTION". Tumblr. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
20. "And The Winners Are...". Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
21. Tilton, Lois (December 7, 2010). "Lois Tilton reviews Short Fiction, early December". Locus. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
22. Seel, Nigel (April 11, 2011). "Book Review: Engineering Infinity (ed) Jonathan Strahan". ScienceFiction.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
23. Waters, Robert E. (March 8, 2011). "Engineering Infinity, edited by Jonathan Strahan". Tangent. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
24. Alexander, Niall (12 June 2014). "Step into the Stars: Reach for Infinity, ed. Jonathan Strahan". Tor.com. Retrieved 13 December 2015.

External links

• Hannu Rajaniemi on Twitter
• Hannu Rajaniemi at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database