Natalia Theodoridou
Greek writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Natalia Theodoridou (born c. 1984) is a Greek novelist, interactive fiction writer, and scholar.[1] He was the fiction editor at sub-Q, an interactive fiction magazine. The magazine entered indefinite hiatus starting August 2020.[2] As of 2025, as an interactive fiction writer he has been nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Game Writing four times.
Natalia Theodoridou | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1984 (age c. 41) |
Biography
Early life and education
Theodoridou attended the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki for his undergraduate studies, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre. He subsequently attended the Royal Holloway, University of London in the United Kingdom, earning a Master of Research in drama studies, as well as a Master of Arts in religious studies at the University of Chicago in the United States, as part of the Fulbright Program.[3]
He has a PhD in Media & Cultural Studies from the SOAS University of London.[4] As part of his PhD, he spent fifteen months doing fieldwork in Indonesia researching Balinese dance.[5] He has also graduated from the Clarion West Writers Workshop.[4]
Career
Theodoridou's "The Birding: A Fairy Tale", published in Strange Horizons, was the winner of the 2018 World Fantasy Award for short fiction works.[6] It is about a plague that turns nearly everyone in the world into birds. The work was also adapted into podcast format.[7]
Theodoridou's debut novel, Sour Cherry, came out in April 2025 from Tin House (North America) and Wildfire (UK & Commonwealth).
Style
Themes
In a 2025 interview with Clarkesworld, Theodoridou stated that the themes he emphasised in his writing were ones of "transformation, diaspora, gender feels, migration, violence personal and political (I don’t see a difference), myths and fairy tales, intertextuality, queerness."[3]
Awards
- Greek Scientific Society Award, 2003
- Scholarship by the Greek State Scholarship Foundation (IKY) for undergraduate studies, 2002–2005
- MA Studentship (Drama & Theatre Department, Royal Holloway University of London), 2007–2008
- Fulbright Scholar, 2008–2010
- SOAS Research Scholarship 2010–2013, & Additional Award for Fieldwork, 2010
- Ouseley Memorial Scholarship, 2011–2013
- World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction, 2018
- Word Factory Apprentice Award, 2018
- Emerging Writer Award (Moniack Mhor and The Bridge Awards), 2022
- Locus Award for Best First Novel for Sour Cherry, 2026[8]
Bibliography
Novels
- Sour Cherry (2025, Tin House Books (US), ISBN 978-1963108194, Wildfire (UK), ISBN 978-1035416189 )
Interactive Fiction
The following works were nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Game Writing.
- Rent-A-Vice (2018)
- Vampire: The Masquerade (Choice of Games) - Sins of the Sires (2022)
- Restore, Reflect, Retry (2024)
Poetry
- "Blackmare" (2013)
- "Ex Machina" (2014)
- "Philomela in Seven Movements" (2015)
- "An Inventory of Ghosts" (2015)
Short fiction
| Title | Year | First published | Reprinted / collected | Notes[9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Nightingales in Plátres" | 2017 | Theodoridou, Natalia (November 2017). "The Nightingales in Plátres". Clarkesworld (133): 21–33. | Nominated BSFA for Best Short Fiction 2017 | |
| "The Birding: A Fairy Tale" | 2017 | Theodoridou, Natalia (18 December 2017). "The Birding: A Fairy Tale". Strange Horizons. | Winner, World Fantasy Award 2018 | |
| "The Names of Women" | 2018 | Theodoridou, Natalia (11 October 2018). "The Names of Women". Strange Horizons Fund Drive Special. | Nominated BSFA for Best Short Fiction 2018 | |
| "Birnam Platoon" | 2018 | Theodoridou, Natalia (November–December 2018). "Birnam Platoon". Interzone (278): 62–73. | Nominated BSFA for Best Short Fiction 2018 | |
| "Georgie in the Sun" | 2020 | Theodoridou, Natalia (March–April 2020). "Georgie in the Sun". Uncanny Magazine (33). | Placed 34th Locus for Best Short Story 2021 | |
| "The Shape of Gifts" | 2020 | Theodoridou, Natalia (July–August 2020). "The Shape of Gifts". F&SF. 139 (1&2): 239–256. | ||
| "To Set at Twilight in a Land of Reeds" | 2020 | Theodoridou, Natalia (October 2020). "To Set at Twilight in a Land of Reeds". Clarkesworld (169): 12–21. | ||
| "Ribbons" | 2022 | Theodoridou, Natalia (2022). "Ribbons". Uncanny Magazine (44). | ||
| "The Prince of Salt and the Ocean's Bargain" | 2022 | Theodoridou, Natalia (2022). "The Prince of Salt and the Ocean's Bargain". Uncanny Magazine (48) | Nominated for Nebula Award for Best Novelette 2022. | |
| "Love at the Event Horizon" | 2023 | Theodoridou, Natalia (2023). "Love at the Event Horizon". Uncanny Magazine (53). | ||
| "Tell the King" | 2024 | Theodoridou, Natalia (2024). "Tell the King". Beneath Ceaseless Skies #401. | 2024 Locus Recommended Reading List | |
| "Cursed Moon Queers" | 2024 | Theodoridou, Natalia (2024). "Cursed Moon Queers". Uncanny Magazine (60). | ||
| "UPDATE: The Buildings Are Hungry and the Plague Can Speak" | 2025 | Theodoridou, Natalia (2025). "UPDATE: The Buildings Are Hungry and the Plague Can Speak". Psychopomp. |
