S. T. Joshi

American literary critic (born 1958) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sunand Tryambak Joshi (born June 22, 1958) is an American literary critic whose work has largely focused on weird and fantastic fiction, especially the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers.

Born (1958-06-22) June 22, 1958 (age 67)
Pune, India
OccupationWriter
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationBrown University (BA, MA)
Quick facts Born, Occupation ...
S. T. Joshi
S. T. Joshi in 2002.
S. T. Joshi in 2002.
Born (1958-06-22) June 22, 1958 (age 67)
Pune, India
OccupationWriter
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationBrown University (BA, MA)
SubjectWeird fiction
Website
stjoshi.org
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Career

His literary criticism focuses upon the worldviews of authors. His The Weird Tale examines horror and fantasy writing by Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, M. R. James, Ambrose Bierce, and Lovecraft.[1]

Personal life

S. T. Joshi was born on June 22, 1958, in Pune, India, to Marathi parents Tryambak M. Joshi and Padmini T. Joshi.[2][3][4] When he was four, his family moved to the United States and settled in Indiana.[2][4] He discovered the work of Lovecraft at age 13 in a public library in Muncie, Indiana. He also read L. Sprague de Camp's biography of Lovecraft, Lovecraft: A Biography, on publication in 1975, and began thereafter to devote himself to Lovecraft. This devotion led him to decline offers from Yale and Harvard so that he could attend Brown University, which is located in Providence, Rhode Island where Lovecraft had lived.[5][6] He is an atheist.[6]

He lives in Seattle, Washington.[1][6] Joshi married Leslie Gary Boba on September 1, 2001.[1] They divorced in December 2010.[7]

In August 2014, Joshi opposed the decision to retire and replace Gahan Wilson's bust of Lovecraft as the World Fantasy Award statuette in light of a campaign highlighting Lovecraft's history of racism; Joshi returned his World Fantasy Awards in protest.[8]

Notable publications

Books

  • Lord Dunsany: A Bibliography (1993) (co-writer: Darrell Schweitzer)
  • H. P. Lovecraft: A Life (1996)
  • Sixty Years of Arkham House: A History and Bibliography (Arkham House, 1999) ISBN 9780870541766
  • I Am Providence: The Life and Times of H. P. Lovecraft (2010)
  • Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction (2012)
  • Lord Dunsany: A Comprehensive Bibliography (2013)

Edited volumes

  • Miscellaneous Writings by H. P. Lovecraft (Arkham House, 1995).
  • Documents of American Prejudice: An Anthology of Writings on Race from Thomas Jefferson to David Duke (Basic Books, 1999).
  • The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft (Penguin Classics No. 1, 1999).
  • Atheism: A Reader (Prometheus Books, 2000).
  • The Thing on the Doorstep and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft (Penguin Classics No. 2, 2001).
  • Searchers After Horror: New Tales of the Weird and Fantastic (Fedogan & Bremer, 2002).[9]
  • The Dreams in the Witch House and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft (Penguin Classics No. 3, 2005).
  • The Short Fiction of Ambrose Bierce - Comprehensive Edition in 3 Volumes, edited with Lawrence I. Berkove & David E. Schultz (2006).
  • The Ghost in the Corner and Other Stories by Lord Dunsany, edited with Martin Andersson (Hippocampus Press, 2017).

Awards

Literary awards

More information Year, Title ...
YearTitleAwardCategoryResultRef.
1990 The Weird TaleBram Stoker AwardNon-FictionNominated
1991 World Fantasy AwardSpecial Award – ProfessionalNominated
John Dickson Carr: A Critical StudyAnthony AwardsCritical WorkNominated
1996 H. P. Lovecraft: A LifeBram Stoker AwardNon-FictionWon
1997 British Fantasy AwardSmall PressWon
Lord DunsanyMythopoeic AwardsMyth and Fantasy StudiesShortlisted
1999 Sixty Years of Arkham HouseInternational Horror Guild AwardNon-FictionNominated
2000 Locus AwardNon-FictionWon
2006 Supernatural Literature of the WorldWorld Fantasy AwardSpecial Award – ProfessionalNominated
Icons of Horror and the SupernaturalInternational Horror Guild AwardNon-FictionWon
2007 American Supernatural TalesInternational Horror Guild AwardAnthologyNominated
Warnings to the CuriousInternational Horror Guild AwardNon-FictionNominated
2010 I Am ProvidenceBlack Quill AwardDark Genre Book of Non-FictionNominated
2011 Black Wings of CthulhuWorld Fantasy AwardAnthologyNominated
2012 Black Wings of Cthulhu 2Shirley Jackson AwardAnthologyNominated
2013 Unutterable Horror Vol 1 and 2World Fantasy AwardSpecial Award – NonprofessionalWon
World Fantasy AwardSpecial Award – NonprofessionalWon
2014 Lovecraft and a World in TransitionBram Stoker AwardNon-FictionNominated
2015 Black Wings of Cthulhu 4Shirley Jackson AwardAnthologyNominated
2016 World Fantasy AwardAnthologyNominated
2022 Ramsey Campbell: Master of Weird FictionLocus Recommended ReadingNon-FictionWon
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Honors

  • International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts – IAFA Distinguished Critic Award
    2003
  • World Fantasy Award – Special Award for Professional Scholarship
    2005

References

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