Tade Thompson

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Tade Thompson

FRSL
Born1969 (age 55–56)
London, United Kingdom
OccupationWriter, psychiatrist
NationalityNigerian
British
Period2005–present
GenreScience fiction, Horror
Notable work
Rosewater

The Murders of Molly Southbourne

Notable awards
Arthur C. Clarke Award

Nommo Award

Tade Thompson FRSL is a British psychiatrist and writer of Yoruba descent.[1] He is best known for his 2016 science fiction novel Rosewater, which won a Nommo Award and an Arthur C. Clarke Award.[2]

Life and career

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Thompson was born in London, England, to Yoruba parents. His family left the United Kingdom for Nigeria in 1976, when Thompson was seven. He grew up in Nigeria, where he studied medicine and social anthropology. He went on to specialise in psychiatry. He returned to the UK in 1998, where he has remained, except for a year spent working in Samoa.[3]

As well as being an author, Thompson also works full-time at St James' Hospital, Portsmouth, where he specializes in mental illnesses in people with physical problems. In July 2020, he told The Guardian that he could not imagine leaving medicine, saying: “The hospital work is a calling. I help people.”[4]

Thompson is also an illustrator and artist.[5][6]

Reception and awards

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Thompson's novels and short stories have been critically well received, with critics commenting on their originality and breadth of vision.[7] Thompson was a John W. Campbell Award finalist and has been shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson Award, the BSFA Award, and the Nommo Award. His novel Rosewater won the 2019 Arthur C. Clarke Award, making Thompson the second writer of black African heritage to win the prize.[8]

In 2023, Thompson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.[9]

Awards and honors
Year Work Award Category Result Ref.
2016 "The Apologists" BSFA Award Short Fiction Shortlisted [10]
2017 The Last Pantheon[a] Nommo Award Novella Shortlisted [11]
The Murders of Molly Southbourne BSFA Award Shorter Fiction Shortlisted [12]
Shirley Jackson Award Novella Nominated [13]
Rosewater Campbell Memorial Award — Finalist [14]
Nommo Award Novel Won [11]
2018 The Murders of Molly Southbourne British Fantasy Award Novella Shortlisted [15]
Nommo Award Novella Won [16]
Rosewater BSFA Award Novel Shortlisted [17]
2019 Rosewater Arthur C. Clarke Award — Won [2]
The Rosewater Insurrection BSFA Award Novel Shortlisted [18]
The Survival of Molly Southbourne BSFA Award Shorter Fiction Shortlisted [18]
"Yard Dog" Theodore Sturgeon Award — Finalist [19]
2020 The Murders of Molly Southbourne Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire Foreign Short Fiction Won [20]
The Rosewater Insurrection Locus Award[b] Science Fiction Novel Finalist [21]
Nommo Award Novel Shortlisted [22]
The Rosewater Redemption Dragon Award Science Fiction Novel Nominated [23]
Locus Award[b] Science Fiction Novel Finalist [21]
Philip K. Dick Award — Nominated [24]
The Survival of Molly Southbourne British Fantasy Award Novella Shortlisted [25]
Ignyte Award Novella Finalist [26]
The Wormwood Trilogy Hugo Award Series Finalist [27]
2022 Far from the Light of Heaven Nommo Award Novel Shortlisted [28]
Philip K. Dick Award — Finalist [29]
2023 The Legacy of Molly Southbourne Philip K. Dick Award — Special Citation [30]

Bibliography

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Novels

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The Wormwood Trilogy

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  • —— (2016). Rosewater (1st ed.). Apex.[31]
  • —— (2019). The Rosewater Insurrection (paperback ed.). Orbit. pp. 1–374. ISBN 9780316449083.
  • —— (2019). The Rosewater Redemption (paperback ed.). Orbit. pp. 1–416. ISBN 9780316449090.

Stand-alone

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Novellas and short fiction

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The Molly Southbourne Trilogy

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Stand-alone

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  • "The McMahon Institute for Unquiet Minds" (2005)
  • "Slip Road" (2009)
  • "Shadow" (2010)
  • "Notes from Gethsemane" (2012)
  • "Bicycle Girl" (2013)
  • "One Hundred and Twenty Days of Sunlight" (2013)
  • "Slip Road" (revised) (2014)
  • "Budo or, The Flying Orchid" (2014)
  • "The Monkey House" (2015)
  • "Child, Funeral, Thief, Death" (2015)
  • "The Last Pantheon" (2015) (with Nick Wood)
  • "Decommissioned" (2016)
  • "Household Gods" (2016)
  • "The Apologists" (2016)
  • "Gnaw" (2016)
  • "Bootblack" (2017)
  • "Yard Dog" (2018)
  • "Jackdaw" (2022)

Poems

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  • "Komolafe" (2013)

Essays

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  • The Last Word on the Last Pantheon (2016) (with Nick Wood)
  • Please Stop Talking about the 'Rise' of African Science Fiction (2018)

Contributor

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  • "Wherefore, Nuncle?" in Encounters with James Baldwin: Celebrating 100 Years (2024)

Other work

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Notes

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  1. ^ Co-authored with Nick Wood
  2. ^ a b The Rosewater Insurrection and The Rosewater Redemption were jointly nominated for the 2020 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

References

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  1. ^ Alberge, Dalya (26 July 2020). "Tade Thompson: full-time doctor who finds energy for full-on writing career". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Rosewater Wins 2019 Clarke Award". Locus. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  3. ^ Ryman, Geoff (1 March 2017). "Tade Thompson". Strange Horizons.
  4. ^ Alberge, Dalya (26 July 2020). "Tade Thompson: full-time doctor who finds energy for full-on writing career". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  5. ^ Brown, Eric (15 January 2016). "The best science fiction novels – review roundup". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Flood, Alison (8 March 2016). "Margaret Atwood wins Kitschies Red Tentacle award for The Heart Goes Last". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Johnstone, Doug (31 October 2021). "Far From the Light of Heaven review: Wrongfoots the reader at every turn". Big Issue. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  8. ^ Cain, Sian (17 July 2019). "Tade Thompson's 'gritty' alien invasion tale wins Arthur C Clarke award". The Guardian.
  9. ^ Creamer, Ella (12 July 2023). "Royal Society of Literature aims to broaden representation as it announces 62 new fellows". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "2016 BSFA Winners". Locus. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Announcing the 2017 Nommo Award Winners". Reactor. 16 November 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  12. ^ "2017 BSFA winners". locus. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  13. ^ "2017 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". Locus. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  14. ^ "2017 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Winners". Locus. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  15. ^ "2018 British Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  16. ^ "2018 Nommo Awards Winners". Locus. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  17. ^ "2018 BSFA Winners". Locus. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Announcing the 2019 BSFA Award Winners". Reactor. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  19. ^ "2019 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Winners". Locus. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  20. ^ "2020 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire Winners". Locus. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  21. ^ a b "2020 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Online. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  22. ^ "2020 Nommo Awards Winners". Locus. 26 October 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  23. ^ Liptak, Andrew (6 September 2020). "Announcing the 2020 Dragon Awards Winners". Tor.com. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  24. ^ "Philip K. Dick Award 2020 Nominees". Locus. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  25. ^ Andrew Liptak (22 February 2021). "Here Are the Winners of the 2020 British Fantasy Awards". Tor.com. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  26. ^ "2020 Ignyte Awards Winners". Locus. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  27. ^ "Announcing the 2020 Hugo Award Winners". Tor.com. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
  28. ^ "2022 Nommo Awards Winners". Locus. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  29. ^ "2022 Philip K. Dick Award Winner". Locus. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  30. ^ "Unger Wins 2023 Philip K. Dick Award". Locus. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  31. ^ Waites, Sarah (5 September 2018). "Author Interview: Tade Thompson on Rosewater". The Illustrated Page.
[edit]
  • Tade Thompson at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  •  Quotations related to Tade Thompson at Wikiquote