The Speculative Literature Foundation is pleased to announce that its tenth annual Older Writers Grant is to be awarded to Jude-Marie “Kelly” Green.
Born March 17, 1960, Green is, in her own words, a child of the 60s who prefers tie-dye and doesn’t wear makeup.
Growing up, Green read her brother Steve’s cast-off comic books, including Doctor Strange and Weird Tales, and her mother’s cast-off novels, Valley Of The Dolls and The Godfather. Runaway Robot, another hand-me-down from her brother, was the first science fiction novel she ever read.
While Green doesn’t read science fiction and fantasy exclusively these days, it’s not surprising that those two genres are, as she puts it, most likely to delight her.
Writing success for Green has been relatively recent. Though she has been writing all of her life, she says she only began applying herself in 2004. Soon after, she sold her first short story to the anthology, “Say, Why Aren’t We Crying?”. Two years later, she sold her second short story.
In 2006, Green applied to both Clarion and Clarion West, but was not accepted. Determined, she applied again to Clarion West in 2010, and gained acceptance into what she calls a horde of splendid writers. Green likes to think the Clarion West experience has improved her writing, and it was there she “rethought everything, from what constitutes entertainment to why some words are too much for a given story structure.”
Now, a mother of three children in their 20’s – two who are science fiction fans – Green writes about women, the intersection of first and third world living, aliens, technology, romance, and hell.
The judges for the Older Writers Grant appreciated the mix of a lead female character, technology and romance in her writing. Grant Administrator Malon Edwards said of Green’s entry, “A Three Percent Chance He’ll Ever Know I Lied”: “The story is a compelling one, and I was on edge until the very end. The narrative, heavy with sadness, is spun out well to get the right amount of emotion. This is a well written, high-quality piece of fiction.”
Honorable Mentions for the Older Writers Grant go to Lynne MacLean, Janice Croom, Lise Brody, John Walters, and Ina Claire Gabler.
The $750 grant is intended to assist writers who are fifty years of age or older at the time of the grant application, and who are just starting to work at a professional level.
