Everina Maxwell
Everina Maxwell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 (age 36–37) |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Website | everinamaxwell |
Everina Maxwell (born 1988) is an English science fiction author. Her debut novel Winter's Orbit (2021) received a Alex Award among other accolades. This was followed by Ocean's Echo (2022).
Early life
[edit]Maxwell grew up in Sussex and spent her childhood reading science-fiction and fantasy books from a local library.[1] In 2004 around age 16,[2] Maxwell attempted to write her first book when she took part in NaNoWriMo.[1] She was a member of a local theatre company.[3]
Career
[edit]Under the username Avoliot, Maxwell began writing Livejournal segments of what would become her first novel in 2016 and uploaded them collectively into an original science fiction romance story titled The Course of Honour to the website Archive of Our Own (AO3) in 2017. She was then scouted by a literary agent, who helped her re-write it.[4] Via a three-way auction and a book deal, Orbit Books in the UK and Tor Publishing Group in the U.S. acquired the rights to publish the story as Maxwell's debut novel Winter's Orbit in 2021.[5][6] Described as queer romantic space opera, the novel follows Prince Kiem and Jainan. [7] Where The Course of Honour focused on the romance, Winter's Orbit expanded on the science fiction elements.[4] Winter's Orbit won an Alex Award[8] and was shortlisted for a Bisexual Book Award,[9] the Golden Tentacle at the Kitschies,[10] and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.[11]
Maxwell's second science fiction romance novel Ocean's Echo followed in November 2022.[2] The novel takes place in the same universe as Winter's Orbit and is not a direct sequel, following new characters Tennal and Surit.[12] Ocean's Echo was shortlisted for a Romantic Novel Award in the Fantasy category[13] as well as another Astounding Award.[11]
Personal life
[edit]Maxwell is queer.[14] She lives in Yorkshire.[15]
Bibliography
[edit]- Winter's Orbit (2021)
- Ocean's Echo (2022)
Accolades
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Bisexual Book Awards | Speculative Fiction | Winter's Orbit | Shortlisted | [9] |
| 2022 | Alex Award | Won | [8] | ||
| Kitschies | Golden Tentacle (Best New Novel) | Shortlisted | [10] | ||
| Astounding Award for Best New Writer | Shortlisted | [11] | |||
| 2023 | Romantic Novel Awards | Fantasy | Ocean's Echo | Shortlisted | [13] |
| Astounding Award for Best New Writer | Shortlisted | [11] | |||
References
[edit]- ^ a b "The Price of Freedom with Everina Maxwell, Elizabeth May and Laura Lam". Cymera Festival. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ a b Dumpleton, Elise (13 January 2023). "Q&A: Everina Maxwell, Author of 'Ocean's Echo'". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ "The Barefoot Players". Creatives Across Sussex. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ a b Burt, Kayti (29 January 2021). "How Winter's Orbit Went From AO3 to Published Space Opera". Den of Geek. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "Announcing Winter's Orbit, a Queer Romantic Space Opera Debut". Reactor. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ Comerford, Ruth (7 August 2020). "Queer sci-fi romance' to Orbit in three-way auction". The Bookseller. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ Zutter, Natalie (6 Feb 2021). "Compelling Queer Romance Eclipses Sci-Fi Stakes in 'Winter's Orbit'". NPR. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ a b "2022 ALA Awards". Locus Online. 24 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Bisexual Book Award, 2012-2021". Teaching Books. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ a b Brown, Lauren (16 September 2022). "Chambers, Kim and Ward among 'supremely talented' authors up for Kitschies trophies". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Astounding Award". The Hugo Award. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ Baugher Milas, Lucy (3 November 2022). "Ocean's Echo Successfully Mixes Swoony Romance and High Stakes Space Adventure". Paste. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
- ^ a b "2023 Romantic Novel Awards Winners". Locus. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ Cohen Xu, Stephanie. "Author Interview - Everina Maxwell, author of Winter's Orbit". BookPage. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
- ^ Reid, Andrea (27 January 2021). "Q&A: Everina Maxwell, Author of 'Winter's Orbit'". The Nerd Daily. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
