Tade Thompson

Life and career

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.

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.”

Thompson is also an illustrator and artist.

Reception and awards

Thompson's novels and short stories have been critically well received, with critics commenting on their originality and breadth of vision. 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.

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

Bibliography

Novels

The ''Wormwood'' Trilogy

Stand-alone

Novellas and short fiction

The Molly Southbourne Trilogy

• The Murders of Molly Southbourne (2017)
• The Survival of Molly Southbourne (2019)
• The Legacy of Molly Southbourne (2022)

Stand-alone

• "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

• "Komolafe" (2013)

Essays

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

Contributor

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

Other work

• Omenana Magazine #4 (September 2015) (cover art)
• In Morningstar's Shadow: Dominion of the Fallen Stories by Aliette de Bodard (2015) (cover art)

Notes

References

• Alberge, Dalya, 2020-07-26, Tade Thompson: full-time doctor who finds energy for full-on writing career, 2024-05-15, The Guardian, en-GB, 0261-3077
• Tade Thompson, Ryman, Geoff, Strange Horizons, 2017-03-01
• Alberge, Dalya, 2020-07-26, Tade Thompson: full-time doctor who finds energy for full-on writing career, 2024-05-11, The Guardian, en-GB, 0261-3077
• Brown, Eric, 15 January 2016, The best science fiction novels – review roundup, The Guardian, en
• Flood, Alison, 8 March 2016, Margaret Atwood wins Kitschies Red Tentacle award for The Heart Goes Last, The Guardian, en
• Johnstone, Doug, 2021-10-31, Far From the Light of Heaven review: Wrongfoots the reader at every turn, 2024-05-26, Big Issue, en-US
• Cain, Sian, 17 July 2019, Tade Thompson's 'gritty' alien invasion tale wins Arthur C Clarke award, The Guardian
• Royal Society of Literature aims to broaden representation as it announces 62 new fellows, Ella, Creamer, The Guardian, 12 July 2023
• 2016 BSFA Winners, Locus, 17 Apr 2017, 21 Aug 2025
• 2017 BSFA winners, locus, 2 Apr 2018, 21 Aug 2025
• 2017 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners, Locus, 16 Jul 2018, 21 Aug 2025
• 2017 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Winners, Locus, 19 Jun 2017, 21 Aug 2025
• Announcing the 2017 Nommo Award Winners, 16 November 2017, Reactor, 21 Aug 2025
• 2018 British Fantasy Awards Winners, Locus, 22 Oct 2018, 21 Aug 2025
• 2018 Nommo Awards Winners, Locus, 26 Oct 2018, 21 Aug 2025
• 2018 BSFA Winners, Locus, 22 Apr 2019, 21 Aug 2025
• Rosewater Wins 2019 Clarke Award, Locus, 17 Jul 2019, 21 Aug 2025
• Announcing the 2019 BSFA Award Winners, Reactor, 18 May 2020, 25 Jun 2025
• 2019 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards Winners, Locus, 5 March 2019, 21 Aug 2025
• 2020 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire Winners, Locus, 1 Jun 2020, 21 Aug 2025
• 2020 Locus Awards Winners, 27 Jun 2020, Locus Online, 20 Jul 2025
• 2020 Nommo Awards Winners, Locus, 26 Oct 2020, 21 Aug 2025
• Announcing the 2020 Dragon Awards Winners, September 6, 2020, 5 Aug 2025, Andrew, Liptak, Tor.com
• Locus, Philip K. Dick Award 2020 Nominees, 13 Jan 2020, 21 Aug 2025
• Here Are the Winners of the 2020 British Fantasy Awards, Andrew Liptak, 22 Feb 2021, 28 Jul 2022, Tor.com
• 2020 Ignyte Awards Winners, Locus, 18 Oct 2020, 21 Aug 2025
• 31 Jul 2020, 4 Aug 2025, Announcing the 2020 Hugo Award Winners, Tor.com
• 2022 Nommo Awards Winners, Locus, 2 Sep 2022, 21 Aug 2025
• 2022 Philip K. Dick Award Winner, Locus, 17 Apr 2022, 21 Aug 2025
• Unger Wins 2023 Philip K. Dick Award, Locus, 10 April 2023, 24 April 2024
• Thompson, Tade, Rosewater, Apex, 2016, 1st, 2
• Waites, Sarah, Author Interview: Tade Thompson on Rosewater, 2018-09-05, The Illustrated Page
• Thompson, Tade, Rosewater, Orbit, 2018, paperback, 1–432, 2
• Thompson, Tade, The Rosewater Insurrection, Orbit, 2019, paperback, 1–374, 2
• Thompson, Tade, The Rosewater Redemption, Orbit, 2019, paperback, 1–416, 2
• Thompson, Tade, Making Wolf, Rosarium Publishing, 2015, hardcover 1st, 1–270, 2
• Thompson, Tade, Far from the Light of Heaven, Orbit, 2021, hardcover 1st, 1–384, 2

External links