Eugie Foster Collection
Collection
Identifier: MS471
The Eugie Foster collection contains books and serials featuring Foster’s published stories, correspondence with editors and publishers, story drafts and reading copies, award certificates Foster received for her writing, and badges from science fiction conventions.
Most of the collection is in English. Some publications are from magazines written in Spanish, French, Italian, Greek, Hungarian, Czech, and Polish.
None
Permission to publish materials from this collection must be obtained from the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
2.2 Linear Feet (4 letter-sized document cases and 1 8" flat box.)
The Publications series (1994-2016) consists of books and serials containing stories written by Eugie Foster. It includes 46 books and 52 serials from the fantasy, science fiction, horror, folktale, and children’s literature genres. Most of the books are anthologies containing one short story written by Foster. Anthologies include compilations of stories nominated for science fiction writing awards, such as the Hugo and Nebula awards, and anthologies published as fundraisers for charities, like the Hurricane Katrina relief fund. Of special note is an anthology titled Killers that is marked as copy number 3 of 100 and includes autographs from all writers published in the anthology. Popular magazine titles in the collection include Cricket, Cicada, Apex, and Realms of Fantasy. Publications are largely from American publishers, but include some internationally published works translated to Spanish, French, Italian, Greek, Hungarian, Czech, and Polish. All publications are accessible through the Georgia Tech Library catalog. A search with the full list of titles can be found here.
The Correspondence series (2000-2011) consists of Foster’s correspondence to and from editors and publishers as she worked to get her stories published. It includes letters of acceptance and rejection, contracts, agreements, drafts with comments from editors, reading copies, critiques of her stories that were unpublished, and information about writing awards. Much of the correspondence are emails that Foster printed and put into folders sorted by the title of the story she was working to publish. While most of the correspondence is related to print publications, some deals with producing Foster’s stories for podcasts, online publications, or her appearances at science fiction conventions. The Correspondence series contains folders for some stories that remain unpublished.
The Awards series (2004-2015) consists of certificates awarded to Foster in recognition of her writing. It includes an Honorable Mention for L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future Contest, nominations for Nebula Awards sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and most notably, a nomination certificate and awards ceremony program for a 2010 Hugo Award in the category of Best Novelette. This series also contains a photograph of Foster.
The Science Fiction Convention Badge series (2001-2014) contains name badges given to Foster during her attendance at the conventions. Most include Foster’s name, but some are guest passes. Some passes include ribbons or special labels denoting Foster as a volunteer, press, director, or staff. Many are still on their original lanyards. Most name badges are from Dragon Con, but a few other conventions or awards ceremonies are also represented.
Eugie Foster (1971-2014) was born in Illinois, but spent most of her professional life in metro Atlanta.
After earning her Master’s degree in Psychology at Illinois State University, she moved to metro Atlanta to work in a corporate office and later edited legislation for the Georgia General Assembly, balancing her writing with her day jobs. She began to approach writing professionally in 2000 after taking a writers’ workshop at Dragon Con and published her first story, “The Adventures of Manny the Mailmobile,” in the January/February 2002 issue of Cicada.
Foster’s work consists of short stories in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror, fairy tales, folktales, and children’s literature. Many of her children’s and fantasy stories are retellings of traditional folklore and legends from East Asia. Her other writings explore the supernatural – vampires, zombies, and demons – as well as urban fantasy, dystopian futures, and magical realms with dragons, fairies, and talking animals. She published her first collection of short stories, Returning my Sister’s Face and Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice, in 2009. Throughout her career, she published more than 100 stories in magazines and book anthologies around the world. Her stories were translated into eight languages, including Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish, and French and published in magazines such as Cicada, Cricket, Realms of Fantasy, Apex, and Interzone.
Foster received several awards and prize nominations for her writing. Her story “Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman Beast” won the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and was a finalist for the Hugo Awards and the British Science Fiction Association Awards. In 2002, she won the Phobos Award for her story “All in My Mind.” She was also recognized as a finalist, semi-finalist, or received honorable mentions for awards presented by the Washington Science Fiction Association, the Bram Stoker Award, the British Fantasy Awards, the Pushcart Prize, the Southeast Science Fiction Awards, and the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest.
In addition to writing, Foster was the managing editor of Tangent Online and The Fix, two online short fiction review magazines, and wrote the monthly column “Writing for Young Readers” for writing-world.com from 2006-2007. She was also regularly involved in the administration of Dragon Con for more than a decade, serving as a speaker, director, and editor of the onsite newsletter The Daily Dragon. She was an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and had several of her works featured in podcasts such as Pseudopod, Escape Pod, Tales to Terrify, and Drabblecast.
Eugie Foster passed away on September 27, 2014 of respiratory failure related to lymphoma. Her final story, “When it Ends, He Catches Her,” was published the day before her death and was nominated for the 2015 Nebula Award for Best Short Story. In honor of her legacy and contributions to science fiction writing, The Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction, which celebrates the best in innovative fiction, is awarded at Dragon Con every year.
The collection is arranged into four series: 1. Publications, 1994-2016. 2. Correspondence, 2000-2011. 3. Awards, 2004-2015. 4. Science Fiction Convention Badges, 2001-2014.
The anthologies and serials that comprise the Publications series are cataloged according to the title of Foster’s stories and assigned Library of Congress call numbers. A search with the full list of titles can be found here. Titles can be requested through the library’s catalog.
In keeping with the author’s original order, folders in the Correspondence series are arranged alphabetically by title of the story. Publishers’ acceptance letters are located at the front of the folder, followed by rejection letters.
Awards and Science Fiction Convention Badges are arranged chronologically.
Donated by Matthew Foster in 2017.
The publications in this collection were separated from the manuscripts and cataloged individually in the library's catalog. A note in each bibliographic record indicates that the publication is part of the Eugie Foster Collection. These records can be found by searching "Eugie Foster" in the author field, or by following this link.
Processed by Alison Reynolds in December 2019.
Part of the Archives and Special Collections, Library, Georgia Institute of Technology Repository