Tobias Buckell

Tobias Buckell
Born1979 (age 46–47)
Grenada
OccupationsNovelist, English teacher, creative writing instructor, writer for hire
SpouseEmily Hyatt Buckell
Children2
Writing career
GenresScience fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy
Websitetobiasbuckell.com

Tobias Samuel Buckell (born January 2, 1979, in Grenada) is a Grenadian/British science fiction and fantasy writer.

From his first sold short story, "The Fish Merchant", in March 2000, he has written over a hundred stories, including novels, novellas, short stories, and collections, which have been written and translated into nineteen languages. Across his writing career, he and his work have been nominated for several awards, including the WSFA Small Press Award, Nebula Award, and Prometheus Award. He has also made The New York Times Best Seller list in 2008 for his novel, Halo: The Cole Protocol, and additionally won several awards, including the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Award and World Fantasy Award.

In addition to his authorship, he has also been a judge for the World Fantasy Award, a vice president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, an English instructor at Bluffton University, and a Creative Writing instructor for the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast MFA program.

Early life and education

Tobias S. Buckell was born in Grenada in the Caribbean, an island country in the West Indies and Caribbean Sea, where he lived on his family’s boat. Throughout his childhood, he and his family moved to live throughout the Virgin Islands (British and American between 1989 and 1995) until Hurricane Marilyn decimated his family’s boat home.

He and his family moved to Bluffton, Ohio when he was 16, where he eventually went on to attend and graduate from Bluffton University in 2000, as well as Clarion Workshop in 1999. About that same time, he sold his first short story, "Fish Merchant", to writer and editor Scott Edelman of Science Fiction Age, who assisted in its 2000 publication. In addition to this first publication, another of Buckell's stories, “In Orbite Medievali” won the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Volume 16 quarterly contest that same year, hosted by Ron Collins.

Since then, in addition to where he posts his works on his own website, his stories have appeared in various publications, including Writers and Illustrators of the Future, Nature, and Clarkesworld.

Identity, personal life, and activism

Tobias S. Buckell, though “white passing” in his own terms with Locus Magazine, proclaims his biracial identity. Through his involvement with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, as well as his office in it, he's discussed his own identity, as well as further authorial diversity, at length; and in a similar regard, several of his works involve and incorporate the history and culture of the Caribbean.

He has performed further advocacy in his own site-space through openness of his struggles with ADHD and dyslexia; beyond these discussions, he has sought to provide his own experiences as a guide for others in his circumstances.

Though not American, he lived for some years in Bluffton, Ohio, with his wife Emily, as well as their two daughters. In 2026 he moved to Scotland, citing the threat of ICE harassment along with the beauty of the Scottish landscape and the better quality of life for his family.

Careers

Extra-authorial jobs

Literary works

Source:

Awards and honors

Sources:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 locusmag (2020-06-08). "Tobias S. Buckell: Many Hands Lift". Locus Online. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  2. ↑ "Summary Bibliography: Tobias S. Buckell". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  3. 1 2 "Tobias S. Buckell (@tobiasbuckell.bsky.social)". Bluesky Social. 2024-10-29. Archived from the original on 2025-10-05. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  4. ↑ "Clarkesworld Magazine - Science Fiction & Fantasy". Clarkesworld Magazine. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  5. 1 2 3 "Tobias S. BuckellAuthor, Futurist, Wordsmith for Hire". Tobias S. Buckell. 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  6. ↑ "Tobias S. Buckell — Work in Fireside". firesidefiction.com. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  7. 1 2 3 Labaqui, Joni (2017-05-03). "Focus on Tobias Buckell, Writers of the Future Volume 16 Winner". Writers & Illustrators of the Future. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  8. ↑ "World Fantasy Awards℠ 2021 | World Fantasy Convention". Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  9. 1 2 "Present and Past SFWA Board & Officers". SFWA - The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  10. 1 2 3 "New English Faculty Member". www.bluffton.edu. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
  11. 1 2 Stutts, Robert E. (2019-12-01). "Community News & Updates December 2019". Stonecoast Community Blog. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  12. ↑ Vivian, D A. (2022). "The Complexity of Community: Ecology, Science Fiction, and the Future of Literature-A Conversation with Tobias Buckell". Journal of West Indian Literature. 31 (1): 168–187.
  13. 1 2 Holding Out For A Sequel: In Praise of Vernor Vinge, by Tobias Buckell, at Tor.com; published October 10, 2011; retrieved April 12, 2012
  14. ↑ "Four Hacks I've Used to Focus Harder While Writing with a Computer, Plus One that Rules Them All (For Me) from Tobias S. Buckell". Tobias S. Buckell. 2015-08-06. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  15. ↑ "A Move to Scotland Part 1: The Prelude". October 20, 2026. Retrieved 2026-11-05.
  16. ↑ "Tobias S. BuckellAuthor, Futurist, Wordsmith for Hire". Tobias S. Buckell. 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  17. ↑ "sfadb : Tobias S. Buckell Awards". www.sfadb.com. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  18. ↑ "Paperback Trade Fiction (Published 2008)". 2008-12-05. Archived from the original on 2025-10-05. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
  1. "Tobias S. Buckell: Many Hands Lift – Locus Online" Locus Magazine.
  2. "Summary Bibliography: Tobias S. Buckell" Internet Speculative Fiction Database.
  3. "Tobias S. Buckell (@tobiasbuckell.bsky.social)". Bluesky Social.
  4. "https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/buckell_08_16_reprint". Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine.
  5. "Tobias S. Buckell Author, Futurist, Wordsmith for Hire" Tobias S. Buckell's Website.
  6. "https://firesidefiction.com/tobias-s-buckell" Fireside Fiction.
  7. "Focus on Tobias Buckell, Writers of the Future Volume 16 Winner | Writers & Illustrators of the Future" Writers and Illustrators of the Future, 2000.
  8. "https://worldfantasy.org/world-fantasy-awards%e2%84%a0-2021/". World Fantasy Awards, 2021.
  9. "https://www.sfwa.org/prior-sfwa-board-officers". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.
  10. "https://www.bluffton.edu/news/-2021-22/070921TobiasBuckell.aspx". Bluffton University, Ohio.
  11. "https://stonecoastcommunity.com/2019/12/01/community-news-updates-december-2019" Stonecoast MFA.
  12. "The Complexity of Community: Ecology, Science Fiction, and the Future of Literature-A Conversation with Tobias Buckell". Journal of West Indian Literature. 31 (1): 168–187.
  13. "Holding Out For A Sequel: In Praise of Vernor Vinge" Reactor Magazine.
  14. "Four Hacks I’ve Used to Focus Harder While Writing with a Computer, Plus One that Rules Them All (For Me) from Tobias S. Buckell" Tobias S. Buckell Social Post.
  15. "Post Title   from   Site Title" Tobias S. Buckell's Membership Media.
  16. "sfadb: Tobias S. Buckell Awards" Science Fiction Awards Database.
  17. "Paperback Trade Fiction - The New York Times" New York Times Best Sellers 2008.