Orson Scott Card

{{Short description|American science fiction novelist (born 1951)}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Orson Scott Card

| image = Orson Scott Card at BYU Symposium 20080216 closeup.jpg

| caption = Card at Life, the Universe, & Everything in 2008

| pseudonym = {{unbulleted list|Frederick Bliss|Brian Green|P.Q. Gump|Dinah Kirkham|Scott Richards|Byron Walley}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|8|24}}

| birth_place = Richland, Washington, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = Brigham Young University (BA)
University of Utah (MA)

| genre = {{unbulleted list|Science fiction|Fantasy|Thriller|Horror|Historical fiction and biblical fiction|LDS fiction}}

| notableworks = Ender's Game series,
The Tales of Alvin Maker

| spouse = Kristine Allen

| children = 5

| awards = {{unbulleted list|Hugo Award (Ender's Game, 1986)|Hugo Award (Speaker for the Dead, 1987)|Hugo Award (How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, 1991)|Nebula Award (Ender's Game, 1986)|Nebula Award (Speaker for the Dead, 1987)|Nebula Award ("Eye for Eye", 1988)}}

| signature = Signature Orson Scott Card.svg

| website = {{URL|www.hatrack.com}}

}}

Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. {{Asof|2024}}, he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card coproduced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003). Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.

Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, nonfiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.

Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church.

Life

=Childhood and education=

File:Scott Card.jpg in 2008]]

Orson Scott Card was born on August 24, 1951, in Richland, Washington.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=165}} He is the son of Peggy Jane (née Park) and Willard Richards Card, and is the third of six children and the older brother of composer and arranger Arlen Card.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=77}} Card's family has Mormon pioneer heritage. His ancestors include Brigham Young, Charles Ora Card, Zina P. Young Card, Zina Young Card Brown, and Hugh B. Brown.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=13}}

When Card was one month old, his family moved to San Mateo, California, so Willard Card could begin a sign-painting business. When he was three years old, the family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, so his father could finish his bachelor's degree. The family moved to Santa Clara, California, when Card was six; they stayed there for seven years while his father completed his master's degree and worked as a professor at San Jose State College. In school, Card took classes for gifted students, but he was more interested in studying music—he played clarinet and French horn. He read widely, including historical fiction, nonfiction, and literary classics.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xv}} At age ten, he wrote his first story, which was about an intelligent child who is assaulted by bullies and sustains brain damage. Ender's confrontation with Stilson in Ender's Game is based on this story.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xvi}}

In 1964, Card and his family moved to Mesa, Arizona, where he participated in mock debates in junior high school. In 1967, the family moved to Orem, Utah, where his father worked at Brigham Young University (BYU). Card attended BYU's laboratory school, where he took both high school and early college-level classes before graduating in one year. When beginning his college studies he intended to major in archeology, but after becoming increasingly more interested in theater, he began script-writing, writing ten original plays and rewriting other students' plays. Most of his plays were based on Mormon history and scriptures; one was science fiction. By watching the body language of an audience, he could tell when an audience was interested in his scripts.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xvi}}{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=About Orson Scott Card |url=http://www.hatrack.com/osc/about-more.shtml}} During his studies as a theater major, he began doctoring scripts, adapting fiction for reader's theater production, and writing one-act and full-length plays, several of which were produced by faculty directors at BYU.{{sfn|Willett|2006|pp=36–37}} Charles W. Whitman, Card's play-writing professor, encouraged his students to write plays with LDS themes. Card studied poetry with Clinton F. Larson at BYU.{{cite web |title=Orson Scott Card and Rod McKuen and poetry |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2010/07/orson-scott-card-and-rod-mckuen-and-poetry |website=Poetry Foundation |access-date=25 September 2019}} He also wrote short stories, which were later published together in The Worthing Saga.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xxi; 166}}

Before graduating, Card served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Brazil starting in 1971. During his mission, he wrote a play called Stone Tables.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xvii}}{{cite news |title=Orson Scott Card |url=https://live.washingtonpost.com/orson-scott-card.html |access-date=25 September 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 3, 2010}} He returned from his mission in 1973 and graduated from BYU in 1975, receiving a bachelor's degree with distinction in theater.{{cite news |last1=Groeger |first1=Gina |title=Orson Scott Card visits BYU |url=https://universe.byu.edu/2000/11/13/orson-scott-card-visits-byu/ |access-date=25 September 2019 |work=The Daily Universe |publisher=Brigham Young University |date=November 13, 2000}}{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xvii}} After graduation, he started the Utah Valley Repertory Theatre Company, which for two summers produced plays at "the Castle", a Depression-era outdoor amphitheater.{{sfn|Willett|2006|pp=38–42}} After going into debt with the community theatre's expenses,{{sfn|Van Name|1988|p=3}} Card took part-time employment as a proofreader at BYU Press, moving on to full-time employment as a copy editor.{{sfn|Willett|2006|pp=41–43}} In 1981, Card completed his master's degree in English at the University of Utah where he studied with François Camoin and Norman Council. He began a doctoral program at the University of Notre Dame but dropped out to pursue his more lucrative writing projects.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xx}}

=Personal life=

In 1977, Card married Kristine Allen,{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=166}} who is the daughter of Mormon historian James B. Allen.{{cite news |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=Why I am Teaching at SVU... and Why SVU is Important |url=http://ldsmag.com/ldsmag/articles/050516whyteach.html |work=Meridian Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021191842/http://ldsmag.com/ldsmag/articles/050516whyteach.html |archive-date=October 21, 2013}} The two met when Kristine was in the chorus of a roadshow Card directed before his mission. They courted after Card's mission, and Card was impressed with her intellectual rigor.{{rp|1:30}}

After their marriage, they had five children; their son Charles had cerebral palsy and died aged 17; their daughter Erin died the day she was born.{{cite magazine|last1=Manier|first1=Terry|date=October 31, 2013|title=Orson Scott Card Talks Ender's Game in Rare Interview|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/10/cardqa/|access-date=26 September 2019}}{{sfn|Tyson|2003|pp=xx–xxi}} Card's short story Lost Boys is highly autobiographical, but contains the death of a fictional child. One of Card's workshop readers, Karen Fowler, said that Card had pretended to experience the grief of a parent who has lost a child. In response, Card realized that the story expressed his grief and difficulty in accepting Charles's disability.{{rp|119}} Card stated that he rarely discusses Charles and Erin because his grief has not faded over time.{{cite web |title=Orson Scott Card (Louie Free - Brain Food from the Heartland) |url=https://vindyarchives.com/podcasts/brain-food-from-the-heartland/2019/jan/18/orson-scott-card/ |publisher=Vindy Archives|date=18 January 2019}}{{rp|1:35:15}}

Card and his wife live in Greensboro, North Carolina; their daughter Emily, along with two other writers, adapted Card's short stories Clap Hands and Sing, Lifeloop, and A Sepulchre of Songs for the stage in Posing as People.{{cite web|url=http://www.hatrack.com/store/store.cgi?loc=us&item=BOOKS_PosingAsPeople&opt=|title=Posing as People|publisher=Hatrack River Enterprises Inc.}} Card suffered a mild stroke on January 1, 2011, and made a full recovery.{{cite web|url=http://www.locusmag.com/News/2011/01/orson-scott-card-suffers-mild-stroke/|title=Locus Online News » Orson Scott Card Suffers Mild Stroke|author=Locus Publications|date=2011-01-05|publisher=Locusmag.com|access-date=2013-03-14}}

Works

=Early work=

In 1976, Card became an assistant editor for the Ensign magazine produced by the LDS Church and moved to Salt Lake City.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=43}} While working at Ensign, Card published his first piece of fiction,{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Andrew |title=Lifetime Achievement Awards: Orson Scott Card and Susan Elizabeth Howe |url=http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/2017/04/lifetime-achievement-awards-orson-scott-card-and-susan-elizabeth-howe/ |website=Dawning of a Brighter Day: Twenty-First Century Mormon Literature |date=April 8, 2017 |publisher=Association for Mormon Letters |access-date=27 September 2019 }} a short story called Gert Fram, which appeared in the July 1977 issue of Ensign under the pseudonym Byron Walley.{{cite book |last1=Collings |first1=Michael R. |title=In the Image of God: Theme, Characterization, and Landscape in the Fiction of Orson Scott Card |date=1990 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Connecticut |isbn=031326404X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ft9au7vWKEAC&q=Orson+Scott+Card+%22Gert+Fram%22+Bryron+Walley&pg=PA157}}{{rp|157}} Between 1978 and 1988, Card wrote over 300 half-hour audioplays on LDS Church history, the New Testament, and other subjects for Living Scriptures in Ogden, Utah.{{sfn|Van Name|1988|p=5}}

Card started writing science fiction short stories because he felt he could sell short stories in that genre more easily than others.{{sfn|Van Name|1988|p=2; 5}} His first short story, The Tinker, was initially rejected by Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Ben Bova, the editor of Analog, rejected a rewrite of the story but asked Card to submit a science fiction piece.{{sfn|Van Name|1988|p=2–4}} In response, Card wrote the short story "Ender's Game", which Ben Bova published in the August 1977 issue of Analog.{{sfn|Willett|2006|pp=42–43}} Card left Ensign in 1977 and began his career as a freelance writer in 1978.{{sfn|Willett|2006|pp=43; 48}}{{cite book |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=Maps in a Mirror: The Short Fiction of Orson Scott Card |date=1990 |publisher=ORB |location=New York |isbn=9780765308405 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FLNCovxKl7IC&pg=PA122 |access-date=30 September 2019}}{{rp|122}} Ben Bova continued to work with Card to publish his stories, and Bova's wife, Barbara Bova, became Card's literary agent, a development that drew criticism for a possible conflict of interest.{{sfn|Lupoff|1991|p=121}} Nine of Card's science fiction stories, including Malpractice, Kingsmeat, and Happy Head, were published in 1978.{{sfn|Collings|2001|pp=12; 292–294}}

Card modeled Mikal's Songbird on Ender's Game, both of which include a child with special talents who goes through emotional turmoil when adults seek to exploit his ability.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=56}} Mikal's Songbird was a Nebula Award finalist in 1978 and a Hugo finalist in 1979—both in the "novelette" category.{{cite web |title=1979 Hugo Awards |url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1979-hugo-awards/ |website=The Hugo Awards |access-date=18 February 2020 |date=26 July 2007}}{{cite web |title=sfadb: Nebula Awards 1979 |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Nebula_Awards_1979 |website=www.sfadb.com |access-date=18 February 2020}} Card won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978 for his stories published that year; the award helped Card's stories sell internationally.{{sfn|Willett|2006|pp=48–49}} Unaccompanied Sonata was published in 1979 issue of Omni and was nominated for both the Hugo and Nebula awards for a short story.{{cite web |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Nebula_Awards_1980 |title=Nebula Awards 1980 |work=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus |access-date=2011-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025042104/http://www.sfadb.com/Nebula_Awards_1980 |archive-date=2015-10-25 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1980-hugo-awards/ |title=1980 Hugo Awards |date=July 26, 2007 |publisher=World Science Fiction Society |access-date=2010-04-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507164644/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1980-hugo-awards/ |archive-date=2011-05-07 |url-status=live }} Eighteen Card stories were published in 1979.{{sfn|Collings|2001|p=13}}

Card's first published book, "Listen, Mom and Dad...": Young Adults Look Back on Their Upbringing (1977) is about child-rearing. He received advances for the manuscripts of Hot Sleep and A Planet Called Treason, which were published in 1979.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=47}}{{sfn|Collings|2001|p=12}} Card later called his first two novels "amateurish" and rewrote both of them later.{{sfn|Willett|2006|pp=51–52}} A publisher offered to buy a novelization of Mikal's Songbird, which Card accepted; the finished novel is titled Songmaster (1980).{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=54}} Card edited fantasy anthologies Dragons of Light (1980) and Dragons of Darkness (1981) and collected his own short stories in Unaccompanied Sonata and Other Stories (1981). In the early 1980s, Card focused on writing longer works, only publishing ten short stories between 1980 and 1985. He published a few non-fiction works that were aimed at an LDS audience; these include a satirical dictionary called Saintspeak, which resulted in him being temporarily banned from publishing in church magazines.{{cite journal|date=June 1987|title=Orson Scott Card: Jack of Many Trades|journal=Locus|volume=20|issue=6|pages=56–58}} Card wrote the fantasy-epic Hart's Hope (1983) and a historical novel, A Woman of Destiny (1984), which was later republished as Saints and won the 1985 award from the Association for Mormon Letters for best novel.{{sfn|Collings|2001|p=13}} He rewrote the narrative of Hot Sleep and published it as The Worthing Chronicle (1983), which replaced Hot Sleep and the short-story collection set in the same universe, Capitol (1979).{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xx}} The recession of the early 1980s made it difficult to get contracts for new books, so Card returned to full-time employment as the book editor of Compute! magazine that was based in Greensboro, North Carolina, for nine months in 1983.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=60–61}} In October of that year, Tom Doherty offered a contract for Card's proposed Alvin Maker series, which allowed him to return to creative writing full-time.{{sfn|Willett|2006|pp=62–63}}

=Late 1980s: ''Ender's Game'' and short stories=

Card's 1977 novella Ender's Game is about a young boy who undergoes military training for space war. Card expanded the story into a novel with the same title and told the backstory of the adult Ender in Speaker for the Dead. In contrast to the fast-paced Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead is about honesty and maturity.{{sfn|Westfahl|1998|p=182–183}} Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead were both awarded the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, making Card the first author to win both of science fiction's top prizes in consecutive years.{{cite web |title=Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards |url=https://nebulas.sfwa.org/status/winner/page/14/ |website=Nebula Awards |publisher=Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America |access-date=26 September 2019}}{{cite book |last1=Clute |first1=John |editor1-last=Clute |editor1-first=John |editor2-last=Langford |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Nicholls |editor3-first=Peter |editor4-last=Sleight |editor4-first=Graham |title=Encyclopedia of Science Fiction |publisher=SFE |edition=3rd |url=http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/card_orson_scott |chapter=Card, Orson Scott}} According to Card, some members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) resented his receiving of the Nebula award while editing the Nebula Awards Report. Subsequently, Card left the SFWA.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=96}} Card attended many science fiction conventions in the late 1980s. He held several "Secular Humanist Revival Meetings" at the conventions, satirizing Evangelical revival meetings.{{cite web |title=Program Information - Bobs Slacktime Funhouse: BSTF 917 - Orson Scott Card's Secular Humanist Revival Meeting |url=http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/60671 |website=www.radio4all.net}}{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=The secular, humanist revival meeting |url=https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/cat.2628512.with.31197217122594?holding=csnmvi1574eb8q7d |website=search.lib.byu.edu}}

Card continued to write short stories and columns and published two short story collections: Cardography (1987) and The Folk of the Fringe (1989). The novella Eye for Eye was republished with another novella by Tor and won the Hugo Award for best novella in 1988.{{cite web|title=1988 Hugo Awards|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1998-hugo-awards-2/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507072923/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1998-hugo-awards-2/|archive-date=2011-05-07|access-date=2010-04-19|publisher=World Science Fiction Society}}{{sfn|Collings|2001|p=15}} Between 1987 and 1989, Card edited and published a short science fiction review magazine called Short Form.{{cite web|last1=Card|first1=Orson Scott|last2=Van Name|first2=Mark L.|title=Short Form|url=https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/cat.2628339.item.2628339-1001?holding=zm7qrofp0g7dywy5|website=search.lib.byu.edu}} He also wrote Characters & Viewpoint (1988) and How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (1990).{{sfn|Collings|2001|pp=15–16}} Card also offered advice about writing in an interview in Leading Edge #23 in 1991.{{cite news|last1=Scott|first1=Orson|title=Interview|date=1991|work=Leading Edge|publisher=Brigham Young University|issue=23}} He wrote the script for an updated Hill Cumorah Pageant in 1988.{{cite web|last1=Gates|first1=Crawford|title=The Delights of Making Cumorah's Music|url=http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/pdf.php?filename=OTk5Njc3NDEzLTEzLTEucGRm&type=amJtcw==|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070407090052/http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/pdf.php?filename=OTk5Njc3NDEzLTEzLTEucGRm&type=amJtcw==|archive-date=7 April 2007|website=Maxwell Institute|publisher=Journal of Book of Mormon Studies}}

Inspired by Spenser's Faerie Queene, Card composed the long poem Prentice Alvin and the No-Good Plow, which uses colloquial language and diction common to Joseph Smith's time. The poem, along with the novelette "Hatrack River",{{sfn|Oziewicz|2008|p=209}} became the basis for Seventh Son (1987), the first book in The Tales of Alvin Maker series, a fantasy retelling of the Joseph Smith story. In the alternate history novel, Alvin Maker, the seventh son of a seventh son, is born with unusual magical abilities that make him a "Maker". Alvin has many similarities to Joseph Smith. Following Seventh Son, he wrote Red Prophet and Prentice Alvin, which focus on settlers' interactions with indigenous peoples and slaves, respectively.{{sfn|Collings|2001|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=32}}{{sfn|England|1990|p=57}} The series has sustainable environmental ethics as a main theme, addressing ways humans affect the environment in the Americas.{{sfn|Oziewicz|2008|p=209}} Alvin Maker's life has many parallels with Joseph Smith's. Seventh Son won the 1988 Mythopoeic Fantasy award, and the two following books were nominees.{{cite web |title=The Mythopoeic Society: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Finalists |url=http://www.mythsoc.org/awards/awards-fantasy.htm |website=www.mythsoc.org}} The awards are given to books that exemplify "the spirit of The Inklings".{{cite web |title=The Mythopoeic Society: Mythopoeic Awards |url=http://www.mythsoc.org/awards.htm |website=www.mythsoc.org}} Critics praised Seventh Son for creating an American mythology from American experience and belief.{{sfn|Oziewicz|2008|p=205}} According to literary critic Eugene England, the series brings up questions about what, exactly, the mission of a religious prophet is. The series also questions the difference between a prophet and magician, religion and magic.{{sfn|England|1990|p=58; 62}}

In the 1980s, Card also wrote Wyrms (1987), a novel about colonizing a planet, and revised A Planet Called Treason, which was published as Treason.{{sfn|Collings|2001|pp=15–16}} He also novelized James Cameron's film The Abyss.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xxi; 33}}{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-09-24-ca-239-story.html|title=A Response Rising Out of "The Abyss"|last1=Ling|first1=Van|date=September 24, 1989|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=1 October 2019}}

= Works from the 1990s =

Card wrote prolifically in the 1990s, including many books and the short story omnibus Maps in a Mirror (1990). Card continued the Ender's Game series with Xenocide (1991) and Children of the Mind (1996), which focus on Jane, an artificial intelligence that develops self-awareness. These books were considered inferior to their predecessors and were, according to science fiction critic Gary Westfahl, "overly prolonged".{{sfn|Westfahl|1998|p=183–184}}

While Children of the Mind concluded the initial Ender's Game series, Card started another series of books and continued writing in The Tales of Alvin Maker series. The Homecoming Saga is a science-fiction adaptation of The Book of Mormon.{{sfn|England|1994|p=59}} The series' volumes; The Memory of Earth, The Call of Earth, The Ships of Earth, Earthfall, and Earthborn were published between 1992 and 1995.{{sfn|Collings|2001|pp=16–17}} Alvin Journeyman (1995), the fourth book in The Tales of Alvin Maker series, won a Locus Award, and Heartfire (1998) was a nominee for the same award.{{Cite web|title=1996 Award Winners & Nominees|url=https://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?Year=1996|access-date=2020-10-20|website=Worlds Without End|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=1999 Awards Winners & Nominees|url=https://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1999|website=Worlds Without End}}

Card wrote several stand-alone novels in the 1990s. Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus (1996) examines time travel and Christopher Columbus.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=362}} Card collaborated with Star Wars artist Doug Chiang on Robota{{cite news |last1=Linder |first1=Brian |title=Doug Chiang's Robota |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/05/22/doug-chiangs-robota |access-date=26 September 2019 |work=IGN |date=June 17, 2012}} and with Kathryn H. Kidd on Lovelock.{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Andrew |title=In Memoriam: Kathryn H. Kidd |url=http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/2015/12/in-memorium-katrhyn-h-kidd/ |website=Dawning of a Brighter Day: Twenty-First Century Mormon Literature |date=December 17, 2015 |publisher=Association of Mormon Letters |access-date=26 September 2019}} Lost Boys (1992) is a horror story with a semi-autobiographical background.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|pp=125–127}} Treasure Box (1996) and Homebody (1998) represent Card's foray in horror. Enchantment (1999) is a fantasy novel based on the Russian version of Sleeping Beauty.{{sfn|Collings|2001|pp=263–267; 273–275}}{{sfn|Tyson|2003|pp=127–135}} It deals with a couple who learn to love each other after they marry. Card stated: "I put all my love for my wife into [Enchantment]."{{rp|1:06}}

= Shadow series and later writings =

File:Orson_Scott_Card_-_2007_(crop).jpg

In 1999, Card started a spin-off "shadow" series in the Ender's Game universe that is told from the point of view of other characters. These novels are Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant and Shadows in Flight, the latter serving as a bridge to the final book The Last Shadow, which is also a sequel to Children of the Mind.{{cite web|last=Peterson|first=Matthew|date=2009-11-12|title=Orson Scott Card - Online Radio Interview with the Author|url=http://theauthorhour.com/orson-scott-card/|publisher=The Author Hour radio show}}{{cite web|last=Card|first=Orson|date=April 5, 2020|title=Maybe Some Good Will Come Out of This|url=http://hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2020-04-05.shtml|access-date=18 August 2020|publisher=Hatrack River}} Westfahl praised the Shadow series, stating they were "executed with panache and skill". Card wrote other spin-offs: a series of shorter stories, First Meetings in the Enderverse, and novels A War of Gifts,{{cite news|last1=Lythgoe|first1=Dennis|date=December 16, 2007|title=Book review: "A War of Gifts: An Ender Story"|work=Deseret News|publisher=LDS Church |url= https://www.deseret.com/2007/12/16/20059167/book-review-a-war-of-gifts-an-ender-story|access-date=26 September 2019}} and Ender in Exile.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=197}}{{cite web|date=3 February 2016|title=Formic Wars: Silent Strike|url=https://www.aaronwjohnston.com/book/formic-wars-silent-strike/|website=www.aaronwjohnston.com}} Aaron Johnston and Card conceptualized the stories that make up the prequel to Ender's Game, realizing many of them would work best in novel format but first publishing the comics through Marvel. The Burning Earth and Silent Strike comic series were published in 2011 and 2012.{{cite web|title=Formic Wars: Burning Earth (2011)|url=https://www.marvel.com/comics/series/7802/formic_wars_burning_earth_2011|publisher=Marvel Entertainment}}{{cite web|title=Formic Wars: Silent Strike (2011 - 2012)|url=https://www.marvel.com/comics/series/7805/formic_wars_silent_strike_2011_-_2012|publisher=Marvel Entertainment}}{{cite book|last1=Card|first1=Orson Scott|title=Earth Unaware: The First Formic War|last2=Johnston|first2=Aaron|date=2012|publisher=Tor|isbn=9780765329042|location=New York|pages=366–368}} Card and Johnston co-wrote the novels in the series between 2012 and 2019; these are Earth Unaware, Earth Afire, Earth Awakens, The Swarm, and The Hive. Children of the Fleet is the first novel in a new sequel series, called Fleet School.{{cite news|last1=Bowyer|first1=Jerry|date=November 17, 2017|title=Children of the Fleet: Orson Scott Card's Best Since Ender's Game|work=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrybowyer/2017/11/17/fleet-orson-scott-cards-best-since-enders-game/#12afcca17f22|access-date=26 September 2019}}

While Card was writing books in the Shadow series, he also wrote novellas, novels, and a series of books focused on women in the Bible. Card's The Women of Genesis series includes Sarah (2000), Rebekah (2002), and Rachel and Leah (2004).{{sfn|Tyson|2003|pp=79–94}} Card wrote three novellas in the 2000s; Space Boy (2007) is a children's story, Hamlet's Father (2008) is a retelling of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and Stonefather (2008) is the first story set in the Mithermages universe.{{cite web |title=Subterranean Press Space Boy |url=https://subterraneanpress.com/space-boy |website=subterraneanpress.com |access-date=26 February 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |editor1-last=Kaye |editor1-first=Marvin |title=The Ghost Quartet |date=2008 |publisher=TOR |location=New York |isbn=9780765312518 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780765312518/page/n7 |access-date=27 September 2019 |chapter=Hamlet's Father}}{{cite web |title=Orson Scott Card: Stonefather |url=http://www.stevenhsilver.com/stonefather.html |website=www.sfsite.com |publisher=The SF Site}} The Crystal City (2003) is the sixth book in The Alvin Maker series.{{Sfn|Oziewicz|2008|p=209}}

Card wrote two young-adult fantasy trilogies in the 2010s. Mithermages is about a teenager growing up on a magical estate in rural Virginia; it includes The Lost Gate (2011), The Gate Thief (2013), and Gatefather (2015).{{cite web |title=Mither Mages Series by Orson Scott Card |url=https://www.goodreads.com/series/53084-mither-mages |website=www.goodreads.com}} The Pathfinder trilogy consists of Pathfinder (2010), Ruins (2012), and Visitors (2014), and follows a young man who can change the past.{{cite book |title=Pathfinder Trilogy |url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Pathfinder-Trilogy/Orson-Scott-Card/9781481457729 |access-date=25 February 2020 |language=en |date=3 November 2015|isbn=9781481457729 |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |publisher=Margaret K. McElderry Books }}{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=The Library of Orson Scott Card |url=http://www.hatrack.com/osc/index.shtml |website=www.hatrack.com |access-date=25 February 2020}} Card has also written several urban fantasies, including Magic Street (2005) and Lost and Found (2019), both of which are about teenagers with special powers.{{cite news |last1=Haley |first1=Carolyn |title=Lost and Found |url=https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/lost-and-found |work=www.nyjournalofbooks.com}}{{cite book |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=Catalog record for Magic street |url=https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/cat.3378783.item.31197225802203?holding=wywi042zd2z1lrhp |publisher=Harold B. Lee Library |date=2005|isbn=9780345416896 }}

Card wrote the Christmas novel Zanna's Gift (2004), which was originally published under a pseudonym.{{Citation| last1 = Card | first1 = Orson Scott| title = Uncle Orson Reviews Everything: Bean on Baseball and Parker's Trilogies| publisher = Hatrack River Enterprises Inc| date=2 November 2008| url = http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2008-11-02.shtml | access-date=28 March 2011 }} A Town Divided by Christmas and a "Hallmark Christmas movie in prose" were published in 2018.{{cite news |last1=Collings |first1=Michael |title=Book review: Orson Scott Card's new book is a Hallmark Christmas movie in prose, but better |url=https://www.deseret.com/2018/11/6/20658036/book-review-orson-scott-card-s-new-book-is-a-hallmark-christmas-movie-in-prose-but-better#a-town-divided-by-christmas-is-bestselling-author-orson-scott-cards-most-recent-book |work=Deseret News |publisher=LDS Church |date=6 November 2018 |language=en}} Invasive Procedures (2007), a medical thriller co-written with Aaron Johnston, is based on a screenplay Johnston wrote, which is based on Card's novel Malpractice.{{cite news |title=Invasive Procedures |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7653-1424-6 |access-date=26 February 2020 |work=www.publishersweekly.com}}

=Video games, comic books and television=

In the 1990s, Card contributed dialogue to the point-and-click adventure video games The Secret of Monkey Island, The Dig, and NeoHunter, an early first-person shooter.{{cite web|url=http://news.filefront.com/gaming-todays-exclusive-interview-with-author-orson-scott-card/|title=Interview with Author Orson Scott Card|access-date=2007-06-18|publisher=Gaming Today|archive-date=June 20, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620132812/http://news.filefront.com/gaming-todays-exclusive-interview-with-author-orson-scott-card/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=NeoHunter (1996) |url=https://www.mobygames.com/game/neohunter |website=MobyGames |access-date=20 February 2020}} His collaboration on videogame scripts continued in the 2000s, when he worked with Cameron Dayton on Advent Rising{{cite news |last1=Vitka |first1=William |title=Game Preview: Advent Rising |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/game-preview-advent-rising/ |access-date=27 September 2019 |work=CBS News |publisher=CBS Interactive |date=January 25, 2005}}{{cite news |last1=Weiss |first1=Danny |title=Video Game Review: "Advent Rising" |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8331962/ns/msnbc-hotlist_msnbc_com/t/video-game-review-advent-rising/#.XY5NcUZKiUk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003152107/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8331962/ns/msnbc-hotlist_msnbc_com/t/video-game-review-advent-rising/#.XY5NcUZKiUk |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 3, 2019 |access-date=27 September 2019 |work=NBC News |publisher=NBCNews |date=June 23, 2005}} and outlined the story for Shadow Complex, a prequel to the events in his novels Empire and Hidden Empire. The novels and game are about a near-future civil war in the United States that occurs after civilians resist a left-wing coup in the White House.{{cite news|last1=Castro|first1=Adam-Troy|date=December 14, 2012|title=We Preview Shadow Complex: Best Game of Summer?|work=Syfy Wire|publisher=Syfy|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/we_preview_shadow_complex|access-date=26 September 2019|archive-date=September 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926180516/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/we_preview_shadow_complex|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Shadow Complex Xbox 360 Video - Dev. Diary|work=IGN Video|url=http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/839087/empire/videos/shadowcomplex_trl_orsonscottdevrdiary_81309.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817160512/http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/839087/empire/videos/shadowcomplex_trl_orsonscottdevrdiary_81309.html|archive-date=August 17, 2009}}

Card has written scripts for the two-volume comic-book series Ultimate Iron Man.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=84}} He collaborated with his daughters Emily and Zina on the graphic novel Laddertop,{{cite news |last1=Haddock |first1=Marc |title=Book review: Orson Scott Card teams up with his daughter to create 'Laddertop' |url=https://www.deseret.com/2011/10/17/20388557/book-review-orson-scott-card-teams-up-with-his-daughter-to-create-laddertop#laddertop-is-a-scifi-graphic-novel-by-orson-scott-card-and-his-daughters-emily-and-zina |work=Deseret News |publisher=LDS Church |date=17 October 2011 }}{{cite news |title=Comics Book Review: Laddertop, Vol. 1 by Orson Scott Card, Emily Janice Card, Zina Card and Honoel A. Ibardolaza. Tor/Seven Seas, $10.99 trade paper (192p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2460-3 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7653-2460-3 |work=PublishersWeekly.com |language=en}} and with Aaron Johnston to write a series of six Dragon Age comics.{{cite web |last1=Johnston |first1=Aaron |title=Dragon Age |url=https://www.aaronwjohnston.com/book/dragon-age/ |website=www.aaronwjohnston.com |access-date=25 February 2020 |date=4 February 2016}} In 2017, Card wrote, produced, and co-created a television series called Extinct for BYU TV that ran for one season before it was canceled.{{cite news |last1=Scribner |first1=Herb |title=BYUtv's sci-fi series "Extinct" won't be renewed for a second season |url=https://www.deseret.com/2018/1/5/20624925/byutv-s-sci-fi-series-extinct-won-t-be-renewed-for-a-second-season |access-date=24 September 2019 |work=Deseret News |publisher=LDS Church |date=January 5, 2018}}{{cite news |title=BYUtv taps anti-gay Orson Scott Card to create, write, produce its new scripted series |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=4349606&itype=CMSID |access-date=4 October 2019 |work=The Salt Lake Tribune |date=September 15, 2016}}

=Adaptations=

Many of Card's works have been adapted into comic books. Dabel Brothers Productions published comic-book adaptations of Red Prophet and Wyrms in 2006.{{cite news |title=Ender's Game Hits Comics - IGN |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/03/06/enders-game-hits-comics |language=en}} Aaron Johnston wrote comic-book versions of Ender in Exile and Speaker for the Dead.{{cite web |last1=Johnston |first1=Aaron |title=Graphic Novels |url=https://www.aaronwjohnston.com/book-tag/graphic-novels/ |website=www.aaronwjohnston.com |access-date=25 February 2020}} Marvel published two Ender's Game miniseries, which were collected in the graphic novel version of Ender's Game; Christ Yost wrote the script and Pasqual Ferry was the artist.{{cite news |last1=Ekstrom |first1=Steve |title=Chris Yost: Bringing Ender Wiggin to Comics |url=https://www.newsarama.com/1206-chris-yost-bringing-ender-wiggin-to-comics.html |access-date=26 February 2020 |work=Newsarama |date=October 6, 2008 |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=Catalog record for Ender's game |url=https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/cat.6509661.item.31197234906698?holding=pdra8x7nxazenxoh |website=search.lib.byu.edu |publisher=Harold B. Lee Library |access-date=26 February 2020 |date=2013}} Two sets of comic miniseries were adapted by Mike Carey for Ender's Shadow and the comics collected in Ender's Shadow Ultimate Collection.{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=Catalog record for Ender's shadow ultimate collection |url=https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/cat.6311295.item.31197233940649?holding=sug18jm9tlerr4r3 |website=search.lib.byu.edu |publisher=Harold B. Lee Library |date=2012}} A series of one-shots, some of which are based on Card's Enderverse short stories, were collected in Ender's Game: War of Gifts.{{cite web |title=GCD :: Issue :: Ender's Game: War of Gifts |url=https://www.comics.org/issue/817136/ |website=www.comics.org |publisher=Grand Comics Database |access-date=26 February 2020}}{{cite web |title=Ender's Game: Mazer In Prison (Now available) |url=https://www.aaronwjohnston.com/enders-game-mazer-in-prison/ |website=www.aaronwjohnston.com |access-date=26 February 2020 |date=21 March 2010}}{{cite web |title=Enders Game War of Gifts (2009 Marvel) comic books |url=https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=19666619 |website=www.mycomicshop.com |access-date=26 February 2020}}

Since Ender's Game was published in 1985, Card was reluctant to license film rights and artistic control for the novel. He had two opportunities to sell the rights of Ender's Game to Hollywood studios, but refused when creative differences became an issue.{{cite news|last1=Peterson|first1=Jeff|date=November 4, 2013|title="Ender's Game" movie was worth the wait|work=Deseret News |publisher=LDS Church |url=https://www.deseret.com/2013/11/4/20528956/ender-s-game-movie-was-worth-the-wait#viola-davis-stars-in-enders-game|access-date=26 September 2019}}{{cite news|last1=Lawrence|first1=Bryce|date=July 16, 2013|title=Orson Scott Card: Praise for work of "Ender's Game" director, movie executives|work=The Daily Universe|publisher=Brigham Young University|url=https://universe.byu.edu/2013/07/16/1orson-scott-card-praise-for-work-of-enders-game-director-movie-executives/|access-date=26 September 2019}} Card announced in February 2009 that he had completed a script for Odd Lot Entertainment, and that they had begun assembling a production team.{{cite web|date=February 25, 2009|title=Movie production team being assembled|url=http://www.taleswapper.net/movies/endersgame/endersgame_update.html|access-date=2009-03-01|work=Taleswapper, Inc}} On April 28, 2011, it was announced that Summit Entertainment had picked up the film's distribution, and Digital Domain joined Odd Lot Entertainment in a co-production role.{{cite news|last=McNary|first=Dave|date=Apr 28, 2011|title=Summit plays 'Ender's Game'|newspaper=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2011/film/news/summit-plays-ender-s-game-1118036112/}} Card wrote many versions of the script for the movie,{{cite magazine|last=Snow|first=Shane|title=Orson Scott Card Talks Ender's Game in Rare Interview|url=https://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/10/cardqa/?cid=co13860944|magazine=Wired|access-date=1 November 2013}} but ultimately director Gavin Hood wrote the screenplay. Card was a co-producer of the film.{{cite news|last=Zeitchik|first=Steven|date=September 20, 2010|title=Gavin Hood looks to play 'Ender's Game'|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2010/09/orson-scott-card-enders-game-gavin-hood.html}}{{cite news|date=October 31, 2013|title=Critics, community and "Ender's Game": An interview with Orson Scott Card|work=Deseret News|publisher= LDS Church |url= https://www.deseret.com/2013/10/31/20528619/critics-community-and-ender-s-game-an-interview-with-orson-scott-card#prior-to-the-film-release-of-enders-game-author-orson-scott-card-participated-in-a-q-a-with-former-deseret-news-reporter-jamshid-ghazi-askar|access-date=4 October 2019}}{{cite web|last=Lawrence|first=Bryce|date=July 16, 2013|title=Orson Scott Card: Praise for work of 'Ender's Game' director|url=http://universe.byu.edu/2013/07/16/1orson-scott-card-praise-for-work-of-enders-game-director-movie-executives/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718150032/http://universe.byu.edu/2013/07/16/1orson-scott-card-praise-for-work-of-enders-game-director-movie-executives/|archive-date=July 18, 2013|work=The Digital Universe|publisher=Brigham Young University}} On Rotten Tomatoes, the critical consensus states: "If it isn't quite as thought-provoking as the book, Ender's Game still manages to offer a commendable number of well-acted, solidly written sci-fi thrills."{{cite web|title=Ender's Game (2013)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/enders-game/|access-date=May 4, 2020|work=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango Media}}

=Newspaper columns=

Since 2001, Card's commentary includes the political columns "War Watch",{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Andrew |title=This Week in Mormon Literature, November 9, 2013 |url=http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/2013/11/this-week-in-mormon-literature-november-9-2013/ |website=Dawning of a Brighter Day: Twenty-First Century Mormon Literature |date=November 9, 2013 |publisher=Association of Mormon Letters |access-date=26 September 2019}} "World Watch",{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=World Watch |url=http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/index.html |website=www.ornery.org |publisher=The Ornery American |access-date=November 10, 2020 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013555/http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/index.html |url-status=dead }} and "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything", which were published in the Greensboro Rhinoceros Times until 2019.{{cite news |last1=Buckley |first1=Bob |title=The Rhinoceros Times going out of business after 20 years |url=https://myfox8.com/2013/04/30/the-rhinoceros-times-going-out-of-business-after-20-years/ |access-date=26 September 2019 |work=Fox 8 |date=April 30, 2013}}{{cite web |title=Search for "uncle orson" |url=https://www.rhinotimes.com/?s=%22uncle+orson%22 |website=The Rhino Times of Greensboro}} "Uncle Orson Reviews Everything" features personal reviews of films and commentary on other topics. The column also appears on Card's website, which is titled "Hatrack River".{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=Uncle Orson Reviews Everything |url=http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/index.shtml |website=Hatrick River: The Official Website of Orson Scott Card |publisher=Hatrack River Enterprises |access-date=26 September 2019}} From 2008 to 2015, Card wrote a column of Latter-day Saint devotional and cultural commentary for the Nauvoo Times, which was published through Hatrack River.{{cite web |title=Nauvoo Times - Orson%20Scott%20Card |url=http://www.nauvootimes.com/cgi-bin/nauvoo_column.pl?type=list_columns&author=orson-scott-card&author_name=Orson%20Scott%20Card |website=www.nauvootimes.com |access-date=26 February 2020 |language=en}}

Influences and style

=Influences=

During his childhood, Card read widely. He read children's classics and popular novels.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=19–21}} His favorite book was Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, and he read his family's World Book Encyclopedia in its entirety. He read science fiction stories in anthologies and science fiction novels.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xv}}{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=20}}{{sfn|Lupoff|1991|p=121}} He especially credits Tunesmith by Lloyd Biggle Jr. as having a large effect on his life.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xv}} Card often refers to works by Robert A. Heinlein and J. R. R. Tolkien as sources of inspiration.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=31}} Card credits C. S. Lewis's apologetic fiction in the Chronicles of Narnia and The Screwtape Letters{{Citation|title=Drinkin' Bros Podcast #617 - Ender's Game Series Author Orson Scott Card| date=June 10, 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QNFNWK4flg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/5QNFNWK4flg |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-11-14}}{{cbignore}}{{Rp|location=1:17:50}} as influences that shaped his life and career.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=24}} In 2014, Card stated that Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury were conscious influences on his writing, along with Early Modern English from the King James Version of the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare.{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=A Brief Interview with Orson Scott Card (extended answers) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkDZuzYg5q4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/qkDZuzYg5q4 |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|publisher=Tor |access-date=20 November 2020 |page=2:45 |date=Summer 2013}}{{cbignore}} As a college student, Card read classic literature, science fiction, and fantasy.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=31}} Spenser's poetry inspired the original Prentice Alvin and the No-Good Plow.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=32}}{{sfn|Samuelson|1996|p=912}} Influences from Portuguese and Brazilian Catholicism, which Card learned about during his LDS mission to Brazil, are evident in his Shadow and Speaker novels.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=xvii}} Card stated his writing improved after teaching writing workshops with Jay Wentworth and from Algis Budrys's workshops at Writers of the Future.

Card's membership of the LDS Church has been an important influence on his writing, though he initially tried to keep his religious beliefs separate from his fiction.{{sfn|Willett|2006|pp=12–15; 95}}{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=18}} Susanne Reid, a science fiction scholar,{{cite web |title=Reid, Suzanne Elizabeth 1944- {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/reid-suzanne-elizabeth-1944 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}} stated Card's religious background is evident in his frequent messiah protagonists and the "moral seriousness" in his works.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=38}}{{sfn|Reid|1998|p=50; 37}} Card's science-fiction books do not reference the LDS religion directly but "offer careful readers insights that are compelling and moving in their religious intensity".{{sfn|Collings|2014|pp=55–57}} Non-LDS readers of A Planet Called Treason did not remark on religious themes; however, LDS reviewer Sandy Straubhaar disliked the novel's explicit violence and sex and stated LDS connections were "gratuitous".{{sfn|Collings|2014|pp=55–57}} Dick Butler criticized A Planet Called Treason for its lack of Gospel themes and ideas, and two other LDS reviewers defended Card.{{sfn|Collings|2014|pp=57–58}} According to Michael Collings, a critic who acknowledges his "unabashed appreciation" of Card,{{sfn|Collings|2001|p=11}} knowledge of Mormon theology is vital to completely understanding Card's works, stating the life stages of the "piggies" in Speaker for the Dead correspond to phases of life in the LDS's plan of salvation.{{sfn|Collings|2014|pp=67; 69}}In an article in Sunstone, Christopher C. Smith also noticed this parallel, noting that the "piggies" procreate "more or less eternally" in the last stage of their development.{{sfn|Smith|2011|p=54}} Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead deal with religious themes common in LDS theology but without many surface references to the religion.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=72}} The Alvin Maker series does not try to explain Mormon history but uses it to examine his characters' relationships with God.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=85}} Card stated that his church membership influences his communitarian values, specifically, making personal sacrifices for the good of a community. Individuals making sacrifices for their community is a theme in his work.

Card's Homecoming Saga is a dramatization of Book of Mormon. Eugene England called the first five novels "good literature". Card received criticism from members of the LDS church for "plagiarizing" the Book of Mormon and using it irreverently. He defended his choices and said speculative fiction is the genre best suited to exploring theological and moral issues.{{sfn|England|1994|pp=59–61}} Also in the Homecoming Saga, Card imagines backstories and explanations for "anomalies" in the Book of Mormon, making the fictional work function as a work of Mormon apologetics.{{sfn|Smith|2011|pp=54-56}} While women are not prominent in the Book of Mormon, Card makes them prominent in his retelling.{{sfn|England|1994|pp=70–71}} One non-LDS critic described the saga as "readable" but lacking in new ideas.{{sfn|Westfahl|1998|p=185}} Unaware of its relation to the Book of Mormon, another critic said it is similar to the Bible.{{sfn|Reid|1998|p=50}}

=Style=

Because Card began his writing career in screenplays, his early work is considered accessible and fast-paced with good characters but stylistically unremarkable. According to biographer Richard Bleiler, a number of critics described his tone as emotionless or conversely, as nonjudgmental, leaving readers to come to their own conclusions about how to feel about a story.{{sfn|Bleiler|1989|p=134–135}} Though Card was initially classified as a hard science fiction writer for publishing in Analog,{{sfn|Westfahl|2005|p=197}} his science fiction focuses more on his characters than on the details of future technology.{{sfn|Bleiler|1989|p=134–135}} One critic said Card is poor at characterization, stating the characters Peter and Valentine in Ender's Game are "totally unbelievable".{{sfn|Nicol|1992|p=130}} While noticing that some of Card's early stories were formulaic, Westfahl praised many of Card's early stories as showing "conspicuous originality".{{sfn|Westfahl|1998|pp=181–182}} The graphic violence in his early fiction was controversial; frequent appearances of naked men and boys raised "questions about homoerotic imagery", according to Westfahl.{{sfn|Westfahl|1998|p=179}} Collings stated that the early stories are "essential steps in the development of Card's fiction".{{sfn|Collings|2014|pp=22–23}} Card uses a technique common in pulp fiction when he refers to characters by a quirk of their appearance or personality. Card's fantasy stories also use tropes that are common to fantasy.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|pp=160–161}}

Card cites the Book of Mormon as an important influence on his writing; his habit of beginning sentences with conjunctions comes from the book.{{sfn|Willett|2006|p=22}} Literary devices in Hot Sleep parallel those of the Book of Mormon.{{sfn|Collings|2014|pp=61–63}} Collings said Hot Sleep{{'s}} mimicry of Book of Mormon language makes it an "inherently" Mormon novel. Card combined several Worthing stories and revised Hot Sleep to create The Worthing Chronicle, which does not mirror the language of the Book of Mormon as much as Hot Sleep does.{{sfn|Collings|2014|pp=64; 67}}

Themes in his works

=Child-genius savior=

One theme in Card's works is that of a precocious child who is isolated from others but is uniquely positioned to help or save their community. These characters with exceptional abilities achieve their destiny "through discipline and suffering".{{sfn|Beswick|1989|p=52}} Often, his gifted protagonists are introspective children.{{sfn|Lupoff|1991|pp=120–121}} Card's work features children and adults working together, which is unusual.{{sfn|Westfahl|1998|p=179}} His characters feel "real" and must grow and take on responsibilities and often sacrifice themselves to improve their own societies.{{sfn|Bleiler|1989|p=134–135}} This sacrifice is a difficult choice in which none of the options are obviously good.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=157}} These protagonists have unusual abilities that are both a blessing and a curse. The protagonists, who are isolated from family and friends, relate better to adults than to other young people; when they grow up, they often mentor other precocious youths.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=158}}{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=15}} Alvin Maker follows this pattern; his magical abilities are very unusual and he uses them to redeem his people.{{sfn|Samuelson|1996|p=912}}

According to Collings, Card's protagonists are "lonely and manipulative Messiah-figures" who make sacrifices that can be interpreted as a declaration of principles. Family and community problems arise when individuals are not fully accepted or when communities do not work with others in larger units.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=94}} Often one group tries to kill or enslave another group, but their conflict is alleviated when they try to understand each other.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|pp=159–160}} Protagonists make choices that save a person or a group of people.{{sfn|Tyson|2003|p=157}} In The Porcelain Salamander, a girl is saved by a magical salamander; this action restores her ability to move but she takes on some attributes of the salamander.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=95–96}} In Kingsmeat the Shepherd painlessly excises meat from humans to save them from being completely eaten by their alien overlords. The violence of removing parts of people is like the violence of repentance.{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=96–98}} Collings states part of this story "could serve as an epigram of all Card's fictions; trapped within a circle of opposing forces, one focal character must decide whether or not to become, like Ender Wiggin, 'something of a savior, or a prophet, or at least a martyr'{{sp}}."{{sfn|Collings|2014|p=36}}

The original short story Ender's Game is reminiscent of Heinlein's young adult novels because it is about a young person with impressive gifts who is guided by a stern mentor whose choices affect all of humanity.{{sfn|Westfahl|1998|pp=181–182}} The situations and choices in the Ender series invoke a number of philosophical topics, including the rules of war, embodiment psychology, the ethics of anthropology and xenology, and the morality of manipulating children.{{sfn|WittkowerRush|2013|p=35; 48; 65; 112}} Though Card described Happy Head (1978) as an embarrassment, it anticipated cyberpunk fiction with an investigator judge who can experience memories with witnesses. Both A Thousand Deaths (1978) and Unaccompanied Sonata feature protagonists who rebel against the dystopias they inhabit.{{sfn|Westfahl|1998|p=180}}

=American politics=

In a May 2013 essay called "Unlikely Events", which Card presented as an experiment in fiction writing,{{cite web|last=Card|first=Orson Scott|date=May 9, 2013| url = http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2013-05-09-1.html | title=Unlikely Events|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608080112/http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2013-05-09-1.html|url-status=dead | archive-date=June 8, 2013 | access-date=November 2, 2016|publisher=The Ornery American}} Card described an alternative future in which President Barack Obama ruled as a "Hitler- or Stalin-style dictator" with his own national police force of young unemployed men; Obama and his wife Michelle would have amended the U.S. Constitution to allow presidents to remain in power for life, as in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Nazi Germany.{{cite news|last=Child|first=Ben|title=Ender's Game author Orson Scott Card compares Obama to Hitler|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/16/ender-s-game-orson-scott-card-essay-obama-hitler|newspaper=The Guardian|date=August 16, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Horn|first=John|title='Ender's Game' author compares Obama to Hitler|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-enders-game-orson-card-obama-hitler-20130815,0,7348229.story|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 15, 2013}} In the essay, first published in The Rhinoceros Times, Card attributed Obama's success to being a "black man who talks like a white man (that's what they mean by calling him "articulate" and a "great speaker")."{{cite news |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=Civilization Watch: Unlikely Events |url=https://issuu.com/rhinotimes/docs/rhino5_16_13 |access-date=14 December 2020 |work=The Rhinoceros Times |date=16 May 2013}}{{rp|66}} The essay drew criticism from journalists for its allusions to Obama's race and its reference to "urban gangs".{{cite web|url = http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unreasonablefaith/2013/08/orson-scott-cards-alternate-future/|publisher = Patheos|title = Orson Scott Card's Alternate Future|date = August 16, 2013|first = Daniel|last = Florien}}{{cite web|publisher = The American Prospect|title = Morally Compromised Art, on the Big Screen: How do we judge a movie made from a book written by someone with repellent political views?|first = Paul|last = Waldman|date = August 16, 2013|url = http://prospect.org/article/morally-compromised-art-big-screen}}{{cite web|url = http://www.journalnow.com/news/state_region/controversial-author-orson-scott-card-named-to-unc-tv-board/article_3104bc04-199d-11e3-9679-0019bb30f31a.html|date = September 9, 2013|title = Controversial author Orson Scott Card named to UNC-TV board|agency = Associated Press|newspaper = Winston-Salem Journal}} Vice author Dave Schilling featured the article in his "This Week in Racism" roundup several months after its publication.{{cite web |last1=Schilling |first1=Dave |title=Orson Scott Card Is Officially the Most Racist Sci-Fi Author |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/znwb4j/orson-scott-card-is-officially-the-most-racist-sci-fi-author |website=www.vice.com |language=en |date=16 August 2013}}

Empire (2006) is a novel about civil war between progressive and conservative extremists in America. It was a finalist for the Prometheus Award, an award given by the Libertarian Futurist Society.{{Cite web|title=Libertarian Futurist Society|url=http://lfs.org/novel_nominees.shtml|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919045925/http://lfs.org/novel_nominees.shtml|archive-date=19 September 2020|access-date=2020-11-30|website=lfs.org}} Publishers Weekly stated that "right-wing rhetoric trumps the logic of story and character" in the novel.{{Cite web|title=Fiction Book Review: Empire by Orson Scott Card|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7653-1611-0|access-date=2020-11-30|website=PublishersWeekly.com|date=November 2006|language=en}} Another review from Publishers Weekly noted that "Card's conservative bias seeps into" the novel.{{Cite book|title=Empire by Orson Scott Card|url=https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/cat.3663446.item.31197226992177?holding=ip4nfvnzluux36bv|website=Harold B. Lee Library|year = 2006|isbn = 9780765316110|last1 = Card|first1 = Orson Scott| publisher=Macmillan }} At SFReviews, Thomas Wagner took further issue with Card's tendency to "smugly pretend ... to be above it all", or claiming to be moderate while espousing conservative views of news media.{{Cite web|title=Empire / Orson Scott Card ☆☆|url=http://www.sfreviews.net/empire_osc.html|access-date=2020-11-30|website=www.sfreviews.net}} In an interview with Mythaxis Review in April 2021, Card stated that he writes fiction "without conscious agenda".{{cite web |last1=Smistad |first1=John |title=Ender's Game and Beyond: an Interview with Orson Scott Card |url=https://mythaxis.com/2021/04/18/enders-game-and-beyond-an-interview-with-orson-scott-card/ |website=Mythaxis Review |date=2021-04-18}}

=Opposition to homosexuality=

In Card's fiction writing, homosexual characters appear in contexts that some critics have interpreted as homophobic. Writing for Salon, Aja Romano lists the "homophobic subtext" of characters in four of Card's books. In Songmaster, a man falls in love with a 15-year-old castrato in a pederastic society. Their sexual union has "creepy overtones" that makes the teenager "unable to have sex again".{{cite web |last1=Romano |first1=Aja |title=Orson Scott Card's long history of homophobia |url=https://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/sci_fi_icon_orson_scott_card_hates_fan_fiction_the_homosexual_agenda_partner/ |website=Salon.com |access-date=9 November 2020 |date=8 May 2013}} On the topic of Songmaster, Card wrote that he was not trying to show homosexual sex as beautiful. Romano wrote that the book's "main plot point revolve[d] around punishing homosexual sex". In the Homecoming series, a gay male character, Zdorab, marries and procreates for the good of society. Romano notes that Zdorab does not stop being gay after his marriage, but that procreation is paramount in the book's society. Eugene England defends Zdorab, arguing that he is a sympathetic character who discovered that his homosexuality was determined by his mother's hormone levels during pregnancy. Therefore, Card does not depict homosexuality as a character trait that could be erased or reversed. However, he does positively depict a character who actively represses it: while Zdorab marries and has children, he sees his choice to become a father as very deliberate and not "out of some inborn instinct".{{sfn|England|1994|p=73}}

Card's 2008 novella Hamlet's Father re-imagines the backstory of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. In the novella, Hamlet's friends were sexually abused as children by his pedophilic father and subsequently identify as homosexual adults. The novella prompted public outcry, and its publishers were inundated with complaints.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/08/outcry-hamlet-novel-gay-paedophile| last=Flood| first=Alison| title=Outcry over Hamlet novel casting old king as gay pedophile: Publisher showered with complaints over Orson Scott Card's 'Hamlet's Father'| newspaper=The Guardian| date= 8 September 2011}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hatrack.com/osc_responds_halmets_father.html|title=OSC Responds to False Statements about Hamlet's Father (Orson Scott Card) – September 2011|publisher=Hatrack.com|access-date=2013-03-14}} Trade journal Publishers Weekly criticized Card's work, stating its main purpose was to attempt to link homosexuality with pedophilia.{{cite web|url=http://publishersweekly.com/9781596062696|title=Review of Hamlet's Father|date=2011-02-28|publisher=Publishers Weekly |access-date=2013-03-14}} Card responded that he did not link homosexuality with pedophilia, stating that in his book, Hamlet's father was a pedophile that shows no sexual attraction to adults of either sex.{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=OSC Responds to False Statements about Hamlet's Father |url= http://www.hatrack.com/osc_responds_halmets_father.html |website=www.hatrack.com |access-date=15 November 2021}}

Personal views

=Politics=

Card became a member of the U.S. Democratic Party in 1976 and has on multiple occasions referred to himself as a Moynihan or Blue Dog Democrat, as recently as 2020.{{cite web|last=Card|first=Orson Scott|date=September 6, 2012|title=Premium Rush, 50 Things, Deadly Animals, Harbach|url=http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2012-09-06.shtml|publisher=Rhinoceros Times}}{{Rp|location=0:58:09}} Card supported Republican presidential candidate John McCain in 2008,{{cite web|author=Card|date=2008-11-04|title=WorldWatch – This Very Good Election Year – The Ornery American|url=http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2008-11-04-1.html|access-date=2010-07-10|publisher=Ornery.org|archive-date=June 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629034057/http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2008-11-04-1.html|url-status=dead}} and then Newt Gingrich in 2012.{{cite web|author=Card|date=December 1, 2011|title=Hugo, Scorsese, Romney, and Gingrich|url=http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2011-12-01.shtml|work=Uncle Orson Reviews Everything|publisher=Hatrack.com}} In 2016, he followed the "hold your nose, vote Trump" hashtag and voted accordingly.{{rp||location=1:01:10}} According to Salon, Card's views are close to neoconservative, and Card has described himself as a moral conservative.{{cite web |url=http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2009-12-20-1.html |title=WorldWatch - Sarah Palin's Book - The Ornery American |publisher=Ornery.org |date=2009-12-20 |access-date=2013-03-14 |author=Card |archive-date=October 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011142623/http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2009-12-20-1.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|title = Critics, community and 'Ender's Game': An interview with Orson Scott Card| newspaper = Deseret News| publisher=LDS Church |date =31 October 2013|url = http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865589522/Critics-community-and-Enders-Game-An-interview-with-Orson-Scott-Card.html?pg=all|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131105000723/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865589522/Critics-community-and-Enders-Game-An-interview-with-Orson-Scott-Card.html?pg=all|url-status = dead|archive-date = November 5, 2013|first = Jamshid Ghazi |last=Askar}} Card was a vocal supporter of the U.S.'s War on Terror.{{cite web|last=Card|first=Orson Scott|date=6 November 2006|title=The Only Issue This Election Day|url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/11/the_only_issue_this_election_d.html|publisher=RealClearPolitics from Rhinoceros Times}}{{cite web|last=Card|first=Orson Scott|date=15 January 2006|title=Iraq -- Quit or Stay?|url=http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2006-01-15-1.html|publisher=Rhinoceros Times|access-date=December 23, 2014|archive-date=December 23, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223223506/http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2006-01-15-1.html|url-status=dead}} In a 2020 interview with Ben Shapiro, Card stated that he was not a conservative because he has beliefs that do not align with typical conservative platforms, including desiring liberal immigration laws, gun control, and abolishing the death penalty.{{cite news|last1=Shapiro|first1=Ben|date=24 May 2020|title=The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special Ep. 96|publisher=The Daily Wire|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh3cMoQQ2h8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/xh3cMoQQ2h8 |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|minutes=}}{{cbignore}}{{Rp|location=0:58:49}} In 2000, Card said he "believe[d] [that] government has a strong role to protect us from capitalism".{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/2000/02/03/card/|work = Salon|date=February 3, 2000|title=My favorite author, my worst interview: I worshipped militaristic Mormon science-fiction writer Orson Scott Card -- until we met.|first = Donna|last = Minkowitz|author-link=Donna Minkowitz|quote=Real communism has never been tried! I would like to see government controls expanded, laws that allow capitalism to not reward the most rapacious, exploitative behavior. I believe government has a strong role to protect us from capitalism. I'm ashamed of our society for how it treats the poor. One of the deep problems in Mormon society is that really for the last 75 years Mormons have embraced capitalism to a shocking degree.}}

=Homosexuality=

Card has publicly declared his support of laws against homosexual activity and same-sex marriage.{{cite news|title=NYC-based group calls for boycott of sci-fi movie over author's gay rights views|url= http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/07/09/nyc-based-group-calls-for-boycott-of-sci-fi-movie-over-authors-gay-rights-views/|publisher=CBS New York|date=July 9, 2013}} Card's 1990 essay "A Changed Man: The Hypocrites of Homosexuality" was first published in Sunstone{{cite journal| last1=Card|first1=Orson Scott|date=Feb 1990|title=A Changed Man: The Hypocrites of Homosexuality|url=https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/075-43-45.pdf|journal=Sunstone Magazine|pages=44–45|access-date=16 June 2017}} and republished in his collection of non-fiction essays, A Storyteller in Zion.{{sfn|England|1994|p=71}} In the essay, he argued that laws against homosexual behavior should not be "indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but [used only] when necessary to send a clear message [to] those who flagrantly violate society's regulation". Card also questioned in a 2004 column the notion that homosexuality was a purely innate or genetic trait and asserted that a range of environmental factors also contributed to its development, including abuse.{{cite web|url=http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2004-02-15-1.html|title=Homosexual "Marriage" and Civilization|last1=Card|first1=Orson Scott|website=The Ornery American|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040224175005/http://www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2004-02-15-1.html |archive-date=2004-02-24}} However, in an introduction to a reprint of his essay, Card wrote that since 2003, when the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled those laws unconstitutional, he has "no interest in criminalizing homosexual acts".{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=The Hypocrites of Homosexuality - Orson Scott Card |url=http://www.nauvoo.com/library/card-hypocrites.html |website=www.nauvoo.com}}

Card had stated there is no need to legalize same-sex marriage and that he opposed efforts to do so. In 2008, he wrote in an opinion piece in the Deseret News (a newspaper of the LDS Church) that relationships between same-sex couples would always be different from those between opposite-sex couples, and that if a government were to say otherwise, heterosexually "married people" would "act to destroy that government" as their "mortal enemy", and "it is that insane Constitution, not marriage, that will die."{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2013/07/10/200670181/book-news-ender-s-game-author-responds-to-boycott-threats |work=NPR |date=July 10, 2013 |title=Book News: 'Ender's Game' Author Responds To Boycott Threats |last=Quinn |first=Annalisa}}{{cite news|last1=Card|first1=Orson Scott|date=24 July 2008|title=Orson Scott Card: State job is not to redefine marriage|url=https://www.deseret.com/2008/7/24/20265302/orson-scott-card-state-job-is-not-to-redefine-marriage |newspaper= Deseret News |access-date=May 20, 2023}} In 2012, Card supported North Carolina Amendment 1, a ballot measure to outlaw same-sex marriage in North Carolina, saying the legalization of gay marriage was a slippery slope upon which the political left would make it "illegal to teach traditional values in the schools".{{cite news |author=Staff Reports |title=Author: Marriage amendment is about forcing 'anti-religious values' on children |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2012/05/author-marriage-amendment-is-about-forcing-anti-religious-values-on-children/ |access-date=27 January 2020 |work=LGBTQ Nation |date=7 May 2012}} In 2009, Card joined the board of directors of the National Organization for Marriage, a group that campaigns against same-sex marriage.{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/2013/05/07/sci_fi_icon_orson_scott_card_hates_fan_fiction_the_homosexual_agenda_partner/|author-last=Romano |author-first=Aja |date=7 May 2013|title=Orson Scott Card's long history of homophobia: In honor of the "Ender's Game" trailer release, a look at some of the sci-fi master's most controversial remarks|work = Salon}} Card resigned from the board in mid-2013.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/13/business/media/authors-anti-gay-views-fuel-call-for-boycott-of-enders-game.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Author's Views on Gay Marriage Fuel Call for Boycott|last=Cieply|first=Michael|date=12 July 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|author-link=Michael Cieply}} In July 2013, one week after the U.S. Supreme Court issued rulings in two cases that were widely interpreted as favoring recognition of same-sex marriages, Card published in Entertainment Weekly a statement saying the same-sex marriage issue is moot because of the Supreme Court's decision on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).{{cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2013/07/08/enders-game-orson-scott-card-statement/|title='Ender's Game' author answers critics: Gay marriage issue is 'moot' |last=Lee |first=Stephan |date=2013-07-08 |publisher=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=2021-11-17}}

Card's views have had professional repercussions. In 2013, he was selected as a guest author for DC Comics' new Adventures of Superman comic book series,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/comics-and-graphic-novels/2013/02/12/dc-comics-responds-backlash-over-hiring|title=DC Comics Responds to Backlash Over Hiring Antigay Writer| first=Jase| last=Peeples|date= February 12, 2013|magazine=The Advocate|access-date=February 13, 2013}} but controversy over his views on homosexuality led illustrator Chris Sprouse to leave the project. An online petition to drop the story received over 16,000 signatures, and DC Comics put Card's story on hold indefinitely.{{cite news |title=Artist leaves Orson Scott Card's Superman comic |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2013/03/05/chris-sprouse-orson-scott-card-superman-comic/1964845/|first=Brian |last=Truitt |work=USA Today |date=March 5, 2013 |access-date=March 15, 2013}}{{cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/03/orson-scott-card-superman-comic/ |title=Orson Scott Card's Controversial Superman Story Put on Hold |work=Wired.com |first1=Graeme |last1=McMillan |date=March 5, 2013 |access-date=May 3, 2013}} A few months later, an LGBT non-profit organization{{Cite web|url=https://www.geeksout.org/|title=Geeks OUT|website=Geeks OUT |access-date=2020-01-23}} Geeks OUT proposed a boycott of the movie adaptation of Ender's Game, calling Card's views "anti-gay",{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jul/09/enders-game-boycott-card-anti-gay-views |title=Activists call for Ender's Game boycott over author's anti-gay views| date=July 9, 2013 |work=The Guardian |location=London |first=Ben |last=Child}}{{cite news| title=Orson Scott Card's antigay views prompt 'Ender's Game' boycott|url=http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-orson-scott-card-antigay-enders-game-boycott-20130711,0,2444377.story|access-date=20 Jul 2013|date=11 Jul 2013|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Carolyn|last=Kellogg}} and causing the movie studio Lionsgate to publicly distance itself from Card's opinions.{{cite news|last=Cheney|first=Alexandra|title=Studio comes out against 'Ender's Game' author on gay rights|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/07/12/lions-gate-comes-out-against-enders-game-author-on-gay-rights/|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=July 12, 2013}}

Awards and legacy

In 1992, Card won the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award. Card won the ALA Margaret Edwards Award, which recognizes one writer and a particular body of work for "significant and lasting contributions to young adult literature",{{cite web |title=Margaret A. Edwards Award |url=http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/awards/13/all_years |website=American Library Association |access-date=24 September 2019}} in 2008 for his contribution in writing for teenagers; his work was selected by a panel of YA librarians.{{cite web |title=Orson Scott Card honored for lifetime contribution to young adult readers with Edwards Award |url=http://www.ala.org/news/news/pressreleases2008/january2008/edwards08 |website=American Library Association |date=March 17, 2008 |access-date=24 September 2019}} Card said he was unsure his work was suitable for the award because it was never marketed as "young adult".[http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/bookawards/margaretaedwards/maeprevious/anniversary "Looking Back"]. YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2013-10-13. Card won the 20th anniversary Edwards Award in 2008, when YALSA asked previous winners to reflect on the experience. Some live remarks by Card are published online with the compiled reflections but transcripts of acceptance speeches are available to members only. In the same year, Card won the Lifetime Achievement Award for Mormon writers at the Whitney Awards.{{cite web |url=http://www.mormontimes.com/arts_entertainment/books/?id=7470 |title=Orson Scott Card's Whitney Award Speech |publisher=Mormontimes.com |access-date=2013-03-14 |archive-date=May 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501021517/http://www.mormontimes.com/arts_entertainment/books/?id=7470 |url-status=dead }}

The Harold B. Lee Library has acquired the Orson Scott Card papers, which include Card's works, writing notes, and letters. The collection was formally opened in 2007.{{Cite web |url=http://catalog.lib.byu.edu/uhtbin/ckey-search/3128078 |title=Orson Scott Card Papers 1966-(ongoing) |access-date=February 8, 2016 |archive-date=October 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022060730/http://catalog.lib.byu.edu/uhtbin/ckey-search/3128078 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news|last1=Peterson|first1=Janice|title=Author makes living with 'lies'|url=http://www.heraldextra.com/news/author-makes-living-with-lies/article_1ce822d0-3aff-53aa-88c3-20560caec86a.html|access-date=17 March 2016|newspaper=Daily Herald|location=Provo, Utah|date=13 September 2007|archive-date=May 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511005335/http://www.heraldextra.com/news/author-makes-living-with-lies/article_1ce822d0-3aff-53aa-88c3-20560caec86a.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=|title=Orson Scott Card 1951-present|url=http://exhibits.lib.byu.edu/literaryworlds/card/|website=Literary Worlds: Illumination of the Mind|access-date=17 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302035150/http://exhibits.lib.byu.edu/literaryworlds/card/|archive-date=2 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited Card's works as a major influence.{{cite book |editor1-last=Nevarez |editor1-first=Lisa A. |title=The Vampire Goes to College : Essays on Teaching With the Undead |date=2013 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0786475544 |page=145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3MmAgAAQBAJ&q=Stephenie+Meyer+cites+orson+scott+card&pg=PA144}}{{cite web |title=About Brandon |url=https://www.brandonsanderson.com/about-brandon/ |website=Brandon Sanderson |access-date=20 February 2020 |date=23 November 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Dodge. |title=An Interview with the author David Wolverton |url=http://www.wotmania.com/fantasymessageboardshowmessage.asp?MessageID=76307 |website=wotmania |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060526160335/http://www.wotmania.com/fantasymessageboardshowmessage.asp?MessageID=76307 |archive-date=May 26, 2006 |date=December 10, 2003}} In addition, Card inspired Lindsay Ellis's novel Axiom's End.{{cite web |work= San Francisco Chronicle |url= https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/in-youtube-stars-debut-novel-bush-administration-bungles-alien-contact |first=Jef |last= Rouner |title=In YouTube star's debut novel, Bush administration bungles alien contact |date= July 21, 2020 |access-date= July 31, 2020 }}

Card has also won numerous awards for single works:

1978 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer from the World Science Fiction Convention, citing the Ender's Game novelette
1984 Saints: Book of the Year by the Association for Mormon Letters{{cite web

| url = http://www.aml-online.org/Awards/Year.aspx?year=1984

| title = 1984 AML Awards

| work = Association for Mormon Letters

| access-date=2009-07-14

}}

1985 Ender's Game: Nebula Award, 1985;{{cite web| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1985| title = 1985 Award Winners & Nominees| work = Worlds Without End | access-date=15 July 2009}} Hugo Award, 1986;{{cite web| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1986| title = 1986 Award Winners & Nominees| work = Worlds Without End| access-date=15 July 2009}}
1986 Speaker for the Dead; Nebula Award, 1986, Hugo Award, 1987;{{cite web| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1987| title = 1987 Award Winners & Nominees| work = Worlds Without End| access-date = 15 July 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613185129/http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp/?year=1987 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |url-status=dead}} Locus Award, 1987; SF Chronicle Readers Poll Award 87{{cite web |title=Science Fiction Chronicle Readers Poll 1987 |url=http://www.sfadb.com/Science_Fiction_Chronicle_Readers_Poll_1987 |website=Science Fiction Awards Database |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |access-date=24 September 2019}}
1987 "Eye for Eye": Hugo Award, 1988;{{cite web |title=1988 Hugo Awards |url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1988-hugo-awards/ |website=The Hugo Awards |date=July 26, 2007 |access-date=24 September 2019}} Seiun Award, 1989{{cite web |url=http://prizesworld.com/prizes/sf/siun.htm |title=星雲賞受賞作・参考候補作一覧 |trans-title=List of The Seiun Awards Winners & Candidates |access-date=2016-03-25 |language=ja }}
1987 "Hatrack River": Nebula nominee, 1986,{{cite web |title=Hatrack River |url=https://nebulas.sfwa.org/nominated-work/hatrack-river/ |website=Nebula Awards |publisher=Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America |access-date=24 September 2019}} Hugo nominee, 1987,{{cite web |last1=Walton |first1=Jo |title=Hugo Nominees: 1987 |url=https://www.tor.com/2011/06/12/hugo-nominees-1987/ |website=TOR |date=June 12, 2011 |publisher=Macmillan |access-date=24 September 2019}} World Fantasy Award (WFA) winner - novella, 1987{{cite web |title=Winners |url=http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/winners/ |website=World Fantasy Convention |publisher=World Fantasy Conventions |access-date=24 September 2019}}
1988 Seventh Son: Hugo and WFA nominee, 1988;{{cite web

| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1988

| title = 1988 Award Winners & Nominees

| work = Worlds Without End

| access-date=2009-07-15

}} Mythopoeic Society Award 1988;{{cite web |title=Winners |url=http://www.mythsoc.org/awards/awards-winners.htm |website=Mythopoeic Society |publisher=The Mythopoeic Society |access-date=24 September 2019}} Locus Award winner, 1988

1989 Red Prophet: Hugo nominee, 1988; Nebula Nominee, 1989;{{cite web

| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1989

| title = 1989 Award Winners & Nominees

| work = Worlds Without End

| access-date=15 July 2009

}} Locus winner, 1989

1991 How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Writer's Digest Books, 90): Hugo Award{{cite web |title=1991 Hugo Awards |url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1991-hugo-awards/ |website=The Hugo Awards |date=July 26, 2007 |access-date=24 September 2019}}
1995 Alvin Journeyman: Locus Award winner, 1996{{cite web

| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1996

| title = 1996 Award Winners & Nominees

| work = Worlds Without End

| access-date=15 July 2009

}}

2002 Shadow of the Hegemon: ALA Best Books for Young Adults{{cite web |title=Shadow of the Hegemon |url=http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/content/shadow-hegemon |website=American Library Association |access-date=26 September 2019}}

Other activities

Since 1994, Card has served as a judge for Writers of the Future, a science fiction and fantasy story contest for amateur writers.{{cite web|url=https://www.writersofthefuture.com/writer-judges/writer-judges-orson-scott-card/|title=Writer Judge — Biography|access-date=2020-01-28}} In late 2005, Card launched Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show, an online fantasy and science fiction magazine.{{cite web|url=http://www.oscigms.com|title=Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show|access-date=2006-10-18}} In 2005, Card accepted a permanent appointment as "distinguished professor" at Southern Virginia University in Buena Vista, Virginia, a small liberal arts college.{{cite news |last1=Kidd |first1=Kathryn H. |title=Noted Author Joins SVU Faculty |url=https://latterdaysaintmag.com/article-1-5322/ |access-date=27 September 2019 |work=Meridian Magazines |date=May 16, 2005}} Card has served on the boards of a number of organizations, including public television station UNC-TV (2013–present){{cite web|first=Travis |last=Fain |date=September 9, 2013 |url=http://www.news-record.com/blogs/north_state_politics/article_ee4a0514-196e-11e3-b6df-0019bb30f31a.html |title=Orson Scott Card named to UNC-TV board - News-Record.com: North State Politics |publisher=News-Record.com |access-date=2013-09-12}} and the National Organization for Marriage (2009–2013).{{cite news|last=Lapidos|first=Juliet|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/opinion/sunday/the-enders-game-boycott.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=The 'Ender's Game' Boycott|date=20 July 2013|newspaper=The New York Times}}

Card taught a course on novel writing at Pepperdine University, which was sponsored by Michael Collings. Afterwards, Card designed his own writing courses called "Uncle Orson's Writing Course" and "literary boot camp". Eric James Stone, Jamie Ford, Brian McClellan, Mette Ivie Harrison and John Brown have attended Card's literary boot camp.{{cite web |last1=Woodbury |first1=Kathleen Dalton |title=Hatrack River Writers Workshop |url=http://hatrack.com/writers/index.shtml |website=hatrack.com}} Luc Reid, founder of the Codex Writers Group is also a literary book camp alumnus.{{cite web |last1=Card |first1=Orson Scott |title=Former Boot Campers Published |url=http://hatrack.com/writers/news/lucreid.shtml |website=hatrack.com}} Card has been a Special Guest and/or Literary Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium, on at least six separate occasions: 1983, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2008, 2014.{{cite web |title=Life, the Universe, & Everything 32: The Marion K. "Doc" Smith Symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy |url=http://www.ltue.info/progbookpdfs/LTUEProgramBook2014.pdf |publisher=LTUE Press|date=February 1, 2014}}

References

Works cited

{{Cite journal| volume = 45| issue = Spring 1989| last = Beswick| first = Norman| title = Amblick and After: Aspects of Orson Scott Card| journal = Foundation| date = 1989}}
{{Cite book|publisher = American Library Association| editor1-last=Fletcher|editor1-first=Marilyn P.|editor2-last=Thorson|editor2-first=James L.|last = Bleiler| first = Richard| title = Reader's Guide to Twentieth-Century Science Fiction| chapter = Card, Orson Scott| location = Chicago and London| date = 1989| isbn=9780838905043|url=https://archive.org/details/readersguidetotw0000flet}}
{{cite book |last1=Collings |first1=Michael |title=Storyteller: Orson Scott Card |date=2001 |publisher=Overlook Connection Press |isbn=1892950499}}
{{Cite book| publisher = CreateSpace| isbn = 978-1-4991-2412-5| last = Collings| first = Michael R.| title = Orson Scott Card: Penetrating to the Gentle Heart| date = 2014}}
{{cite journal |last1=England |first1=Eugene |date=1994 |title=Orson Scott Card: The Book of Mormon as History and Science Fiction|url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1209&context=msr |journal=Mormon Studies Review |volume=6 |issue=2 | publisher=Brigham Young University }}
{{cite journal |last1=England |first1=Eugene |title=Orson Scott Card: How a Great Science Fictionist Uses the Book of Mormon Reviewed Work(s): The Folk of the Fringe. The Tales of Alvin Maker, including these volumes: Seventh Son. The Red Prophet. Prentice Alvin by Orson Scott Card |journal=Review of Books on the Book of Mormon |date=1990 |volume=2}}
{{Cite book| edition = 3rd| publisher = St. James Press| editor1-last=Watson|editor1-first= Noelle|editor2-last=Schellinger|editor2-first=Paul E.|last = Lupoff| first = Richard A.| title = Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers| chapter = Card, Orson Scott| location = Chicago and London| date = 1991}}
{{cite journal |last1=Nicol |first1=Charles |title=Mormon and Mammon |journal=Science Fiction Studies |date=March 1992 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=128–130 |jstor=4240132 }}
{{cite book |last1=Oziewicz |first1=Marek |title=One Earth, One People: The Mythopoeic Fantasy Series of Ursula K. Le Guin, Lloyd Alexander, Madeline L'Engle and Orson Scott Card |date=2008 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |isbn=9780786431359}}
{{Cite book| publisher = Twayne Publishers| isbn = 080571653X| last = Reid| first = Suzanne Elizabeth| title = Presenting Young Adult Science Fiction| chapter =A New Master: Orson Scott Card| date = 1998}}
{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Christopher C. |title=Sacred Sci-Fi: Orson Scott Card as Mormon Mythmaker |journal=Sunstone |date=March 2011 |url=https://sunstone.org/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/162-52-59.pdf}}
{{Cite book|publisher = Salem Press Inc.| editor1-last=Shippey|editor1-first= T.A.|editor2-last=Sobczak|editor2-first=A.J.|last = Samuelson| first = Scott| title = McGill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature| chapter = The Tales of Alvin Maker| location = Pasadena, CA| date = 1996|url=https://archive.org/details/magillsguidetosc0000unse/|volume=4}}
{{cite book |last1=Tyson |first1=Edith S. |title=Orson Scott Card: Writer of the Terrible Choice |date=2003 |publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc. |location=Lantham, Maryland |isbn=0810847906 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/orsonscottcardwr0000tyso }}
{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EJ2BvOQUf0oC&pg=PA5|title=Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review Annual 1988|last=Van Name|first=Mark L.|date=1988|publisher=Meckler|isbn=0887362494|editor1-last=Collins|editor1-first=Robert A.|location=Westport|chapter=Writer of the Year: Orson Scott Card|access-date=30 September 2019|editor2-last=Latham|editor2-first=Robert}}
{{Cite book| edition = Second| publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons| isbn = 0684805936| editor1-first = Richard| editor1-last = Bleiler| last = Westfahl| first = Gary| title = Science Fiction Writers: Critical Studies of the Major Authors from the Early Nineteenth Century to the Present Day| chapter = Orson Scott Card| date = 1998| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/sciencefictionwr0000unse}}
{{Cite book|last=Westfahl|first=Gary|isbn = 1405112182| editor1-first=David|editor1-last= Seed| title = A Companion to Science Fiction|chapter=Hard Science Fiction|year=2005|publisher=Wiley }}
{{cite book |last1=Willett |first1=Edward |title=Orson Scott Card: Architect of Alternate Worlds |date=2006 |publisher=Enslow Publishers |location=Berkeley Heights, NJ |isbn=0766023540 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/orsonscottcardar0000will }}
{{cite book |editor1-last=Wittkower |editor1-first=D. E. |editor2-last=Rush |editor2-first=Lucinda |title=Ender's game and philosophy: genocide is child's play |date=2013 |publisher=Open Court |isbn=9780812698343}}

External links

[http://www.hatrack.com/ Official website]
{{IBList |type=author|id=91|name=Orson Scott Card}}
{{ISFDB name|id=Orson_Scott_Card}}
[http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/card_orson_scott Orson Scott Card] at the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
[http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=card_orson_scott Orson Scott Card] at the Encyclopedia of Fantasy
{{IMDb name|0136298}}
[https://mormonarts.lib.byu.edu/people/orson-scott-card/ Orson Scott Card] at the MLCA Database
[https://search.lib.byu.edu/byu/record/lee.3128078?holding=mqrvzvizpg3lytdc Orson Scott Card papers, MSS 1756] at [https://sites.lib.byu.edu/sc/ L. Tom Perry Special Collections], Brigham Young University
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160302035150/http://exhibits.lib.byu.edu/literaryworlds/card/ Orson Scott Card exhibit], includes several scans of manuscript items from the Orson Scott Card papers at [https://sites.lib.byu.edu/sc/ L. Tom Perry Special Collections], Brigham Young University