Mary A. Turzillo (born 1940)[1] is an American science fiction writer noted primarily for short stories.
She won the Nebula Award for Best Novelette in 2000 for her story "Mars is No Place for Children,"[2][3] published originally in Science Fiction Age.
[4] She was formerly a professor of English at Kent State University, where she wrote articles and several books of science fiction criticism under the name Mary T. Brizzi, including Reader's Guide to Anne McCaffrey and Reader's Guide to Philip José Farmer.
[7] In 2022, she was the author guest of honor at the Convention Marcon 57 Although Mary had published poetry and academic works before attending the Clarion Writers workshop, her main publications in science fiction occurred following Clarion, with the publication of the stories “What Do I See In You” in Writers of the Future Volume IV, and “Kings” in Pulphouse: the Hardback magazine.
[14] Turzillo has a Ph.D. in English from Case Western Reserve University, where her Ph.D. thesis was "The writer as double agent: essays on the conspiratorial mode in contemporary fiction.
"[15] She worked as a professor in the English Department of the Trumbull Campus of Kent State University.
[18] In 2016, she was a member of the U.S women's foil team at the Veterans Fencing World Championships in Stralsund, Germany.