Zenna Chlarson Henderson (November 1, 1917 – May 11, 1983)[1][2] was an American elementary school teacher and science fiction and fantasy author.

Her work is cited as pre-feminist, often featuring middle-aged women, children, and their relationships, but with stereotyped gender roles.

Science fiction authors Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, Connie Willis, Dale Bailey,[4] and Kathy Tyers have cited her as an influence on their work.

[6] She received a bachelor of arts in education from Arizona State College in 1940, and taught school, primarily in the Tucson area, mainly first grade.

She also taught in a "semi-ghost mining town," at Fort Huachuca, in France and Connecticut,[7] as well as in a Japanese internment camp in Sacaton, Arizona, during World War II.

[9] In an essay on the increase in women authors of science fiction in 1950, Sam Merwin mentioned her as an up-and-coming woman SF writer.

[11] In an analysis of "Subcommittee," Farah Mendlesohn examines how Henderson uses stereotypical gender roles to emphasize how feminine communication is conducive to peacemaking.

Through their sharing of "women's things" like cooking and knitting, Serena finds out that the aliens need salt to continue their species.

Unlike other popular science fiction at the time, which often centered around war with aliens, "Subcommittee" focuses on conflict resolution.

Most are part of her series concerning the history of "The People", human beings from a faraway planet who are forced to emigrate to Earth when their home world is destroyed by a natural disaster.

The stories describe groups of The People, as well as lonely isolated individuals, most often as they attempt to find their own communities and remain distinct in a world that does not understand them.

Henderson mentions mental illness in several tales, including obsessive-compulsive disorder in "Swept and Garnished", and agoraphobia in "Incident After".

[23] Her books were long out of print until the 1995 release of Ingathering: The Complete People Stories, published by the New England Science Fiction Association Press.