Virginia Kidd
Encyclopedia
Virginia Kidd was an American
literary agent
, writer and editor, particularly influential in science fiction
and related fields. She represented some of science fiction's most important authors, including Ursula K. Le Guin
, R.A. Lafferty, Anne McCaffrey
, and Gene Wolfe
. Wolfe modeled Ann Schindler, a character in his 1990 novel Castleview, in large part on Kidd.
, Pennsylvania
, the youngest daughter of Charles Kidd, a printer, and Zetta Daisy Whorley (both originally Southerners). She had polio at the age of 2, and was paralyzed for a year from the chest down. Kidd discovered science fiction at the age of nine, and became an active science fiction fan
: a Futurian
and one of the founding members of the Vanguard Amateur Press Association
. She married opera
singer Jack Emden in 1943 (the marriage lasted until 1947), and then fellow writer James Blish
; the latter marriage lasted until 1963.
Kidd successfully worked as a free-lance writer, ghost writer, and proofreader (she was fluent in Latin, French, German, Italian and Spanish). She was an active poet, and published Kinesis, a little magazine devoted to poetry
. Her short stories included "Kangaroo Court," published in 1966 in Damon Knight
’s Orbit (anthology series) Orbit 1, and later reprinted as "Flowering Season," which was considered by some her best fiction work. She edited or co-edited several science fiction anthologies: Saving Worlds: A Collection of Original Science Fiction Stories (with Roger Elwood
, 1973); The Wounded Planet (1974); The Best of Judith Merril
(1976); Millennial Women (1978); Interfaces: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction (1980) and Edges: Thirteen New Tales from the Borderlands of the Imagination (1980) (the latter two with client and friend Ursula K. Le Guin).
, in Milford, Pennsylvania
, and quickly attracted clients from the science fiction community. Her agency was one of the most influential in the field. She withdrew from active management of the agency in the mid-1990s due to complications of diabetes. She died in 2003, but the firm survives her death. She continued to write "in the cracks" (as she put it) throughout her life, publishing her last short story, "Ok, O Che? by K.", in 1995, and her last poem, "Argument," in 1998.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
literary agent
Literary agent
A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers and film producers and assists in the sale and deal negotiation of the same. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwriters and major non-fiction writers...
, writer and editor, particularly influential in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and related fields. She represented some of science fiction's most important authors, including Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
, R.A. Lafferty, Anne McCaffrey
Anne McCaffrey
Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...
, and Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
. Wolfe modeled Ann Schindler, a character in his 1990 novel Castleview, in large part on Kidd.
Early life and career
Kidd was born Mildred Virginia Kidd in the Germantown district of PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, the youngest daughter of Charles Kidd, a printer, and Zetta Daisy Whorley (both originally Southerners). She had polio at the age of 2, and was paralyzed for a year from the chest down. Kidd discovered science fiction at the age of nine, and became an active science fiction fan
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...
: a Futurian
Futurians
The Futurians were a group of science fiction fans, many of whom became editors and writers as well. The Futurians were based in New York City and were a major force in the development of science fiction writing and science fiction fandom in the years 1937-1945.-Origins of the group:As described...
and one of the founding members of the Vanguard Amateur Press Association
Amateur press association
An amateur press association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.-Organisation:...
. She married opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer Jack Emden in 1943 (the marriage lasted until 1947), and then fellow writer James Blish
James Blish
James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
; the latter marriage lasted until 1963.
Kidd successfully worked as a free-lance writer, ghost writer, and proofreader (she was fluent in Latin, French, German, Italian and Spanish). She was an active poet, and published Kinesis, a little magazine devoted to poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. Her short stories included "Kangaroo Court," published in 1966 in Damon Knight
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
’s Orbit (anthology series) Orbit 1, and later reprinted as "Flowering Season," which was considered by some her best fiction work. She edited or co-edited several science fiction anthologies: Saving Worlds: A Collection of Original Science Fiction Stories (with Roger Elwood
Roger Elwood
Roger Elwood was an American science fiction writer and editor, perhaps best known for having edited a large number of anthologies and collections for a variety of publishers in the early 1970s.-Biography:...
, 1973); The Wounded Planet (1974); The Best of Judith Merril
Judith Merril
Judith Josephine Grossman , who took the pen-name Judith Merril about 1945, was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist....
(1976); Millennial Women (1978); Interfaces: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction (1980) and Edges: Thirteen New Tales from the Borderlands of the Imagination (1980) (the latter two with client and friend Ursula K. Le Guin).
Virginia Kidd Literary Agency
In 1965, she founded her Virginia Kidd Literary Agency, headquartered at her home, ArrowheadArrowhead SF
Arrowhead is the name that science fiction writer James Blish and his wife, literary agent and science fiction writer Virginia Kidd, gave to their home in Milford, Pennsylvania. The Virginia Kidd Literary Agency has been operating continuously at Arrowhead since 1965.Arrowhead has been a focal...
, in Milford, Pennsylvania
Milford, Pennsylvania
Milford is a borough in Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat. Its population was 1,021 at the 2010 census. It was founded in 1796 by Judge John Biddis, one of the state's first four circuit judges, who named the settlement after his ancestral home in Wales.Milford has a...
, and quickly attracted clients from the science fiction community. Her agency was one of the most influential in the field. She withdrew from active management of the agency in the mid-1990s due to complications of diabetes. She died in 2003, but the firm survives her death. She continued to write "in the cracks" (as she put it) throughout her life, publishing her last short story, "Ok, O Che? by K.", in 1995, and her last poem, "Argument," in 1998.
Further reading
- Kidd, Virginia, "Agent First, Anthologist Sometimes, Writer in the Cracks," in Women of Vision, edited by Denise DuPont. St Martin’s Press: 1988.
- The Futurians: the Story of the Science Fiction "Family" of the 30'S That Produced Today's Top Sf Writers & Editors (1977) by Damon KnightDamon KnightDamon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
.