Jeff VanderMeer Books

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Jeff VanderMeer is an American author and literary critic who wrote ‘Annihilation’, the novel from which the movie of the same name was adapted. Born in 1968, VanderMeer is technically a native of Bellefonte in Pennsylvania. But his childhood memories revolve around the years he spent in the Fiji Islands.

A former student at the University of Florida, the author’s parents’ work with the Peace Corps took them to interesting places. As a young man, VanderMeer had the opportunity to live in New York (Ithaca) and Florida (Gainesville). This was after he came back to the US.

The writer spent three years in University before joining the Clarion Writers Workshop. He always counted Angela Carter as one of his biggest inspirations, blaming her prose and literary passion for rewiring his mind and pushing him to take a more fearless approach to his writing.

VanderMeer’s interest in reading was sparked early on. In high school, besides making contributions to magazines, the author also wrote short stories. At the time, VanderMeer was primarily interested in horror and fantasy.

The stories he eventually self-published in his 1989 collection fell strictly within those genres. Today, the author’s fans classify him as a writer of weird fiction, a categorization that Jeff VanderMeer has embraced. According to his understanding of the genre, whereas ordinary horror and fantasy re-purpose pre-existing tools and concepts, weird fiction takes readers into the unknown, introducing entities that are as monstrous as they are beautiful.

The publishing industry hasn’t embraced the ‘Weird fiction’ label as enthusiastically, choosing to market VanderMeer as an author of science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, and metafiction. People that have interacted with the writer understand that he hates having such discussions because they typically turn artistic and creative considerations into marketing conversations.

However, he admits that his work is difficult to quantify using mainstream categories. His admirers have praised him for the intellectual observations he makes in his stories.

Besides fiction writing, VanderMeer writes literary reviews, edits anthologies, and teaches creative writing.

Jeff VanderMeer Awards

The author has received British Fantasy Society, Philip K Dick, World Fantasy, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, and John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominations. ‘Annihilation’ won him the Nebula Award.

Jeff VanderMeer Books into Movies

Paramount Pictures turned ‘Annihilation’ into a live-action movie in 2018. The adaptation starred Natalie Portman and Gina Rodriguez. It was directed by Alex Garland.

Best Jeff VanderMeer Books

VanderMeer is one of the most prolific Weird Fiction authors in the business, attracting praise for his disturbing yet profound stories, with some of the best books in his bibliography including:

Annihilation: No one knows anything of significance about Area X. The uninhabited region has been isolated from the rest of the planet for decades. Within its borders, nature has decimated whatever elements of human civilization previously covered the surface.

Many an expedition has been undertaken to identify the mysteries of Area X. But things always go wrong. Those teams that come back die in unpleasant ways. A group of four women is about to take up this challenge. The members of the eleventh expedition where barely shadows of their former selves when they returned and their lives were claimed by cancer soon after.

This new team is determined to map Area X. They must make observations about the surroundings that can shed some light on the region’s true nature without falling prey to the infection Area X imparts upon all that cross its border.

The leader of this new team, a biologist, tries to narrate their ordeal. She takes readers into Area X, revealing the surprises that await them, the dangers which seek to destroy them, not to mention the secrets among the team members.

Authority: Area X is still a curious mystery, a region surrounded by an invisible border that the world has tried and failed to decipher despite all the expedition teams they have thrown at it. The exploits of the last team left the Southern Reach, the secret agency probing Area X, in disarray

John Rodriguez is in a bind. This is the worst possible time to take the Southern Reach’s top job. But John has the position and he must do what he can to bring the Southern Reach under control. At the moment, that means studying hidden notes and video footage in the hopes of making a discovery that can finally lay Area X bare.

When Does The Next Jeff VanderMeer book come out?

Jeff VanderMeer doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Absolution and was released on October, 22nd 2024. It is the newest book in the Southern Reach Series.

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