Biography
Orson Scott Card was born 24 August 1951 in Richland, Benton County, Washington, United States to Willard Richards Card (1921-2016) and Peggy Jane Park (1923-2015) . He married Kristine Allen (living) .
Orson Scott Card is an American novelist, critic, public speaker, essayist, and columnist. He writes in several genres but is known best for science fiction. His novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986) both won Hugo[5][6] and Nebula Awards,[5][7] making Card the only author to win both science fiction's top U.S. prizes in consecutive years.[8][9] A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in late October 2013 in Europe and on November 1, 2013, in North America.[10]
Card is a professor of English at Southern Virginia University,[11] has written two books on creative writing, hosts writing bootcamps and workshops, and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. A great-great-grandson of Brigham Young (1801-1877), Card is a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). In addition to producing a large body of fiction works, he has also offered political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing.
Marriage and Family
Card is the son of Willard Richards Card and Peggy Jane (née Park), the third of six children and the older brother of composer and arranger Arlen Lester Card (1961). Card was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Santa Clara, California as well as Mesa, Arizona and Orem, Utah. He served as a missionary for the LDS Church in Brazil and graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of Utah; he also spent a year in a Ph.D. program at the University of Notre Dame.
Card and his wife, Kristine, have had five children, each named after one or more authors he and his wife admire. Their children's names are
- Michael Geoffrey (Geoffrey Chaucer),
- Emily Janice (Emily Brontë and Emily Dickinson),
- Charles Benjamin (Charles Dickens), - Charles, who had cerebral palsy, died shortly after his 17th birthday.
- Zina Margaret (Margaret Mitchell)
- Erin Louisa (Louisa May Alcott). - daughter Erin died the day she was born.
Card and his wife live with their youngest child, Zina, in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The life of their son, Charles, influenced some of Card's fiction, most notably the Homecoming series, Lost Boys and Folk of the Fringe. 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.[66]
In 2008, he appeared in the short film The Delivery, which starred his daughter, Emily. He plays an author reading an audiobook in this film, which won First Place in Fantasy at Dragon*Con Film Festival. He wrote an original story, "The Emperor of the Air," specifically for the short film by Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki.
Card is an avid fan of the science fiction television series Firefly and makes an appearance in the documentary Done the Impossible about Firefly fandom.
Card suffered a mild stroke on January 1, 2011, and was briefly hospitalized. He reported expecting to make a full recovery despite impairment of his left hand.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Michael Geoffrey Card (living) | |||
| Emily Janice Card (living) | |||
| Charles Benjamin Card (1983-2000) | |||
| Zina Margaret Card (living) | |||
| Erin Louisa Card (1997-1997) | |||
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Janice Card (-) | |||
| Willard Sherman Card (1947) | |||
| Orson Scott Card (1951) | 24 August 1951 Richland, Benton County, Washington, United States | Kristine Allen (living) | |
| Russell Gordon Card (-) | |||
| Delpha Elizabeth Card (-) | |||
| Arlen Lester Card (1961) | 11 April 1961 Redwood City, San Mateo County, California, United States | Jennifer Card (living) | |
Ancestry
- Brigham Young (1801-1877) - Great, great-grandson of the Mormon Leader.
- William Huntington (1784-1846)/immigrant ancesters - This line connects him to the following famous new england immigrants:
- John Howland (1592-1672) and 3 more pilgrims of the Mayflower.
- John Lathrop (1584-1653) famous early New England puritan preacher.
- Joseph Richards 1762 Immigrant Ancestors - Through the Richards Family Line, Orson is a descendant of many early New England Colonial Immigrants including the following:
- Sarah Nurse (1652-1699) - one of the accused "witches" of the Salem witch trials.
References
- wikipedia:Orson Scott Card - Wikipedia Biography
- Orson Card Family History Biography at GradeSaver.com
- EnderVerse - All about Ender's Game Universe - Wikia.com