Samantha Mills is an American author and archivist. She received numerous awards for her short story "Rabbit Test," praise for her debut novel, and her other short stories have been longlisted for several science fiction and fantasy awards.
Early life and education
Mills grew up in Southern California.[1] According to Mills, she wrote her first short story, “What Hapend March Ninth!!” at seven years old after her sister threw a rock at her during a water fight. She continued reading and writing throughout her childhood.[2]
Mills earned a B.A. in Pre- and Early Modern Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Master's in Information and Library Science from San Jose State University.[1] She works part-time as an archivist specializing in managing primary documents for local Southern California institutions.[3]
Career
Short stories
In 2018, Mills published her first science fiction short story: "The Gestational Cycle of Flies in a Cupboard" in Lamplight Magazine.[4] She has since published science fiction and fantasy short stories in various magazines and podcasts.[3] By 2020, she had one work longlisted for the BSFA Best Shorter Fiction Award, and had two stories placed on Locus's Recommended Reading list.[5][6][7]
"Rabbit Test" was published online in 2022 via Uncanny Magazine, Issue #49. It tells the story of Grace, and later her daughter Olivia, living in a near-future society where women's rights are limited and pregnancies are heavily monitored, with abortions made illegal. Reviewer Lis Carey described the story as powerful but dark, providing readers with a useful history of pregnancy tests and abortion.[8] Reviewer Niall Harrison described it as an "incandescent" response to Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.[9]
"Rabbit Test" awards
"Rabbit Test" won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Theodore Sturgeon awards for Best Short Story.[9] However, in January 2024 there was a large controversy over the 2023 Hugo Award nomination process, when internal documents were released showing that Worldcon leaders had decided to censor certain authors by excluding them from the nomination process.[10] In response to these allegations, Mills wrote a blogpost titled "'Rabbit Test' unwins the Hugo," explaining the situation and stating that she couldn't truly feel she was a Hugo winner, so she was removing all references to the award from her media presence.[11][4]
The Wings Upon Her Back
Mills published her first novel, The Wings Upon Her Back, in 2024. The science fiction tale focuses on the war-torn city of Radezhda, where five different sects serve five gods with varying occupations.[12] The narrative alternates between two points in Winged Zemolai's life: as a youth, training to be a warrior under the powerful Winged Vodaya, and as an adult, disgraced and indecisive. The relationship between Zemolai and Vodaya is a key tension throughout the book.[13] One critic praised the book's consideration of the impacts of abuse and its focus on female and non-binary protagonists.[14]
Mills began writing the novel The Wings Upon Her Back in 2017. She initially planned it as an action fantasy but added themes of fascism and strongmen politics into the book, inspired by the themes she saw in U.S. politics at the time. Mills revised the book repeatedly to strengthen these themes.[3] The book was published by Tachyon Publications.[12] Upon release, critics received the book with universal acclaim.[15] Critics praised the examination of the consequences of Zemolai's choices and the complex impacts of fascism and religious zealotry.[16][17][18][19][20]
In an May 8, 2024 interview, Mills stated that she was working on a new fantasy novel, nicknamed The Secret Sea Monster WIP.[21]
