Hannu Rajaniemi

Rajaniemi was born in Ylivieska, Finland in 1978. He holds a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Oulu, a Certificate of Advanced Study in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in Mathematical Physics from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to starting his PhD candidature, he completed his national service as a research scientist for the Finnish Defence Forces.[1]

While pursuing his PhD in Edinburgh, Rajaniemi joined Writers' Bloc,[2] a writers' group in Edinburgh that organizes semi-regular spoken word performances and counts Charlie Stross amongst its members.

Early works included his first published short story "Shibuya no Love"[3] in 2003 and his short story "Deus Ex Homine" in Nova Scotia, a 2005 anthology of Scottish science fiction and fantasy, which caught the attention of his current literary agent, John Jarrold.[4][5]

Rajaniemi gained attention in October 2008 when John Jarrold secured a three-book deal for him with Gollancz,[6] on the basis of only twenty-four double-spaced pages.[4][7] His debut novel, The Quantum Thief, was published in September 2010 by Gollancz in Britain[8] and was published in May 2011 by Tor Books in the U.S.[9][10] The novel has been nominated for the 2011 Locus Award for Best First Novel.[11] A sequel, The Fractal Prince, was published in September 2012 by Gollancz in Britain, and in October 2012 by Tor in the U.S.[12] The third book in the series is called The Causal Angel, and was published in July 2014 by Gollancz in the U.K. and by Tor in the U.S.[13]

Rajaniemi has stated that the literary works of Jules Verne originally inspired both his career in science, as well as his science-fiction writing.[14] Other influences include Maurice Leblanc, Arthur Conan Doyle and architecture blogger Geoff Manaugh.[15] He also co-founded Helix nanotechnologies.[16]

• 2012 Tähtivaeltaja Award, winner (best science fiction book published in Finnish) for The Quantum Thief.[17]
• 2011 Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards, winner, Short Form category, translation of Hannu Rajaniemi's "Elegy for a Young Elk".[18]
• 2011 Locus Award for Best First Novel, nominee, The Quantum Thief[11]
• 2011 John W. Campbell Memorial Award, third place, The Quantum Thief[19]
• 2013 John W. Campbell Memorial Award, nominee, The Fractal Prince[20]

Rajaniemi lives in San Francisco, California with his wife.[21] Before moving to the U.S., he lived in the United Kingdom for over ten years.[22]

• Hannu Rajaniemi on Twitter
• Hannu Rajaniemi at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database