From fan fiction to award-winning science fantasy masterworks
In short: Tamsyn Muir transformed her roots in internet fandom into a literary phenomenon. Her breakout series, The Locked Tomb, blends science fiction, fantasy, and horror, earning major accolades and expanding beyond the page into high-profile television adaptations for projects like Love, Death & Robots.
Born in 1985 and raised in New Zealand, Muir established her literary foundation through a degree in education and the Clarion Workshop in 2010. Her creative trajectory is deeply tied to community engagement; she met her husband, a classicist, within the Homestuck fandom. This connection to digital subcultures informs her ability to build complex, multi-layered worlds that resonate with modern audiences. She moved to New Zealand from Australia when she was only nine months old. Her current residence is in Oxford, United Kingdom. She also participated in the 2014 project Apothecia with artist Shelby Cragg.
Muir's primary achievement is The Locked Tomb series. The 2020 Crawford Award and the Locus Award for Best First Novel were granted to her initial release, Gideon the Ninth (2019). While originally conceived as a trilogy—comprising Gideon, Harrow, and Alecto the Ninth—the series expanded to include Nona the Ninth in 2022. This expansion highlights her evolving approach to narrative structure and world-building. Her 2015 short story, The Deepwater Bride, received several prestigious nominations. These included the Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the Shirley Jackson Award. The series also includes the fourth installment, Alecto the Ninth.
Beyond novels, Muir is a versatile multi-media storyteller. She has written for the anthology series Love, Death & Robots, adapting Siobhan Carroll's short story for a 2025 episode, and authored teleplays for Secret Level. Her upcoming work, a cyberpunk western novella trilogy beginning with Go Marching In, demonstrates her range across distinct genres, from high fantasy to gritty, tech-focused westerns. In 2024, the twelfth Secret Level installment's teleplay was penned by her. This specific episode was based on the video game Spelunky. Her publisher, Tor, is also handling her upcoming cyberpunk western trilogy.
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