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Malka Older

MALKA OLDER is a writer, humanitarian worker, and PhD candidate at the Centre de Sociologie des Organisations studying governance and disasters. Named Senior Fellow for Technology and Risk at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs for 2015, she has more than eight years of experience in humanitarian aid and development, and has responded to complex emergencies and natural disasters in Uganda, Darfur, Indonesia, Japan, and Mali. Infomocracy is her first novel.

Genres: Science Fiction

New and upcoming books

June 2025

The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses
(Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti, book 3)

Series

Centenal Cycle
   1. Infomocracy (2016)
   2. Null States (2017)
   3. State Tectonics (2018)

Ninth Step Station
1. Ninth Step Station: Episode 1 (2019)

Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti
   1. The Mimicking of Known Successes (2023)
   2. The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles (2024)
   3. The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses (2025)

Collections

...and Other Disasters (2019)

Series contributed to

Tor.Com Original
Tear Tracks (2015)

Books containing stories by Malka Older

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023 (2023)
(Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, book 9)
edited by
John Joseph Adams and R F Kuang

Life Beyond Us (2023)
An Original Anthology of SF Stories and Science Essays
edited by
Susan Forest, Lucas K Law and Julie Novakova

New Suns 2 (2023)
Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color
(New Suns, book 2)
edited by
Nisi Shawl

More books

Award nominations

	2024 Nebula Award for Best Novella (nominee) : The Mimicking of Known Successes
	2024 Locus Award for Best Novella (nominee) : The Mimicking of Known Successes
	2024 Hugo Award for Best Novella (nominee) : The Mimicking of Known Successes
	2019 Prometheus Award (nominee) : State Tectonics
	2017 Locus Award for Best First Novel (nominee) : Infomocracy
	2017 Astounding Award for Best New Writer (nominee) : Infomocracy

Malka Older recommends

The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport (2023)
Samit Basu
"An extravagant, expansive, inventive epic of a book, shifting modes deftly to set heroes of lore on a collision course with video game tropes-and I enjoyed every word of the resulting fireworks. Brainy, deeply felt, and entirely brilliant."

Bitter Medicine (2023)
Mia Tsai
"A romp of a supernatural action-romance, Bitter Medicine is a sparkling mix of angsty yearning, cool magic, family drama, and intriguing side characters, with a garnish of wonderful use of language!"

High Times in the Low Parliament (2022)
Kelly Robson
"Funny, literally outlandish and deeply relevant."

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance (2022)
(Tithenai Chronicles, book 1)
Foz Meadows
"A satisfying balance of romance and action, with political intrigue that is both elaborate and plausible and rich, fascinating worldbuilding."

A Half-Built Garden (2022)
Ruthanna Emrys
"A fascinatingly rich and original vision of our future world, explored at a moment of crisis; a vitally important exploration of the meaning of family and community; and a refraction of today's conundrums through a fresh interpretation of first contact."

Spear (2022)
Nicola Griffith
"A mesmerizing tale that manages to be both epic and immersive in a short, intimate span, Spear gives us a vivid hero, a daring quest, and a clear-eyed reimaging of Arthurian legend."

A Marvellous Light (2021)
(Last Binding, book 1)
Freya Marske
"A gripping story, told in precise and sensual language, with the kind of characters that make you want a spin-off book for even the ones you've barely met. Magic, romance, and mayhem in a beautifully decorated-and occasionally actively dangerous-Edwarian setting."

The Rising Flood (2021)
(Marek, book 3)
Juliet Kemp
"Fantasy politics with real nuance...a fantastic read."

Veil (2020)
Eliot Peper
"An excellent near-future exploring issues of information, sovereignty, and climate change."

A Song for a New Day (2019)
Sarah Pinsker
"A full-throated call to arms in the service of music, creation, and shared experience, A Song for a New Day resists both extremes and easy tropes, offering hope in the face of catastrophe through the engrossing stories of characters you'll want to spend more time with."

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter (2019)
Alexis Hall
"The Mysterious Affair of the Letter is a witty, enjoyable, extravagantly imagined slant on the Sherlock Holmes canon. Hall nails the Holmesian aesthetic in marvelously amusing ways while taking us on an extended romp through a wild range of alternate universes with a bizarre cast of characters. Don't miss this fun, queer, clever intrigue!"

Miranda in Milan (2019)
Katharine Duckett
"Duckett's novella expands the world of Shakespeare's tale in wonderful ways. Part Gothic, part romance, part mystery, and perhaps most of all a novella about working one's way out of the assumptions of a sheltered life, Miranda in Milan is a delight."

A Memory Called Empire (2019)
(Teixcalaan, book 1)
Arkady Martine
"A taut murder mystery entwined with questions of technological ethics, A Memory Called Empire is also an evocative depiction of foreignness. Martine creates an elaborate and appealing culture against which to play out this story of political intrigue, assimilation, and resistance. Daring, beautiful, immersive, and often profound."

All Systems Red (2017)
(Murderbot Diaries, book 1)
Martha Wells
"Not only a fun, fast-paced space-thriller, but also a sharp, sometimes moving character study that will resonate with introverts even if they're not lethal AI machines."

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