“I wonder sometimes what the memory of God looks like. Is it a palace of infinite rooms, a chest of many jeweled objects, a long, lonely landscape where each tree recalls an eon, each pebble the life of a man? Where do I live, in the memory of God?”

American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic

Catherynne M. Valente is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. She is known for speculative fiction, and her work has earned the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, the Andre Norton Award, and the Mythopoeic Award. Her short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine and in anthologies such as Salon Fantastique and Paper Cities, along with several Year's Best volumes. Her criticism has also been published in the International Journal of the Humanities and in other essay collections.