It is often overlooked that in 1968 novelist Anne McCaffrey became the first woman to win the Hugo award (Best Novella, Weyr Search) and the Nebula award (Best Novella, Dragonrider), the two highest honors of the science fiction/fantasy field. She is now famous for her international best-selling series of novels, The Dragonriders of Pern. Begun with Dragonflight (1968), the series spans some dozen books and includes the Harper Hall trilogy beloved by young adults—Dragonsong (1976), Dragonsinger (1977), and Dragondrums (1979). The world of Pern is a lost Earth colony inhabited by humans who saddle telepathic dragons in order to combat Threads, lethal spores that can only be eradicated by dragon fire. In her study of McCaffrey, Robin Roberts identifies such recurrent themes as the heroine as outsider, the importance of living harmoniously with nature, and the value of art. Other works include the Killashandra series, the Pegasus series, and the Rowan books.

Further Reading:

Nye, Jody Lynn. The Dragonlovers' Guide to Pern, 2nd ed. New York, Del Rey, 1997.

Roberts, Robin. Anne McCaffrey: A Critical Companion. Westwood, Connecticut, Greenwood Press, 1996.