Samantha Mills

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-08-15

Samantha Mills is an American novelist, short story writer, and archivist from Southern California, where she manages primary source documents for regional institutions. She holds a B.A. in Pre- and Early Modern Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a master's degree in Information and Library Science from San Jose State University. Mills began creative writing at age seven and published her first science fiction story, "The Gestational Cycle of Flies in a Cupboard," in 2018. Her short story "Rabbit Test" (2022), a searing exploration of reproductive rights set in a dystopian future, won the Nebula, Locus, Theodore Sturgeon, and Hugo Awards for Best Short Story in 2023, a remarkable sweep of the field's top honors; Mills later publicly renounced her Hugo win in 2024 after controversy emerged over censorship in that year's nomination process, stating she could not truly feel like a winner under those circumstances. Her debut novel, The Wings Upon Her Back (2024), explores themes of fascism and religious extremism within a richly imagined, war-torn fantasy city built around flight and mechanized devotion. As of 2024 she was reportedly working on a new fantasy novel informally titled The Secret Sea Monster.

Universe(s)

Books

• The Wings Upon Her Back (2024) · The Wings Upon Her Back Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 1 book
• Award recognitions across all universes: 2 (1 won, 1 finalist mention)

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