Malka Older

Malka Ann Older is an American author, academic, and humanitarian aid worker. She was named the 2015 Senior Fellow for Technology and Risk at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, and has more than eight years' experience in humanitarian aid and development.^[2]

Malka Older
May 2019
Alma mater	Harvard University Johns Hopkins University Sciences Po
Genre	Science fiction
Years active	2015–present
Notable works	Infomocracy
Relatives	Daniel José Older (brother)[1]

Her first novel, Infomocracy (2016), is the first in the series The Centenal Cycle.^[3] The series also includes Null States (2017)^[4] and State Tectonics (2018); the latter won a Prometheus Award in 2019.^[5]

Education

Older holds an undergraduate degree in literature from Harvard University, a master's degree in international relations and economics from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University, and a doctoral degree from the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po).^[6] Her doctoral work explored the dynamics of multi-level governance and disaster response using the cases of Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 Tōhoku tsunami in Japan.^[6]

Career

Older is currently a Faculty Associate at Arizona State University's School for the Future of Innovation in Society.^[6] She has more than a decade of experience in humanitarian aid and development, ranging from field level experience as a Head of Office in Darfur to supporting global programs and agency-wide strategy as a disaster risk reduction technical specialist. In between, she has designed and implemented economic development initiatives in post-disaster context, supervised a large and diverse portfolio as Director of Programs in Indonesia, and responded to complex emergencies and natural disasters in Sri Lanka, Uganda, Darfur, Indonesia, Japan, and Mali, in the last three as Team Leader.^[6] In September 2024, Older joined Global Voices as the new Executive Director.^[7]

Bibliography

Centenal Cycle Trilogy

• —— (2016). Infomocracy. Tor Books. ISBN 9780765385147.
• —— (2017). Null States. Tor Books. ISBN 9780765399540.
• —— (2018). State Tectonics. Tor Books. ISBN 9780765399472.

The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti

• —— (2023). The Mimicking of Known Successes. Tor Books. ISBN 9781250860507.
• —— (2024). The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles. Tor Books. ISBN 9781250906793.
• —— (2025). The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses. Tor Books. ISBN 9781250396068.

Ebooks

• —— (2015). Tear Tracks. Tor Books. ISBN 9780765384591.
• —— (2018). Trade Deal (Born to the Blade, Season 1 Episode 5). Serial Box.
• —— (2018). Assassination (Born to the Blade, Season 1 Episode 9). Serial Box.
• —— (2019). Ninth Step Station. Serial Box.
• —— (2020). Machina. Serial Box.
• —— (2019). Orphan Black: The Next Chapter. Serial Box.

Other Works

• —— (2019). ...and Other Disasters. Mason Jar Press. ISBN 9780996103787.
• —— (2021-05-19). "What We Believe About Our Institutions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-15.

Awards and recognition

• Named one of Kirkus Reviews's "Best Fiction of 2016" ^[8]
• One of The Washington Post's "Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2016" ^[9]
• 2017: Finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer^[10]
• 2019: Prometheus Award
• 2024: The Mimicking of Known Successes was nominated for a 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novella.^[11]