Sandra Miesel

Miesel was a member of science fiction fandom (a connection which sprang from a letter she had published in IF magazine[1]), with critical articles in the science fiction fanzine Yandro, especially on Anderson and Dickson, as well as other fanzines such as Granfalloon. She was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer three times (1973–1975)[2] and had two monographs published by Fannish small presses: Myth, Symbol and Religion in The Lord of the Rings (TK Graphics, 1973) and Against Time's Arrow: The High Crusade of Poul Anderson (Borgo Press, 1978).[3]

Miesel has written hundreds of articles for the Catholic press, chiefly on history, art, and hagiography. She wrote regularly for the now-defunct Crisis Catholic magazine and is a columnist for the diocesan paper of the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut. Miesel is also a well-known speaker. She has spoken at religious and academic conferences, appeared on EWTN, and given numerous radio interviews.

She has co-authored a book, The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code, a detailed critique of the popular novel based on her knowledge of Catholic history and teachings.

She is the co-author of The Pied Piper of Atheism: Philip Pullman and Children's Fantasy with Catholic journalist and canon lawyer Pete Vere. The book, published by Ignatius Press, offers a detailed critique of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy from a Catholic point of view.[4]

She holds master's degrees in biochemistry and medieval history from the University of Illinois. Miesel lives in the Indianapolis, Indiana area, with her husband John.[5] They were married 42 years until his death in 2006.[6]

She started her career as a critic in 1970s with Myth, Symbol and Religion in The Lord of the Rings (1973 chap) on J R R Tolkien.

• Miesel, Sandra (1973). Myth, Symbol, and Religion in The Lord of the Rings. T-K Graphics. OCLC: 1242807.
• Miesel, Sandra (1978). Against Time's Arrow: The High Crusade of Poul Anderson. Borgo Press. ISBN 0-89370-124-6.
• Miesel, Sandra (1989). SHAMAN. Baen. ISBN 0-671-69844-3. Speculative fiction. An earlier version was published as Dreamrider (Ace Books, 1982).
• "The Fan As Critic" in Science fiction fandom Joe Sanders, ed. (Contributions to the study of science fiction and fantasy, no. 62) Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994. ISBN 0-313-23380-2
• Olson, Carl E.; Sandra Miesel (2004). The Da Vinci Hoax: Exposing the Errors in The Da Vinci Code. Ignatius Press. ISBN 1-58617-034-1.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Sandra Miesel.

• Catholics and Science Fiction, a short interview between Miesel and Ignatius Press.
• Sandra Miesel at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database