Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff (born 1954) is an American sci-fi and fantasy author and filk musician. As an author, she collaborated on several novels in the Batman and Star Wars franchise with Michael Reaves, and as a filk musician, she is a three-time Pegasus Award winner.

Early life

Bohnhoff's interest in science fiction began after watching The Day the Earth Stood Still as a child. Her mother was a singer, and music was her predominant passion throughout her high school and college days.

Writing

Bohnhoff has written short stories and novelettes for a range of magazines, including Analog magazine, Interzone, Amazing Stories, Realms of Fantasy, Jim Baen's Universe, and others. Much of her writing is strongly influenced by her Baháʼí Faith and other religions. Her story The White Dog was a finalist for the 1999 BSFA award. Cruel and Unusual Punishment was included in the e-book anthology Infinite Sky, Infinite God, which won the 2007 EPPIE award. The story "O, Pioneer" was a finalist for the 2006 Sidewise Award for Alternate History. She has also written several full-length novels, including The Meri, which became a trilogy, has been published twice (1992 and 2005), and was a finalist for Locus magazine's 1993 award for Best First Novel. In 2018 Pegasus Books published The Antiquities Hunter: A Gina Miyoko Mystery, the first in a series of private detective novels. Bohnhoff has also contributed to professional writing magazines and online presentations.

Music

Bohnhoff's music career began in 1980 as a member of a progressive rock band called Talisman. With her husband Jeff Bohnhoff, she later formed the band Syntax, releasing a cassette tape, Silent Planet, in 1990. They were introduced to filk music in 1991, performing at a 1991 science fiction convention where Bohnhoff was nominated for a Nebula Award. They were later invited by Kathy Mar to perform at the 1995 Baycon. Bohnhoff and her husband now have their own production company, MysticFig, and perform mostly as a duo, appearing at Norwescon, Worldcon, LepreCon, OryCon, the Ohio Valley Filk Fest and others. They have produced four CDs through their production company.

Personal life

Bohnhoff has been married since 1981 to Jeff Bohnhoff, and they have three children. The family are members of the Baháʼí Faith.

Discography