Engdahl was born in Los Angeles, California. The Internet Speculative Fiction Database lists 11 books by Engdahl that were published from 1970 to 1981, including two anthologies she edited and three nonfiction books. Six science fiction novels, which include her first five books, were all published by Atheneum Books. From 1985 to 1995 she taught graduate courses for Connected Education, a pioneer in online education. She lives in Oregon with her two cats. In August 2007, Engdahl published a new adult science fiction/visionary fiction novel, Stewards of the Flame, which she followed with two sequels: Promise of the Flame and Defender of the Flame.
Selected works
Among 73 Library of CongressOnline Catalog records of books created by Engdahl through 2014, all but the first 16 are nonfiction works as "book editor" beginning 2006.
Engdahl wrote six science fiction novels published from 1970 to 1981 by Atheneum, all of which have been republished in the 21st century. Her new novels, two duologies published in 2007 and 2009 and in 2013 and 2014, respectively, are adult science fiction, not YA.
Enchantress from the Stars, illustrated by Rodney Shackell
Journey Between Worlds, illus. James and Ruth McCrea – updated 2006
Children of the Star – omnibus edition of the Star trilogy: This Star Shall Abide, Beyond the Tomorrow Mountains, and The Doors of the Universe, published as adult SF
Stewards of the Flame – first in a new adult science fiction trilogy
Promise of the Flame
Defender of the Flame
Herald of the Flame
Other
Planet-girded Suns: man's view of other solar systems, illus. Cuffari
Universe ahead: stories of the future, selected and introduced by Engdahl and Rick Roberson, illus. Cuffari
Anywhere, Anywhen: stories of tomorrow, edited by Engdahl
Subnuclear Zoo: new discoveries in high energy physics, by Engdahl and Roberson
Tool for Tomorrow: new knowledge about genes, by Engdahl and Roberson
Engdahl has won two annual book awards, the 1973 Christopher Award for This Star Shall Abide and the 1990 Phoenix Award for Enchantress from the Stars. The latter, from the Children's Literature Association, designated the best English-language children's book that did not win a major award when it was originally published twenty years earlier. It is named for the mythical bird phoenix, which is reborn from its ashes, to suggest the book's rise from obscurity. Enchantress had been a runner up for the 1971 Newbery Medal, however. Stewards of the Flame won a bronze medal in the 2008 Independent Publisher Book Awards. ;Runners-up and book lists Enchantress from the Stars has also been runner-up for a few awards and has been named to several book lists.
