Nancy Kress is a science fiction author, best known for her 1991 novella "Beggars in Spain."Kress began writing in 1976. She won her first Hugo Award in 1986. She has published over thirty novels and hundreds of short stories, and she is a regular columnist for Writer's Digest. She is a regular at Clarion writing workshops.In 2008/09, Kress was the Picador Guest Professor for Literature at the University of Leipzig's Institute for American Studies in Leipzig, Germany.