Vinge studied art in college, but eventually changed to a major in
anthropology, and received a B.A. degree from
San Diego State University in 1971. Vinge has been married twice: first to fellow science fiction author
Vernor Vinge from 1972 to 1979, and currently to science fiction editor
James Frenkel since 1980. Vinge and Frenkel have two children, and live in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She has taught at the
Clarion Workshop several times, both East and West.
Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1982 novel
Friday in part to Joan. On March 2, 2002, Vinge was severely injured in a car accident that left her with "minor but debilitating" brain damage that, along with her
fibromyalgia, left her unable to write. She recovered to the point of being able to resume writing around the beginning of 2007, and her first new book after the accident was the 2011
novelization of the movie
Cowboys & Aliens. ==Works==