Carolyn Ives Gilman (born 1954) is an American historian and author of science fiction and fantasy. She has been nominated for the Nebula Award three times, and the Hugo Award twice. Her short fiction has been published in a number of magazines and publications, including Fantasy and Science Fiction, Interzone, Realms of Fantasy and Full Spectrum, along with a number of "year's best" anthologies. She is also the author of science fiction novels such as Halfway Human (1998), which is noted for its "groundbreaking" exploration of gender.
Gilman currently lives in Washington, D.C. where she works as a historian at the National Museum of the American Indian, specializing in 18th- and early 19th-century North American history. She previously worked as a historian at the Missouri Historical Society.
Her first novel, Halfway Human, was a new entry into the genre of Gender Science Fiction, portraying a world in which humans have three genders: male, female, and neuter. It has been called "one of the most compelling explorations of gender and power in recent SF" and compared favorably to the work of Ursula K. Le Guin. The book placed 2nd in the 1999 Locus Award for Best First Novel, and was nominated for the James Tiptree Jr. Award. Her work is known for vivid portrayals and deconstructions of the culture of the peoples in her stories.