Science fiction writers
by diluyendose | created - 29 May 2012 | updated - 15 Jul 2015 | Public
1. Isaac Asimov
Writer | I, Robot
Isaac Asimov was born Isaak Judah Ozimov, on January 2, 1920, in Petrovichi shtetl, near Smolensk, Russia. He was the oldest of three children. His father, named Judah Ozimov, and his mother, named Anna Rachel Ozimov (nee Berman), were Orthodox Jews. Ozimov family were millers (the name Ozimov ...
2. Jules Verne
Writer | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Gabriel Verne (1828-1905) was one of the most famous French novelists of all time. His major work is the "Extraordinary Journeys", a series of more than sixty adventure novels including "Journey to the Center of the Earth", "Around the World in 80 Days", "20.000 Leagues under the Seas" and "...
3. H.G. Wells
Writer | The War of the Worlds
Writer, born in Bromley, Kent. He was apprenticed to a draper, tried teaching, studied biology in London, then made his mark in journalism and literature. He played a vital part in disseminating the progressive ideas which characterized the first part of the 20th-c. He achieved fame with scientific...
4. Philip K. Dick
Writer | Blade Runner
Philip Kindred Dick was born in Chicago in December 1928, along with a twin sister, Jane. Jane died less than eight weeks later, allegedly from an allergy to mother's milk. Dick's parents split up during his childhood, and he moved with his mother to Berkeley, California, where he lived for most of...
5. Ray Bradbury
Writer | The Ray Bradbury Theater
Ray Bradbury was an American science fiction writer whose works were translated in more than 40 languages and sold millions of copies around the world. Although he created a world of new technical and intellectual ideas, he never obtained a driver's license and had never driven an automobile.
He was...
6. Arthur C. Clarke
Writer | 2001: A Space Odyssey
Arthur C. Clarke was born in the seaside town of Minehead, Somerset, England in December 16, 1917. In 1936 he moved to London, where he joined the British Interplanetary Society. There he started to experiment with astronautic material in the BIS, write the BIS Bulletin and science fiction. During ...
7. Richard Matheson
Writer | Jaws 3-D
Born in New Jersey and raised in Brooklyn, Richard Burton Matheson first became a published author while still a child, when his stories and poems ran in the "Brooklyn Eagle". A lifelong reader of fantasy tales, he made his professional writing bow in 1950 when his short story "Born of Man and ...
8. Robert Silverberg
Writer | Bicentennial Man
Robert Silverberg was born on January 15, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Bicentennial Man (1999), Needle in a Timestack (2021) and How It Was When the Past Went Away. He has been married to Karen Haber since 1987. He was previously married to Barbara H. Brown.
9. Fredric Brown
Writer | Star Trek
Attended University of Cincinnati, Hanover College, Indiana, but didn't obtain a degree. Worked in an office 1924-36, when he left to become writer, proofreader for the "Milwaukee Journal". Also started writing at this time, selling the first of over 300 short stories. Active in both ...
10. Poul Anderson
Writer | The High Crusade
Poul Anderson was born on November 25, 1926 in Bristol, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer, known for The High Crusade (1994) and Prisoners of Gravity (1989). He was married to Karen Kruse. He died on July 31, 2001 in Orinda, California, USA.
11. Brian Aldiss
Writer | A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Brian Aldiss, author of the classic Helliconia trilogy, and the story on which Steven Spielberg's 2001 film AI: Artificial Intelligence was based, was one of Britain's most accomplished and versatile writers of science fiction. In a lifelong and prolific career, Aldiss, who died aged 92, produced ...
12. Ursula K. Le Guin
Writer | Gedo senki
Ursula K. Le Guin was born on October 21, 1929 in Berkeley, California, USA. She was a writer, known for Tales from Earthsea (2006), The Lathe of Heaven (1980) and The Telling. She was married to Charles A. Le Guin. She died on January 22, 2018 in Portland, Oregon, USA.
13. Frederik Pohl
Writer | Romulus
Frederik Pohl was born on November 26, 1919 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Romulus, Il tunnel sotto il mondo (1969) and Tales of Tomorrow (1951). He was married to Elizabeth Anne Hull, Carol M. Ulf Stanton, Judith Merril, Dorothy LesTina and Leslie Perri. ...
14. Robert A. Heinlein
Writer | Starship Troopers
At the age of 17, Heinlein graduated from Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri. He spent one year at the University of Missouri before he entered the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, from which he graduated as the 20th best among the 243 cadets. He spent five years in the Pacific ...
15. John Wyndham
Writer | Village of the Damned
John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris was born in 1903. After trying many jobs including farming and law, he started writing short stories for publication in 1925. He did well in America in the 1930s, writing under various pen names and graduated to churning out the staple written diet of every ...
16. J.G. Ballard
Writer | Empire of the Sun
J.G. Ballard was born on November 15, 1930 in Shanghai, China. He was a writer and actor, known for Empire of the Sun (1987), High-Rise (2015) and Crash (1996). He was married to Helen Mary Matthews. He died on April 19, 2009 in London, England, UK.
17. Stanislaw Lem
Writer | Solyaris
Stanislaw Lem was a visionary Polish author known for Solaris (1972).
He was born on September 12, 1921, in Lwów, Poland. His father, Samuel Lem, was a wealthy laryngologist who served in the Austrian army. His mother, Sabina Woller, was a homemaker. Although he was born into a Polish-Jewish family,...
18. John Holbrook Vance
Writer | Thriller
Jack Vance is best known for his fantasy and science fiction. He won the Hugo award (given by the World Science Fiction Society) for *The Dragon Masters* (1963); both Hugo and Nebula (given by Science Fiction Writers of America) for *The Last Castle* (1966); and the World Fantasy Award for *...
19. William Tenn
Writer | Tales of Tomorrow
Phil Klass was born in London in 1920. His family emmigrated to the US during the '20s. Phil grew up in New York City. He took to writing fiction during the lengthy commute to his day job at Bell Labs in New Jersey. Phil helped many young writers. 'Daniel Keyes', who wrote "Flowers for Algernon" (...
20. Theodore Sturgeon
Writer | Star Trek
Edward Hamilton Waldo was an American science fiction writer who published under the legal name Theodore Sturgeon - he changed his name following his mother's divorce. He was born on Staten Island, New York and sold his first short story in 1938. He is perhaps best known for the novel 'More Than ...
21. George R.R. Martin
Writer | Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin is an American novelist and short-story writer in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres, a screenwriter, and television producer. He is known for his international bestselling series of epic fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, which was later adapted into the HBO ...
22. Connie Willis
Writer | Snow Wonder
Connie Willis was born on December 31, 1945 in Denver, Colorado, USA. She is a writer, known for Snow Wonder (2005), Prisoners of Gravity (1989) and Dreams with Sharp Teeth (2008).
23. Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Actor | Back to School
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was born on November 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Back to School (1986), Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) and General Electric Theater (1953). He was married to Jill Krementz and Jane Marie Cox. He died on April 11, 2007 in New York City, ...
24. Robert Sheckley
Writer | La decima vittima
Robert Sheckley was born on July 16, 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for The 10th Victim (1965), The Prize of Peril (1983) and Freejack (1992). He was married to Gail Dana, Abby Schulman, Ziva Miri Kwitney, Barbara Scadron and Jay Rothbell. He died on December 9, 2005 ...
25. George Orwell
Writer | Nineteen Eighty-Four
Born the son of an Opium Agent in Bengal, Eric Blair was educated in England (Eton 1921). The joined the British Imperial Police in Burma, serving until 1927. He then travelled around England and Europe, doing various odd jobs to support his writing. By 1935 he had adopted the 'pen-name' of 'George...
26. Robert J. Sawyer
Writer | Flashforward
Robert J. Sawyer has written for ABC, the CBC, CTV, Copperheart, Harmony Gold, Nelvana, Shaftesbury, and gaming giant Ubisoft, among others. He is a member of both the WGA and the WGC, and is past president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The ABC TV series FlashForward was ...
27. Alfred Bester
Writer | The Stars My Destination
Alfred Bester was born on December 18, 1913 in New York City, New York, USA. Alfred was a writer, known for The Stars My Destination, The Juliet and Fireside Theatre (1949). Alfred was married to Rolly Bester. Alfred died on September 30, 1987 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, USA.
28. Stephen Baxter
Writer | Space Island One
Stephen Baxter is known for Space Island One (1998), Invasion Earth (1998) and Forum for Philosophy Podcast (2008).
29. Howard Fast
Writer | Spartacus
Howard Fast was born on November 11, 1914 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Spartacus (1960), The Lives of Benjamin Franklin (1974) and Mirage (1965). He was married to Mercedes O'Connor and Bette Cohen. He died on March 12, 2003 in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, USA.
30. Mike Resnick
Writer | No pronunciarás el nombre de Dios en vano
Mike Resnick was born on March 5, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for Don't Take the Name of God in Vain (1999), Finding the Future: A Science Fiction Conversation (2004) and 50th Anniversary Brunch Noreascon Three Videotape (1989). He was married to Carol L. Cain. He died on...
31. Harry Harrison
Writer | Soylent Green
Harry Harrison was born on March 12, 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. He was a writer, known for Soylent Green (1973), Soylent Green and Bill the Galactic Hero (2014). He was married to Joan Merkler. He died on August 15, 2012 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK.
32. John Varley
Writer | Millennium
John Varley was born in 1947 in Austin, Texas and later on won a National Merit Scholarship to Michigan State University. He originally had plans to be a scientist, but he eventually dropped out. After taking a variety of odd jobs, he decided to become a science fiction writer, and his first sale, ...
33. Cordwainer Smith
Writer | Rediscovery: The Lives of Cordwainer Smith
Cordwainer Smith was born on July 11, 1913 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He was a writer, known for Rediscovery: The Lives of Cordwainer Smith (2023) and El crimen y la gloria del comandante Suzdal (2009). He was married to Genevieve Collins and Margaret Snow. He died on August 6, 1966 in Baltimore...
34. Gene Wolfe
Writer | Doctor Island
Born in New York on 7 May 1931; Wolf studied at Texas A&M for a few years before leaving to fight in the Korean War. On his return he finished his degree at the University of Houston. He worked as the editor of the professional journal Plant Engineering and was instrumental in inventing the machine...
35. Christopher Priest
Writer | The Prestige
Christopher Priest was born on July 14, 1943 in Cheadle, Cheshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Prestige (2006), Futouristic and One Million Times (2017). He was married to Leigh Kennedy and Lisa Tuttle. He died on February 2, 2024 in England.
36. Edmund Cooper
Writer | The Invisible Boy
Edmund Cooper was born on April 30, 1926 in Cheshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Invisible Boy (1957), Sial IV (1969) and Racconti di fantascienza (1978). He died on March 11, 1982.
37. Michael Crichton
Writer | Jurassic Park
Michael Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois, but grew up in Roslyn, New York. His father was a journalist and encouraged him to write and to type. Michael gave up studying English at Harvard University, having become disillusioned with the teaching standards--the final straw came when he ...
38. James Tiptree Jr.
Writer | Welcome to Paradox
James Tiptree, Jr., was the pseudonym used by Alice Sheldon. Born Alice Bradly in 1915, she travelled extensively around the world with her parents (a travel writer and an explorer). She married in 1934, but was divorced in 1941. At the start of WWII, she joined the Army, and was later assigned to ...
39. Roger Zelazny
Writer | The Twilight Zone
Born in 1937, Roger Zelazny left his strongest mark in the Science Fiction Literature of the '60s and '70s. His first story was published in 1962, and he went on to publish more than 150 short stories and 50 books. His best works include novels "Lord of Light" (1967), "This Immortal" (1966), "...
40. Thomas M. Disch
Writer | The Brave Little Toaster
Thomas M. Disch was born on February 2, 1940 in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. He was a writer, known for The Brave Little Toaster (1987), Miami Vice (1984) and Come to Venus Melancholy (1995). He died on July 4, 2008 in New York City, New York, USA.
41. Clifford D. Simak
Writer | The Outer Limits
Clifford D. Simak was born on August 3, 1904 in Millville, Wisconsin, USA. He was a writer, known for The Outer Limits (1963), Way Station and Out of This World (1962). He was married to Agnes Kuchenberg. He died on April 24, 1988 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
42. Edmond Hamilton
Writer | Captain Future
Edmond Hamilton began his writing career in the early days of pulp science fiction. His first story, "The Monster of Marmuth", appeared in Weird Tales, and was very reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft. Soon, though, his style changed, and he focused on the "super-science" stories popularized by E. E. ...
43. Jack Williamson
Writer | Dimension X
John Stewart "Jack" Williamson was a prolific fiction writer of novels and short stories in the science-fiction genre. He replaced Robert A. Heinlein as the "Dean of Science Fiction" in 1988.
His novel "Darker Than You Think" (1948) is perhaps his best known and has since been included in the ...
44. Lester Del Rey
Writer | The Magic Lie
Lester Del Rey was born in Clydesdale, Minnesota. His mother died shortly after his birth, leaving the boy and his older sister in the care of their father. Sensing that the children should have a mother, his father hired a woman to care for the children, and later married her. Unfortunately, the ...
45. Nelson Bond
Writer | Lights Out
Nelson Bond was born on November 23, 1908 in Scranton, New Jersey, USA. He was a writer, known for Lights Out (1946), Tales of Tomorrow (1951) and Thriller (1960). He was married to Betty Folsom. He died on November 4, 2006 in Roanoke, Virginia, USA.
46. Stanley G. Weinbaum
Writer | Tales of Tomorrow
Stanley G. Weinbaum was born on April 4, 1902 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He was a writer, known for Tales of Tomorrow (1951), She Devil (1957) and Science Fiction Theatre (1955). He was married to Margaret Hawtof Kay. He died on December 14, 1935 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
47. Fritz Leiber Jr.
Writer | Night of the Eagle
Fritz Leiber Jr. was born on December 24, 1910 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Night of the Eagle (1962), A Pail of Air and Game for Motel Room. He was married to Margo Skinner and Jonquil Stephens. He died on September 5, 1992 in San Francisco, California, USA.
48. Murray Leinster
Writer | Murder Will Out
Murray Leinster was born on June 16, 1896 in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. He was a writer, known for Murder Will Out (1930), Lights Out (1946) and The Purple Cipher (1920). He was married to Mary Mandola. He died on June 8, 1975 in Gloucester, Virginia, USA.
49. Greg Bear
Writer | The Twilight Zone
Greg was born in San Diego on August 20th, 1951, to Wilma M. and Dale F. Bear. He sold his first short story at the age of fifteen to the magazine Famous Science Fiction and his first novel, Hegira, appeared in 1979. One of Bear's most famous stories is "Blood Music", which won the Nebula Award and...
50. Gregory Benford
Writer | Exposures
Gregory Benford was born in Mobile, Alabama, in 1941. He received a B.S. from the University of Oklahoma, and attended the University of California, San Diego, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1967. He spent the next four years at the Lawrence Livermore Radiation Laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow and ...
51. Kim Stanley Robinson
Self | Mars
Kim Stanley Robinson was born on March 23, 1952 in Waukegan, Illinois, USA. He has been married to Lisa Howland Nowell since 1982. They have two children.
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