Curated playlist
American science fiction writers
- Stephen KingA minivan hit Stephen King on a Maine road in June 1999. A dog in the back distracted the driver.
- Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe's executor used forged letters to paint him as a drunken madman.
- H. P. LovecraftH. P. Lovecraft died in 1937 virtually unknown to readers. His monsters later became global touchstones.
- George LucasGeorge Lucas turned down a higher directing fee for Star Wars. He asked for toy and merchandise rights instead.
- Christopher NolanChristopher Nolan has no smartphone and no email address. He hand-delivers his scripts to the actors he wants.
- Kurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut survived the bombing of Dresden by hiding in an underground meat locker.
- Vernor VingeWhat happens when machines get smarter than the people who built them? Vernor Vinge kept asking.
- Philip K. DickPhilip K. Dick died four months before Blade Runner opened. He never saw the film that made his name famous.
- Poul AndersonPoul Anderson's typewriter now sits in a Berkeley bookshop. His widow donated it after he died in 2001.
- Carl SaganCarl Sagan once asked a librarian for a book on stars and got one about movie stars.
- Edgar Rice BurroughsEdgar Rice Burroughs wrote Tarzan after failing as a mine manager and pencil-sharpener wholesaler.
- John JakesJohn Jakes wrote fiction at night while working as an advertising copywriter. His Kent series sold 55 million copies.
- George R. R. MartinA chess craze helped save George R. R. Martin's writing career. Bobby Fischer's 1972 win got him a tournament job.
- Junot DíazJunot Díaz arrived in New Jersey at six unable to speak English. He later won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
- L. Sprague de CampL. Sprague de Camp turned the word extraterrestrial into a noun. He also coined E.T. in a 1939 magazine article.
- Lin CarterLin Carter printed about 3,000 copies of his fanzine Kadath, and most were thrown away.
- Isaac AsimovIsaac Asimov coined the word "robotics" in a 1941 story, thinking it was just a natural term.
- Alex RaymondAlex Raymond, an American cartoonist who lived from 1909 to 1956, sent a world-famous polo player into space on a rocket. The destination was Mongo, a planet on course to collide with Earth. That adventure became the comic strip Flash…
- Dave WolvertonDave Wolverton chose a second name partly because of where books were placed in bookstores. He was born John David Wolverton, and he published as both Dave Wolverton and David Farland. His reasoning was practical. A fantasy author needed a…
- Timothy ZahnTimothy Zahn wrote a Star Wars trilogy from a box of roleplaying game sourcebooks.
- Michael CrichtonMichael Crichton once submitted a George Orwell essay as his own and got a B-minus.
- Joss WhedonJoss Whedon earned more from a web musical than from directing The Avengers.
- Fletcher PrattFletcher Pratt was arrested at eighteen for robbing cash drawers. He became a noted military historian.
- Roger ZelaznyA story by Roger Zelazny traveled to Mars in 2008. "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" rode on a DVD aboard the Phoenix lander.
- David BrinAuthor David Brin won the Hugo Award for Best Novel twice with his Uplift Universe books.
- Kevin J. AndersonKevin J. Anderson sold his first story for just $12.50 in high school.
- Rebecca MoestaA science fiction club at a national laboratory led Rebecca Moesta to her second husband.
- Steve Perry (author)Before writing novels, Steve Perry worked as a private detective and a nurse. He also sold aluminum and taught swimming.
- Jack VanceJack Vance memorized an eye chart to join the Merchant Marine. He later kept writing novels after going legally blind.
- A. MerrittAuthor A. Merritt was a major influence on H. P. Lovecraft. His day job was editing a Sunday magazine.
- Aaron AllstonAaron Allston wrote Dungeons and Dragons game books, then Star Wars novels. He joined the X-Wing novels in 1997.
- Fritz LeiberFritz Leiber is credited with coining the term "sword and sorcery".
- John Eric HolmesA neurology professor asked TSR for an easier Dungeons and Dragons. John Eric Holmes wrote its 1977 Basic Set.
- Donald A. WollheimDonald A. Wollheim, the American science fiction editor, publisher, writer and fan, picked up a telephone in 1964 and called Professor J. R. R. Tolkien. According to Wollheim's daughter Betsy, Tolkien answered that he would never allow his…
- Alan Dean FosterThe 1976 Star Wars novel carried only George Lucas's name, but Alan Dean Foster wrote it. He was hired as a ghostwriter.
- Brian DaleyBrian Daley died hours after toasting the finished Return of the Jedi radio drama. He was 48 and never heard it air.
- Leigh BrackettLeigh Brackett's last draft of a Star Wars sequel was thrown out. She still received a screenplay credit.