The Future in Question

Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, on January 2, 1920. His family emigrated to the United States in 1923 and settled in Brooklyn, New York, where they owned and operated a candy store. Asimov became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of eight. As a youngster he discovered his talent for writing, producing his first original fiction at show more the age of eleven. He went on to become one of the world's most prolific writers, publishing nearly 500 books in his lifetime. Asimov was not only a writer; he also was a biochemist and an educator. He studied chemistry at Columbia University, earning a B.S., M.A. and Ph.D. In 1951, Asimov accepted a position as an instructor of biochemistry at Boston University's School of Medicine even though he had no practical experience in the field. His exceptional intelligence enabled him to master new systems rapidly, and he soon became a successful and distinguished professor at Columbia and even co-authored a biochemistry textbook within a few years. Asimov won numerous awards and honors for his books and stories, and he is considered to be a leading writer of the Golden Age of science fiction. While he did not invent science fiction, he helped to legitimize it by adding the narrative structure that had been missing from the traditional science fiction books of the period. He also introduced several innovative concepts, including the thematic concern for technological progress and its impact on humanity. Asimov is probably best known for his Foundation series, which includes Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. In 1966, this trilogy won the Hugo award for best all-time science fiction series. In 1983, Asimov wrote an additional Foundation novel, Foundation's Edge, which won the Hugo for best novel of that year. Asimov also wrote a series of robot books that included I, Robot, and eventually he tied the two series together. He won three additional Hugos, including one awarded posthumously for the best non-fiction book of 1995, I. Asimov. "Nightfall" was chosen the best science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 1979, Asimov wrote his autobiography, In Memory Yet Green. He continued writing until just a few years before his death from heart and kidney failure on April 6, 1992. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Brian W. Aldiss was born in Dereham, United Kingdom on August 18, 1925. In 1943, he joined the Royal Signals regiment, and saw action in Burma. After World War II, he worked as a bookseller at Oxford University. His first book, The Brightfount Diaries, was published in 1955. His first science fiction novel, Non-Stop (Starship in the United show more States), was published in 1958. He wrote more than 80 books including Hothouse, Greybeard, The Helliconia Trilogy, The Squire Quartet, Frankenstein Unbound, The Malacia Tapestry, Walcot, and Mortal Morning. His short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long was the basis for the film A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He has received numerous awards for his work including two Hugo Awards, the Nebula Award, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and an OBE for services to literature. He was also an anthologist and an artist. He was the editor of 40 anthologies including Introducing SF, The Penguin Science Fiction Omnibus, Space Opera, Space Odysseys, Galactic Empires, Evil Earths, and Perilous Planets. He was an abstract artist and his first solo exhibition, The Other Hemisphere, was held in Oxford in August-September 2010. He died on August 19, 2017 at the age of 92. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Ron Goulart was born on January 13, 1933 in Berkeley, CA. Goulart has been a professional writer for over forty years and has published over 180 books. He is best-known for his mystery and science fiction books and is also considered the leading authority on comic books and strips. Goulart has been nominated twice for the Edgar Award. His first show more nomination was in the category of Best Original Paperback for his novel, After Things Fell Apart, in 1971. He was nominated again in 1989 in the category of Best Critical / Biographical work for his non-fiction work, The Dime Detectives. He also writes under the pseudonyms: Kenneth Robeson, Frank S. Shawn, Joseph Silva, and Con Steffanson. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 - June 25, 2011) was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books; he was also a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel. Some of his anthologies included: Past Imperfect (2001), Once Upon a Galaxy show more (2002) and Sirius: The Dog Star (2004). (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Frederik Pohl was born in New York City on November 26, 1919. More interested in writing than in school, he dropped out of high school in his senior year and took a job with a publishing company. After serving as a public relations officer in the United States Army from 1943 to 1945, he returned to publishing as copywriter for Popular Science, a show more literary agent for several sci-fi writers, and the editor for the magazines Galaxy and If from 1959 until 1969, with If winning three successive Hugo awards. His first published work, a poem entitled Elegy to a Dead Satellite: Luna, was printed in Amazing Stories magazine in 1937 under the pen name Elton Andrews. His first science fiction novels were published in the mid 1960's, some written in collaboration with other writers, others created alone. During his lifetime, he won over 16 major awards for his writing (much of which was published pseudonymously) including six Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards. His works include Gateway, which won the Campbell Memorial, Hugo, Locus SF, and Nebula Awards, Beyond the Blue Event Horizon, and Jem, which won the National Book Award in 1979. He also embraced blogging in his later years, using his online journal as an ongoing sequel to his autobiography, The Way the Future Was. He died on September 2, 2013 at the age 93. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Theodore Sturgeon was born Edward Hamilton Waldo in New York City on February 26, 1918. He sold his first short story, Heavy Insurance, while serving in the United States Merchant Marine from 1935 to 1938. He won numerous awards including the 1954 International Fantasy Award for More than Human, the 1970 Nebula and Hugo Awards for Slow Sculpture, show more and the 1985 World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2000. He died of pneumonia in Eugene, Oregon on May 8, 1985. (Bowker Author Biography) Theodore Sturgeon was the author of numerous novels and over 200 stories. He died in 1985. (Publisher Provided) show less

William Tenn, the pseudonym of Philip Klass, was born in London, England on May 9, 1920. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York and served as a combat engineer in the United States Army during World War II. After leaving the Army, he worked as a technical editor with an Air Force radar and radio laboratory and was employed by Bell Labs. He taught show more English and comparative literature at Penn State University for 24 years. He wrote academic articles, essays, one novel entitled Of Men and Monsters, and more than 60 short stories including Child's Play, Venus and the Seven Sexes, Down Among the Dead Men, The Liberation of Earth, Time in Advance, and On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi. He received the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1999. He died of congestive heart failure on February 7, 2010 at the age of 89. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Kate Wilhelm was born Katie Gertrude Meredith in Dayton, Ohio on June 8, 1928. Her first book, More Bitter Than Death, was published in 1963. She wrote over 75 books in many genres including science fiction, mystery, and fantasy. Her books included The Clone, the Barbara Holloway mystery series, and Welcome, Chaos. Her short stories and novellas show more won several Nebula Awards. Her novel Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang and her how-to book Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More From 27 Years of the Clarion Writers' Workshop won Hugo Awards. She and her husband, author and editor Damon Knight, trained numerous writers through their Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop and the annual Milford Writers' Conference. She died from respiratory failure on March 8, 2018 at the age of 89. (Bowker Author Biography) show less