Author

Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton

Andre Norton (1912-2005)

Andre Alice Norton, n e Alice Mary Norton, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She began writing whilst at school and published her first novel in 1934. Norton was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master Award from the World Science Fiction Society in 1977, and won the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the SFWA in 1983. Writing novels for over 70 years, she had a profound influence on the entire genre, having over 300 published titles read by at least four generations of science fiction and fantasy readers and writers.

Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930 - 1999)

Marion Zimmer was born in Albany, New York, in 1930, and grew up across the Hudson River on a farm in East Greenbush. She married Robert Alden Bradley in 1949. She received a B.A. from Hardin Simmons University, Texas, and did post-graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, during which time she helped found the Society for Creative Anachronism. She sold her first story in 1952 and was a writer of note for over four decades. Bradley is best known for two signature series: the 'Darkover' science fantasy series and her Arthurian masterpiece, The Mists of Avalon and its sequels. She also edited anthologies for 14 years and published Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, which ran for 50 quarterly issues between 1988 and the end of 2000. Marion Zimmer Bradley died in Berkeley, California, on September 25, 1999, four days after suffering a major heart attack.

Mercedes Lackey (1950-) Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.