Favorite Short Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors

This is a list of authors of short science fiction and fantasy There are several criteria to qualify for the list, but in the end, it just boils down to the fact that they write lots of short fiction and they are my subjective favorites.

1. Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)
   • ----- First publication: "xxx" xxx (1830)

2. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
   • ----- First publication: "xxx" xxx (1832)

3. Jules Verne (1828-1905)
   • ----- First publication: "xxx" xxx (1851)

4. Mark Twain (1859-1930)
   • Pseudonym of Samuel Clements
   • ----- First publication: "xxx" xxx (1868)

5. H. G. Wells (1866-1946)
   • ----- First publication: "xxx" xxx (1887)

6. Arthur Conan Doyle (1828-1905)
   • First publication: "xxx" xxx (1879)

7. Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
   • First publication: "Departmental Ditties" (1886)

8. Lord Dunsany (1878-1957)
   • Pseudonym of Edward J.M.D. Plunkett
   • First genre publication: Circa 1905

9. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950)
   • First genre publication: "Under the Moons of Mars" All-Story Magazine (February 1912)

10. H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937)
    • First genre publication: "Dagon" The Vagrant (November 1919)

11. Frank Belknap Long (1903-1994)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Desert Lich" Weird Tales (November 1924)

12. Manley Wade Wellman (1903-1986)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Back to the Beast" Weird Tales (November 1927)

13. Robert E. Howard (1906-1936)
    • First genre publication: "Spear and Fang" Weird Tales (July 1925)

14. Jack Williamson (1908-2006)
    • Grand Master (1976)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • Autobiography: Wonder's Child
    • First genre publication: "The Metal Man" Amazing Stories (December 1928)
    • Cool Collection of Early Work: The Early Williamson

15. Raymond Z. Gallun (1911-1994)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Space Dwellers" Science Wonder Stories (November 1929)

16. Nat Schachner (1895-1955)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Tower of Evil" (with Arthur Leo Zagat) Wonder Stories Quarterly (1930)

17. John W. Campbell, Jr. (1910-1971)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1930).

18. P. Schuyler Miller (1912-1974)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Red Plague" Wonder Stories (July 1930)

19. John Wyndham (1903-1969)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1931).

20. Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988)
    • Grand Master (1977)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "The World of the Red Sun" Wonder Stories (December 1931)

21. Robert Arthur (1909-1969)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Terror from the Sea" Wonder Stories (December 1931)

22. C.L. Moore (1911-1987)
    • Psuedonyms for collaborations with her husband Henry Kuttner: Lewis Padgett and Lawrence O'Donnell.
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Shambleau" Weird Tales (November 1933)

23. Donald Wollheim (1914-1990)
    • Pseudonym: Martin Pearson
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Man from Ariel" Wonder Stories (January 1934)

24. Ross Rocklynne (1913-1988)
    • This is the sf pseudonym for Ross Louis Rocklin.
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Man of Iron" Astounding Science Fiction (August 1935)

25. Henry Kuttner (1914-1958)
    • Psuedonyms with his wife C.L. Moore: Lewis Padgett and Lawrence O'Donnell
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Graveyard Rats" Weird Tales (March 1936)

26. Eric Frank Russell (1905-1978)
    • Pseudonyms: Maurice G. Hugi, Webster Craig, Duncan H. Munro
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Saga of Pelican West" Astounding Science Fiction (February 1937)

27. Nelson S. Bond (1908-    )
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Down the Dimensions" Astounding Science Fiction (April 1937)

28. Robert Moore Williams (1907-1977)
    • Pseudonyms: John S. Browning, H.H. Harmon, Russell Storm, and the house name E.K. Jarvis.
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Zero as a Limit" Astounding Science Fiction (July 1937)

29. L. Sprague de Camp (1907-2000)
    • Grand Master (1979)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • Autobiography: Time and Chance
    • First genre publication: "The Isolinguals" Astounding Science Fiction (September 1937)

30. Lester del Rey (1915-1993)
    • Grand Master (1991)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Faithful" Astounding Science Fiction (April 1938)
    • Cool Golden Age Collection: The Early del Rey

31. L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Dangerous Dimension" Astounding Science Fiction (July 1938)

32. Malcolm Jameson (1891-1945)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Eviction by Isotherm" Astounding Science Fiction (August 1938)

33. Alfred Bester (1913-1987)
    • Grand Master (1988)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "The Broken Axiom" Thrilling Wonder Stories (April 1939).

34. Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)
    • First genre publication: "Marooned off Vesta" Amazing Stories (March 1939)
    • Start Your Reading with Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories (Volume I)
    • Primary Genre: Hard Science Fiction
    • Pseudonyms: H.B. Ogden, Paul French
    • Grand Master (1987)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • Autobiography (1920-1954): In Memory Yet Green
    • Autobiography (1954-1978): In Joy Still Felt
    • Autobiographical Essays: I. Asimov
    • Collected Letters: Yours, Asimov
    • Collected Early Work: The Early Asimov

35. A.E. van Vogt (1912-2000)
    • Grand Master (1996)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • Autobiography: Reflections of A.E. van Vogt: The Autobiography of a Science Fiction Great (1979)
    • First genre publication: "Black Destroyer" Astounding Science Fiction (July 1939)

36. Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988)
    • First genre publication: "Life-Line" Astounding Science Fiction (August 1939)
    • Start Your Reading with The Past through Tomorrow
    • Primary Genre: Hard Science Fiction
    • Pseudonyms: Lyle Monroe, Anson MacDonald, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside, Simon York
    • Grand Master (1975)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • Autobiographical Essay: The Fanscient (Fall 1949)
    • Collected Letters: Grumbles from the Grave

37. Fritz Leiber (1910-1992)
    • Grand Master (1981)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Two Sought Adventure" Unknown (August 1939)

38. Frederik Pohl (1919-    )
    • Pseudonyms (often with co-authors): S.D. Gottesman, Scott Mariner, Dirk Wylie, and the house name Paul Dennis Lavond, James MacCreigh, Warren F. Howard.
    • Grand Master (1993)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • Autobiography: The Way the Future Was
    • First genre publication: "Heavy Planet" Astounding Science Fiction (August 1939). Both "Heavyplanet" and "Shawn's Sword" were written by fellow Futurian Milton A. Rothman, rewritten by Pohl, and sold to Astounding to be published under the pseudonym Lee Gregor (see page 68 of The Way the Future Was). Pohl's first solo effort, sold to himself as editor of Super Science Stories (January 1941), was "Dweller in the Ice," published under the pseudonym James MacCreigh.
    • Collected Early Work: The Early Pohl
    • Start Your Reading with Platinum Pohl: The Collected Best Stories

39. Theodore Sturgeon (1918-1985)
    • Pseudonym: E. Hunter Waldo
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • Autobiographical essays: In Volumes VI and VII of the Collected Stories of Theodore Sturgeon
    • First genre publication: "The Ether Breather" Astounding Science Fiction (September 1939)
    • Cool Golden Age Collection: Microcosmic God: Volume II of his Complete Stories

40. Leigh Brackett (1915-1978)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Martian Quest" Astounding Science Fiction (February 1940)

41. James Blish (1921-1975)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1940)

42. Cleve Cartmill (1908-1964)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Oscar" Unknown Fantasy Fiction (February 1941)

43. Frederic Brown (1906-1972)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Not Yet the End" Captain Future (1941)

44. Ray Bradbury (1920-    )
    • Grand Master (1989)
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Pendulum" (with Henry Hasse) Super Science Stories (November 1941)

45. Damon Knight (1922-2002)
    • Grand Master (1995)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1941)

46. Anthony Boucher (1911-1968)
    • Genre pseudonym of William Anthony Parker White. He also used the pseudonym H.H. Holmes.
    • A Campbell Golden Age Author
    • First genre publication: "Snulbug" Unknown Worlds (December 1941)

47. Hal Clement (1922-2003)
    • Grand Master (1999)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1942)

48. Jack Vance (1916- )
    • Grand Master (1997)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1945)

49. Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008)
    • Grand Master (1986)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1946)

50. Andre Norton (1912-2006)
    • Grand Master (1984)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1947)

51. H. Beam Piper (1904-1964)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1947)

52. Poul Anderson (1926-2001)
    • Grand Master (1998)
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Genius" Astounding Science Fiction (December 1948)

53. James E. Gunn (1923- )
    • Grand Master (2007)
    • First genre publication: "Paradox" Thrilling Wonder Stories (October 1949)

54. Gordon R. Dickson (1923-2001)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1950)

55. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922- )
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1950)

56. Alan E. Nourse (1928-1992)
    • First genre publication: "Threshold" Astounding Science Fiction (March 1951)

57. Harry Harrison (1925- )
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1951)

58. Algis Budrys (1931- )
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1952)

59. Philip K. Dick (1928-1982)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1952)

60. Philip José Farmer (1918- )
    • Grand Master (2001)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1952)

61. Frank Herbert (1920-1986)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1952)

62. Anne McCaffrey (1926- )
    • Grand Master (2005)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1953)

63. Bob Shaw (1931- )
    • First genre publication: "Aspect" Nebula Science Fiction (August 1954)

64. Avram Davidson (1923- )
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1954)

65. Brian Aldiss (1925- )
    • Grand Master (2000)
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1954)

66. Robert Silverberg (1935- )
    • Grand Master (2004)
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Gorgon Planet" Nebula Science Fiction (February 1954)

67. Kate Wilhelm (1928- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "The Pint-Sized Genie" Fantastic Stories of Imagination (October 1956)

68. Harlan Ellison (1942- )
    • Grand Master 2006
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Rain, Rain, Go Away" Science Fantasy, volume 7, #20 (1956)

69. Joanna Russ (1937- )
    • First genre publication: "Nor Custom Stale" The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (September 1959)

70. Michael Moorcock (1939- )
    • Grand Master (2008)
    • First genre publication: "Peace on Earth" New Worlds Science Fiction (December 1959)

71. Ben Bova (1932- )
    • First genre publication: "A Long Way Back" Amazing Stories (February 1960)

72. Roger Zelazny (1937-1995)
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Passion Play" Amazing Stories (August 1962)

73. Ursula K. Le Guin (1929- )
    • Grand Master (2003)
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "April in Paris" Fantastic Stories of Imagination (September 1962)

74. Piers Anthony (1934- )
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1963)

75. Larry Niven (1938- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Wrong-Way Street" Galaxy Science Fiction (April 1965)

76. Gardner Dozois (1947- )
    • First genre publication: "The Empty Man" If Science Fiction (September 1966)

77. Samuel R. Delany (1942- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Aye, and Gomorrah" Dangerous Visions (1968)

78. Greg Bear (1951- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Destroyers" Famous Science Fiction (Winter 1967/1968)

79. Tannith Lee (1947- )
    • First genre publication: "Eustace" The 9th Pan Book of Horror Stories (1968)

80. Joe Haldeman (1944- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Out of Phase" Galaxy Science Fiction (September 1969)

81. Michael Bishop (1945- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Piñon Fall" Galaxy Science Fiction (October 1970)

82. Connie Willis (1945- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Santa Titicaca" Worls of Fantasy (Winter 1970)

83. George R. R. Martin (1948- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "The Hero" Galaxy Science Fiction (February 1971)

84. Spider Robinson (1948- )
    • First genre publication: "The Guy with the Eyes" Analog Science Fiction (February 1973)

85. Orson Scott Card (1951- )
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1977)

86. Mike Resnick (1942- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "The Astounding Adventure of Isaac Intrepid" (with Lou Tabakow) Analog Science Fiction and Fact (August 1979)

87. Michael Swanwick (1950- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Ginungagap" Norhtwestern University Triquarterly 49 (1980)

88. Geoffrey A. Landis (1955- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First genre publication: "Elemental" Analog Science Fiction and Fact (December 1984)

89. Robert Reed (1956- )
    • First genre publication: "xxx" xxx (xxx 1986)

90. Neil Gaiman (1960- )
    • First short genre publication: "Culprits" (with Kim Newman and Eugene Byrne) Interzone (October 1990)

91. Terry Bisson (1942- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First short genre publication: "The Two Janets" Asimov's Science Fiction (November 1990)

92. James Van Pelt (1954- )
    • First short genre publication: "No Small Change" After Hours (Winter 1991)

93. Kelly Link (1969- )
    • Multiple Award Winning Author for Short Fiction
    • First short genre publication: "Water off a Black Dog's Back" Century (September/October 1995)

Grand Masters

Have won the SFWA Grand Master Award

Campbell Golden Age Authors

Have at least two stories in Campbell's Astounding.

Multiple Award Winning Authors for Short Fiction

Have won at least three Hugo or Nebula awards in the Short Story or Novelette categories.

Thank you for visiting my favorite authors of short SF&F, ©2006-2008 by Michael Main.