View source for Roger Zelazny

{{Short description|U.S. science fiction and fantasy writer and poet (1937–1995)}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name             = Roger Zelazny
| image            = Rogerzelazny.JPG
| imagesize        = 
| caption          = Zelazny in 1988
| pseudonym        = Harrison Denmark<ref name=isfdb/>
| birth_name       = Roger Joseph Zelazny
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1937|5|13|mf=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Euclid, Ohio]], US
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1995|6|14|1937|5|13|mf=y}}
| death_place      = [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]], US
| occupation       = Writer
| period           = 
| genre            = [[Fantasy]], [[science-fiction]]
| notableworks     = ''[[Lord of Light]]'', ''[[The Chronicles of Amber]]'', ''[[Isle of the Dead (Zelazny novel)|Isle of the Dead]]'', ''[[The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth, and Other Stories]], [[Doorways in the Sand]], [[Eye of Cat]], [[Unicorn Variations]], [[A Night in the Lonesome October]]''
| movement         = [[New Wave (science fiction)|New Wave]] (although he denounced the term himself)
| website          = 
| footnotes        = 
| education        = [[Western Reserve University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[Columbia University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
}}

'''Roger Joseph Zelazny''' (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995)<ref>{{cite news|work=[[The Independent]]|title=Obituary: Roger Zelazny|author=David Pringle|date=21 June 1995 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-roger-zelazny-1587694.html}}</ref> was an American [[fantasy]] and [[science fiction]] writer known for his short stories and novels focusing on mythology and various religions, best known for ''[[The Chronicles of Amber]]'' series. He won the [[Nebula Award]] three times (out of 14 nominations) and the [[Hugo Award]] six times (also out of 14 nominations), including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ''...And Call Me Conrad'' (1965), subsequently published under the title ''[[This Immortal]]'' (1966), and the novel ''[[Lord of Light]]'' (1967).<ref name=SFAwards/>

==Biography==
Zelazny was born in [[Euclid, Ohio]], the only child of Polish immigrant Joseph Frank Żelazny and [[Irish Americans|Irish-American]] Josephine Flora Sweet. In high school, he became the editor of the school newspaper and joined the Creative Writing Club.<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009" /> In the fall of 1955, he began attending [[Case Western Reserve University|Western Reserve University]] and graduated with a B.A. in English in 1959.<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009" /> He was accepted to [[Columbia University]] in New York, and he specialized in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, graduating with an M.A. in 1962.<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009" /> His dissertation was titled ''Two Traditions and Cyril Tourneur: an Examination of Morality and Humor Comedy Conventions in "The Revenger's Tragedy"''.

Between 1962 and 1969, he worked for the US [[Social Security Administration]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], and then in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], spending his evenings writing science fiction.<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009" /><ref name=AndCall /> He deliberately progressed from [[Short story|short-shorts]] to novelettes to novellas and finally to novel-length works by 1965.<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009" /> On May 1, 1969, he quit his job to become a full-time writer, and thereafter he concentrated on writing novels in order to maintain his income.<ref name=AndCall /> During this period, he was an active and vocal member of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, whose members included the writer [[Jack L. Chalker]], in addition to [[Joe Haldeman|Joe]] and [[Jack C. Haldeman II|Jack Haldeman]], among others.

His first appearance in a fanzine was with part one of the story "Conditional Benefit" (''Thurban 1'' #3, 1953); his first professional publication and sale was the fantasy short story "Mr. Fuller's Revolt" (''Literary Calvalcade'', 1954).<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009" /> As a professional writer, his debut works were the simultaneous publication of "Passion Play" (''Amazing'', August 1962) and "Horseman!" (''Fantastic'', August 1962).<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009" /> "Passion Play" was written and sold first.<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009" /> His first story to attract major attention was "[[A Rose for Ecclesiastes]]", published in ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction]]'', with cover art by [[Hannes Bok]].

Roger Zelazny was also a member of the [[Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America]] (SAGA), a loose-knit group of [[heroic fantasy]] authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in [[Lin Carter]]'s ''[[Flashing Swords!]]'' anthologies.

==Personal life and death==
Zelazny was married twice—first to Sharon Steberl in 1964 (divorced, no children), and then to Judith Alene Callahan in 1966. Before this period, he was engaged to [[Folk music|folk]] singer [[Hedy West]] for six months from 1961 to 1962.<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009">"...And Call Me Roger": The Literary Life of Roger Zelazny, Part 1, by Christopher S. Kovacs. In: ''The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, Volume 1: Threshold'', NESFA Press, 2009.</ref> Roger and Judith had two sons, Devin and [[Trent Zelazny|Trent]] (who was an author of [[crime fiction]], deceased), and a daughter, Shannon. At the time of his death, Roger and Judith were separated, and he was living with author [[Jane Lindskold]].<ref name=AndCall_a />

Raised as a [[Catholic]] by his parents,<ref name="Roger Zelazny 2009"/> Zelazny later declared himself a [[lapsed Catholic]] and remained that way for the rest of his life.<ref name="AndCall">"{{'}}...And Call Me Roger': The Literary Life of Roger Zelazny", Part 3, by Christopher S. Kovacs. In: ''The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, Volume 3: This Mortal Mountain'', NESFA Press, 2009.</ref> "I did have a strong Catholic background, but I am not a Catholic. Somewhere in the past, I believe I answered in the affirmative once for strange and complicated reasons. But I am not a member of any organized religion."<ref name="AndCall" />

Zelazny died, aged 58, in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] on June 16, 1995, of [[kidney failure]] secondary to [[colorectal cancer]].<ref name="AndCall_a">{{cite book|chapter='...And Call Me Roger': The Literary Life of Roger Zelazny, Part 6 |first=Christopher S. |last=Kovacs |title=The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, Volume 6: The Road to Amber |publisher=NESFA Press |date= 2009|editor-first1=David G. |editor-last1=Grubbs|editor-first2=Christopher S. |editor-last2=Kovacs |editor-first3=Ann |editor-last3=Crimmins}}</ref> At the time of his death, he had been a resident of Santa Fe for twenty years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/06/16/science-fiction-luminary-roger-zelazny-dies-at-58/929663b2-b93e-4240-a330-bcc763c0b5e9/|title=Science Fiction Luminary Roger Zelazny Dies at 58|work= [[Washington Post]] |date=June 16, 1995|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

==Themes==
In his stories, Zelazny frequently portrayed characters from [[myth]], depicted in the modern or a future world. Mythological traditions that his fiction borrowed from include the following:

* [[Chinese mythology]], in ''[[Lord Demon]]'' (with Jane Lindskold)
* [[Egyptian mythology]], in ''[[Creatures of Light and Darkness]]''
* [[Greek mythology]], in ''[[This Immortal|...And Call Me Conrad]]''
* [[Hindu mythology]], in ''[[Lord of Light]]''
* [[Navajo mythology]], in ''[[Eye of Cat]]''
* [[Norse mythology]], in ''[[The Mask of Loki]]''
* [[Psychoanalysis]], [[King Arthur|Arthurian mythos]], [[Norse mythology]] and [[Kabbalah]], in ''[[The Dream Master]]''

Additionally, elements from [[Norse mythology|Norse]], [[Japanese mythology|Japanese]] and [[Irish mythology]], [[Arthurian legend]], and real history appear in ''[[The Chronicles of Amber]]'' series. ''The novel [[A Night in the Lonesome October]]'' involves the [[Cthulhu Mythos]], a shared fictional universe based on the work of [[H. P. Lovecraft]].

Another recurring motif of Zelazny's is the "absent father" (or father-figure). Again, this motif occurs most notably in the Amber novels: in the first Amber series, the protagonist Corwin searches for his lost, god-like father [[Oberon]]; in [[Chronicles of Amber#The Merlin Cycle|the second series]], which focuses on Corwin's son Merlin (not to be confused with the Arthurian [[Merlin]]), Corwin himself is strangely missing. This somewhat [[Freud]]ian theme runs through almost every Zelazny novel to some degree. The novels ''[[Roadmarks]]'', ''[[Doorways in the Sand]]'', ''[[Changeling (novel)|Changeling]]'', ''[[Madwand]]'', and ''[[A Dark Traveling]]''; the short stories "Dismal Light", "Godson", and "The Keys to December"; and the ''Alien Speedway'' series all feature main characters who are either searching for or have lost their fathers. Zelazny's father, Joseph, died unexpectedly in 1962 and never knew of his son's successes as a writer.<ref>"...And Call Me Roger": The Literary Life of Roger Zelazny, Part 5, by Christopher S. Kovacs. In: ''The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, Volume 5: Nine Black Doves'', NESFA Press, 2009.</ref>

Two other personal characteristics that influenced Zelazny's fiction were his expertise in [[martial arts]] and his addiction to tobacco. Zelazny became an expert with the [[épée]] in college; he thereby began a lifelong study of several martial arts, including [[judo]], [[aikido]] (which he later taught as well, having gained a black belt), [[tai chi]], and ''[[baguazhang]]''. In turn, many of his characters ably and knowledgeably use similar skills while dispatching their opponents. Zelazny was also a passionate cigarette and pipe [[smoking|smoker]] (until he quit in the early 1980s)—so much so that he made many of his protagonists heavy smokers as well. However, he quit in order to improve his cardiovascular fitness for the martial arts; once he had quit, characters in his later novels and short stories stopped smoking also.<ref name="AndCall" />

Zelazny also often [[Experimental literature|experimented with form]] in his stories. The novel ''[[Doorways in the Sand]]'' practices a flashback technique in which most chapters open with a scene, typically involving peril, not implied by the end of the previous chapter. Once this scene is established, the narrator backtracks to the events leading up to it, and then he follows through to the end of the chapter, whereupon the next chapter jumps ahead to another dramatic ''non-sequitur''.

In ''[[Roadmarks]]'', a novel about a road system that links all possible times, places and histories, the chapters that feature the protagonist are all titled "One". Other chapters, titled "Two", feature secondary characters, including original characters, [[pulp hero]]es, and real historical figures. The "One" storyline is fairly linear, whereas the "Two" storyline jumps around in time and sequence. After finishing the manuscript, Zelazny shuffled the "Two" chapters randomly among the "One" chapters in order to emphasize their non-linear nature relative to the storyline.<ref name="AndCall_b">"...And Call Me Roger": The Literary Life of Roger Zelazny, Part 4, by Christopher S. Kovacs. In: ''The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, Volume 4: Last Exit to Babylon'', NESFA Press, 2009.</ref>

The novel ''[[Creatures of Light and Darkness]]'', featuring characters in the personas of Egyptian gods, uses a narrative voice entirely in the [[present tense]]; the final chapter is structured as a [[play (theatre)|play]], and several chapters take the form of long poems.

Another common stylistic approach in Zelazny's novels is the use of ''mixed genres'', whereby elements of each are combined freely and interchangeably. The novels ''[[Jack of Shadows]]'' and ''[[Changeling (novel)|Changeling]]'', for example, revolve around the tensions between the two worlds of magic and technology. The novel ''[[Lord of Light]]'', perhaps one of his most famous works, is written in the classic style of a mythic fantasy, while it is established early in the book that the story itself takes place on a [[Space colonization|colonized planet]].<ref>"...And Call Me Roger"": The Literary Life of Roger Zelazny, Part 2, by Christopher S. Kovacs. In: ''The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny, Volume 2: Power & Light'', NESFA Press, 2009.</ref>

==Legacy==
Zelazny's stories inspired other authors in his generation including [[Samuel R. Delany]], whose novel ''[[Nova (novel)|Nova]]'' and many of his short stories were written "partly in response to Zelazny’s eruption into the field."<ref name="tor.com">"[http://www.tor.com/2012/11/11/something-else-like-roger-zelazny/ Something Else Like ... Roger Zelazny]" by Jo Walton, [[Tor.com]], November 11, 2012.</ref> In 1967, [[Algis Budrys]] listed Zelazny, Delany, [[J. G. Ballard]], and [[Brian Aldiss]] as "an earthshaking new kind of" writer, and leaders of the [[New Wave (science fiction)|New Wave]].<ref name="budrys196710">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Budrys
 |first=Algis
 |date=October 1967
 |title=Galaxy Bookshelf
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v26n01_1967-10_modified#page/n175/mode/2up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=188–194
}}</ref> [[Neil Gaiman]] said that Zelazny was the author who influenced him most,<ref>"Of Meetings and Partings" by Neil Gaiman, introduction to ''This Mortal Mountain: Volume 3 of The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny'', NESFA Press, edited by David G. Grubbs, Christopher S. Kovacs, and Ann Crimmins, 2009, page 12.</ref> with this influence particularly seen in Gaiman's literary style and subjects.<ref name="tor.com"/> [[Andrzej Sapkowski]] considered Zelazny to be his spiritual teacher, whose work inspired him to write his first novel.<ref>Andrzej Sapkowski: "I had to find my own channel. And I found it... " / / Star Road. — 2003. — № 7—8.</ref>

The anthology ''[[Lord of the Fantastic]]: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny'', edited by [[Martin H. Greenberg]] and released in 1998, featured essays and stories in honor of Zelazny by [[Walter Jon Williams]], [[Jack Williamson]], [[John Varley (author)|John Varley]], Gaiman, [[Gregory Benford]], and many other authors.<ref>''Lord of the Fantastic: Stories in Honor of Roger Zelazny'' edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Avon Eos, 1998.</ref>

The anthology ''Shadows & Reflections: A Roger Zelazny Tribute Anthology'', edited by Trent Zelazny and Warren Lapine, was released in 2017; it featured two essays and fifteen stories set in universes that Zelazny created. Contributors included Zelazny, [[George R.R. Martin]], Shannon Zelazny, [[Warren Lapine]], [[Steven Brust]], [[Kelly McCullough]], [[Jane Lindskold]], [[Steve Perry (author)|Steve Perry]], [[Gerald Hausman]], [[Lawrence Watt-Evans]], Michael H. Hanson, Mark Rich, Gio Clairval, Edward J. McFadden III, Theodore Krulik, [[Shariann Lewitt]], and Jay O'Connell.<ref>''Shadows & Reflections: A Roger Zelazny Tribute Anthology'' edited by Trent Zelazny & Warren Lapine, Positronic Publishing, 2017.</ref>

==Awards==
Zelazny won at least 16 awards for specific works of fiction: six [[Hugo Awards]], three [[Nebula Awards]], two [[Locus Award]]s, one [[Prix Tour-Apollo Award]], two [[Seiun Award]]s, and two [[Balrog Award]]s. Often Zelazny's works competed with each other for the same award.<ref name=SFAwards/>
* ''...And Call Me Conrad'' (published in book form as ''[[This Immortal]]'') won the 1966 Hugo Award (novel), a tie with ''[[Dune (novel)|Dune]]'' by [[Frank Herbert]].<ref name="WWE-1966">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1966
| title = 1966 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-17
}}</ref>
* "[[The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth]]" won the 1966 Nebula Award (novelette).
* "[[He Who Shapes]]" tied for the 1966 Nebula Award (novella).
* ''[[Lord of Light]]'' won the 1968 Hugo Award (novel).<ref name="WWE-1968">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1968
| title = 1968 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-17
}}</ref>
* ''[[Isle of the Dead (Zelazny novel)|Isle of the Dead]]'' won the 1972 Prix Tour-Apollo Award (novel).
* ''This Immortal'' won the 1976 Seiun Award (foreign novel).
* "Home Is the Hangman" won both the 1976 [[Hugo Award]] and the 1976 Nebula Award (novella).
* "[[The Last Defender of Camelot]]" won the 1980 Balrog Award (short fiction).
* "[[Unicorn Variation]]" won the 1982 Hugo Award (novelette) and the 1984 [[Seiun Award]] (foreign short fiction).
* ''Unicorn Variations'' won the 1984 Locus Award (collection) and the 1984 [[Balrog Award]] (collection/anthology).
* "[[24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai]]" won the 1986 Hugo Award (novella).
* ''[[Trumps of Doom]]'' won the 1986 Locus Award (fantasy novel).<ref name="WWE-1986">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1986|title=1986 Award Winners & Nominees|work=Worlds Without End|access-date=2009-05-17}}</ref>
* "[[Permafrost (story)|Permafrost]]" won the 1987 Hugo Award (novelette).

In addition, Zelazny was the Guest of Honor at the [[Worldcon]] convention in Washington, D.C., in 1974 (also known as Discon II); he won an [[Inkpot Award]] for lifetime achievement at the [[San Diego Comic-Con]] convention in 1993. "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" was included in ''Visions of Mars: First Library on Mars'', a DVD taken on board the ''[[Phoenix (spacecraft)|Phoenix Mars Lander]]'' in 2008.<ref name=AndCall_a />

==Tributes==
The [[ostracod]] (class of crustaceans) ''Sclerocypris zelaznyi'' was named after Zelazny.<ref>{{cite journal
  | last = Martens
  | first = Koen
  | title = Seven new species and two new subspecies of Sclerocypris SARS, 1924 from Africa, with new records of some other Megalocypridinids (Crustacea, Ostracoda)
  | journal = Hydrobiologia
  | volume = 162
  | issue = 3
  | pages = 243–273
  | publisher = Springer Netherlands
  | date = May 1988
  | doi = 10.1007/BF00016672
  | s2cid = 11073671
 }}</ref>

==Bibliography==
{{main|Roger Zelazny bibliography}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=isfdb>{{isfdb name |69}}</ref>

<!-- some awards refs -->
<ref name=SFAwards>
[http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit157.html#5813 "Zelazny, Roger"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016201634/http://locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit157.html |date=2012-10-16 }}. ''The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index of Literary Nominees''. [[Locus Publications]]. Retrieved 2011-09-28.</ref>
{{sfhof |1483 |Roger Zelazny}}
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325043342/http://www.empsfm.org/exhibitions/index.asp?categoryID=203 |date=March 25, 2010 |title="Science Fiction Hall of Fame" }}. [Quote: "EMP|SFM is proud to announce the 2010 Hall of Fame inductees:&nbsp;..."]. Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (''empsfm.org''). Archived 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Yoke |first=Carl |title=Roger Zelazny: Starmont Reader's Guide 2 |location=West Linn, Oregon |publisher=Starmont House |year=1979}}
**Republished as {{cite book |last=Yoke |first=Carl B. |title=Roger Zelazny |publisher=Borgo Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0916732134}}

===Biographies and literary critiques===
* {{cite journal |last=Kovacs |first=Christopher S. |title='...And Call Me Roger': The Early Literary Life of Roger Zelazny |journal=The New York Review of Science Fiction #246 |volume=21 |number=6 |date=February 2009 |pages=1, 8–19}} Essay-length excerpt of full biography published in ''Collected Stories'' (next entry).
* {{cite book |last=Kovacs |first=Christopher S. |chapter='...And Call Me Roger': The Literary Life of Roger Zelazny |title=The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny |volume=1–6 |location=Boston |publisher=NESFA Press |year=2009}}
* {{cite book |last=Krulik |first=Theodore |title=Roger Zelazny |location=New York |publisher=Ungar Publishing |year=1986}}
* {{cite book |last=Lindskold |first=Jane M. |title=Roger Zelazny |series=Twayne's United States Authors Series |location=New York |publisher=Twayne Publishers |year=1993 |isbn=978-0805739534}}
* {{cite book |last=Yoke |first=Carl |title=Roger Zelazny and Andre Norton: Proponents of Individualism |series=Ohio Authors |location=Columbus, Ohio |publisher=State University of Ohio |year=1979}}

===Bibliographies===
* {{cite book |last=Kovacs |first=Christopher S. |title=The Ides of Octember: A Pictorial Bibliography of Roger Zelazny |series=The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny |location=Boston |publisher=NESFA Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1886778924}}
* {{cite book |last=Kovacs |first=Christopher S. |title=The Ides of Octember: A Pictorial Bibliography of Roger Zelazny |edition=2nd revised |series=The Collected Stories of Roger Zelazny |location=Boston |publisher=NESFA Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-61037-309-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Levack |first=Daniel J. H. |title=Amber Dreams: A Roger Zelazny Bibliography |location=San Francisco |publisher=Greenwood |year=1983 |isbn=0313276781}}
* {{cite book |last=Sanders |first=Joseph |title=Roger Zelazny: A Primary and Secondary Bibliography |url=https://archive.org/details/rogerzelaznyprim0000sand |url-access=registration |location=Boston |publisher=G. K. Hall and Co. |year=1980 |isbn=0816180814}}
* {{cite book |last=Stephens |first=Christopher P. |title=A Checklist of Roger Zelazny |location=New York |publisher=Ultramarine Press |year=1991 |isbn=0893662208}}
* {{cite book |last=Stephensen-Payne |first=Phil |title=Roger Zelazny, Master of Amber: A Working Bibliography |series=Galactic Central Bibliographies Series #38  |publisher=Borgo Press |year=1993 |isbn=0809547368}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}

; Bibliography
* {{IBList |type=author|id=59|name=Roger Zelazny}}
* {{isfdb name|69}}

; Other
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/06/16/science-fiction-luminary-roger-zelazny-dies-at-58 Zelazny obituary] at ''[[The Washington Post]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121016201634/http://locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/NomLit157.html#5813 Roger Zelazny] at the Locus Index to SF Awards
* {{imdb name|0954467}}
* {{discogs artist|Roger Zelazny}}
* [http://www.z-amber.com/annotated.html The Annotated Amber]—explanations of some allusions
* [http://library.umbc.edu/speccoll/findingaids/coll174.php Finding aid to the Roger Zelazny papers] at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County library

{{AmberBooks}}
{{Inkpot Award 1990s}}
{{Hugo Award Best Novel 1961–1970}}
{{Hugo Award Best Novelette}}
{{Nebula Award Best Novelette}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zelazny, Roger}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:1995 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American poets]]
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:American fantasy writers]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Polish descent]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Dark fantasy writers]]
[[Category:Case Western Reserve University alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Cthulhu Mythos writers]]
[[Category:Former Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Hugo Award–winning writers]]
[[Category:Inkpot Award winners]]
[[Category:Mensans]]
[[Category:Nebula Award winners]]
[[Category:Novelists from Ohio]]
[[Category:People from Euclid, Ohio]]
[[Category:Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Writers from Santa Fe, New Mexico]]
[[Category:Writers of modern Arthurian fiction]]