Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury was a beloved author whose career has touched on science fiction, fantasy, horror, and beyond since he began professionally publishing his stories in 1941.

Bradbury was an active fan of the genre since the 1930s, but it was with the release of The Martian Chronicles (1950), a collection of interwoven stories of human attempts to colonize Mars, that he earned a reputation as a versatile, poetic writer. Almost at once, he found a new market for short stories in magazines such as Esquire and Saturday Evening Post - a highly significant breakthrough into the general market for a science fiction author.

Bradbury followed with his first novel, Fahrenheit 451 (1951). Featuring a dystopian future in which books are burned because ideas are dangerous, the novel charts the painful spiritual growth of its renegade hero, a book-burning “fireman” and secret reader.    

Bradbury's prolific writing ranged from novels to poetry, theater, and television and film screenplays. He won the Nebula Grand Master Award in 1989 for his lifetime achievements.