Note that this partial list contains some authors whose works of fantastic fiction would today be called science fiction, even if they predate, or did not work in that genre. There is also a considerable overlap with the List of fantasy authors, since many authors are equally comfortable with both genres, and in any case some works deliberately combine the two or blur the distinction.
Some notable science fiction authors are (in alphabetical order):
A
- Lynn Abbey (born 1948)
- Edwin Abbott (1838-1926), Flatland
- Kobo Abe (1924-1993)
- Robert Abernathy (1924-1990)
- Forrest J. Ackerman (born 1916)
- Douglas Adams, (1952-2001)
- Juan Miguel Aguilera (born 1960)
- Jerry Ahern, (born 1946)
- Brian Aldiss, (born 1925)
- David M. Alexander, (born 1945), not to be confused with the David Alexander who wrote some Star Trek novelizations
- Lloyd Alexander, (born 1924)
- Roger MacBride Allen, (born 1957)
- Kingsley Amis, (1922-1995)
- Colin Anderson
- Kevin J. Anderson (born 1962)
- Poul Anderson, (1926-2001)
- Patricia Anthony, (born 1947)
- Piers Anthony, (born 1934)
- Christopher Anvil, (born 1922)(pseudonym of Harry C. Crosby)
- Catherine Asaro, (born 1955)
- Neal Asher, (born 1961)
- Isaac Asimov, (1920-1992)
- Janet Asimov, (born 1926)
- Robert Asprin, (born 1946)
B
- Kage Baker, (born 1952)
- J.G. Ballard, (born 1930)
- Iain M. Banks, (born 1954)
- Miquel Barceló, (born 1948)
- John Barnes, (born 1957)
- Steven Barnes, (born 1952)
- T. J. Bass, (born 1932)(Thomas J. Bassler)
- L. Frank Baum, (1856-1919)
- Stephen Baxter, (born 1957)
- Greg Bear, (born 1951)
- Charles Beaumont, (1929-1967)
- Edward Bellamy, (1850-1898)
- Gregory Benford, (born 1941)
- Alfred Bester, (1913-1987)
- Eando Binder (Otto and Earl Binder)(1911-1974)(1904-1966)
- Terry Bisson (born 1942)
- Jerome Bixby, (1923-1998)
- James Blish, (1921-1975)
- Robert Bloch, (1917-1994)
- Nelson S. Bond, (born 1908)
- Jorge Luis Borges, (1899-1986)
- Anthony Boucher, (1911-1968)(pseudonym of William A.P. White)
- Ben Bova, (born 1932)
- Leigh Brackett, (1915-1978)
- Ray Bradbury, (born 1920)
- Marion Zimmer Bradley, (1930-1999)
- Reginald Bretnor, (1911-1992)
- David Brin, (born 1950)
- Damien Broderick, (born 1944)
- Terry Brooks, (born 1944)
- Eric Brown, (born 1960)
- Fredric Brown, (1906-1972)
- John Brunner, (1934-1995)
- Steven Brust, (born 1955)
- Algis Budrys, (born 1931)
- Lois McMaster Bujold, (born 1949)
- Kir Bulychev, (1934 - 2003)
- Anthony Burgess, (1917-1993)
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, (1875-1950)
- Michael A. Burstein, (born 1970)
- Octavia E. Butler, (born 1947)
C
- Pat Cadigan, (born 1953)
- John W. Campbell Jr., (1910-1971) (Pseudonym, Don A. Stuart)
- Orson Scott Card, (born 1951)
- Terry Carr, (1937-1987)
- Lin Carter, (1930-1988)
- Jeffrey Carver
- Gabriel Bermudez Castillo
- Jack L. Chalker, (born 1944)
- A. Bertram Chandler, (1912-1984)
- C. J. Cherryh, (born 1942)
- Ted Chiang
- Charles Chilton, (born 1917)
- John Christopher, (born 1922) (Pseudonym of Samuel Youd)
- Margaret St. Clair
- Arthur C. Clarke, (born 1917)
- Jo Clayton, (1939-1988)
- Hal Clement, (1922-2003) (Pseudonym of Harry Clement Stubbs)
- John Cleve, (Pseudonym of Andrew J. Offutt)
- Mark Clifton
- Brenda Clough
- Stanton A. Coblentz
- Theodore Cogswell, (1918-1987}
- James Coltrane
- Groff Conklin, (1904-1968)
- Glen Cook, (born 1944)
- Michael Crichton, (born 1942)
- Compton N. Crook, (1908-1981)(Pseudonym, Stephen Tall)
- Michael P. Cube-McDowell
D
- Roald Dahl, (1916-1990)
- Brian Daley, (1947-1996)
- John Dalmas
- Jack Dann, (born 1945)
- Avram Davidson, (1923-1993)
- L. Sprague de Camp, (1907-2000)
- Samuel R. Delany, (born 1942)
- Lester del Rey, (1915-1993)
- August Derleth, (1909-1971)
- Philip K. Dick, (1928-1982)
- Gordon R. Dickson, (1923-2001)
- Thomas M. Disch, (born 1940)
- Cory Doctorow, (born 1971)
- Hans Joachim Dominik, (1872-1945)
- Candas Dorsey
- Arthur Conan Doyle, (1859-1930)
- Gardner Dozois, (born 1947)
- David Drake, (born 1945)
- Jacek Dukaj, (born 1974)
E
- George Alec Effinger, (1947-2002)
- Greg Egan, (born 1961)
- Suzette Haden Elgin
- William B. Ellern, (born 1933)
- Harlan Ellison, (born 1934)
- Roger Elwood, (born 1933)
F
- Philip José Farmer, (born 1918)
- Howard Fast (1914-2003)
- John Russell Fearn (1908-1960) (Pseudonym, Vargo Statten)
- Nicholas Fisk
- Eric Flint, (born 1947)
- Michael Flynn
- Jeffrey Ford
- William R. Forstchen
- Edward Morgan Forster, (1879-1970) (E.M. Forster)
- Robert L. Forward, (1932-2002)
- Alan Dean Foster, (born 1946)
- Karen Joy Fowler
- Randall Frakes
- C. S. Friedman, (born 1957)
- Esther Friesner
G
- Neil Gaiman, (born 1960)
- Raymond Z. Gallun, (1911-1994)
- Daniel F. Galouye, (1920-1976)
- James Alan Gardner
- Randall Garrett
- Mary Gentle
- Alistair Gentry
- Hugo Gernsback, (1884-1967), (of Hugo Award fame)
- David Gerrold, (born 1944)
- Mark S. Geston
- Edward Gibson
- William Gibson, (born 1948)
- Alexis A. Gilliland, (born 1931)
- Tom Godwin, (1915-1980)
- H.L. Gold, (1914-1996)
- Terry Goodkind, (born 1948)
- Phyllis Gotlieb, (born 1926)
- Ron Goulart, (born 1933)
- Charles L. Grant, (born 1942)
- Ken Grimwood
- Wyman Guin
- James E. Gunn, (born 1923)
H
- Karen Haber
- H. Rider Haggard, (1856-1925)
- Jack C. Haldeman II, (1941-2002)
- Joe Haldeman, (born 1943)
- Barbara Hambly
- Edmond Hamilton, (1904-1977)
- Peter F. Hamilton, (born 1960)
- Elizabeth Hand
- Charles Harness
- Harry Harrison, (born 1925)
- M. John Harrison, (born 1945)
- Henry Hasse
- Robert A. Heinlein, (1907-1988)
- Zenna Henderson
- Brian Herbert, (born 1947)
- Frank Herbert, (1920-1986)
- Douglas Hill
- Christopher Hinz
- P. C. Hodgell
- Paul Hofrichter
- H.H. Hollis
- James P. Hogan, (born 1941)
- Robert L. Holt & Frank L. Holt
- Nalo Hopkinson
- Fred Hoyle, (1915-2001)
- L. Ron Hubbard, (1911-1986)
- Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960)
- Stephen Hunt
- Matthew Hunter
- Aldous Huxley, (1884-1963)
I
- Dean Ing, (born 1931)
- Simon Ings
J
- John Jakes, (born 1932)
- Tatjana Jambrisak
- Laurence M. Janifer, (1933-2002)
- K. W. Jeter, (born 1950)
- George Clayton Johnson, (born 1929)
- D. F. Jones
- Raymond F. Jones, (1915-1994)
- Diana Wynne Jones, (born 1934)
K
- Franz Kafka, (1883-1924)
- Colin Kapp, (born 1928)
- Daniel Keyes, (born 1927)
- Stephen King, (born 1947)
- Annette Curtis Klause
- Donald Kingsbury, (born 1929)
- Damon Knight, (1922-2002)
- Dean R. Koontz, (born 1945)
- Cyril M. Kornbluth, (1923-1958)
- Nancy Kress, (born 1948)
- Henry Kuttner, (1915-1958)
L
- R. A. Lafferty, (1914-2002)
- Geoffrey Landis
- David Langford
- Glen A. Larson, (born 1937)
- Keith Laumer, (1925-1993)
- Stephen R. Lawhead, (born 1950)
- Sharon Lee, (born 1952)
- Tanith Lee, (born 1947)
- Kimmo Lehtonen
- Doris Lessing, (born 1919)
- Jonathan Lethem
- C. S. Lewis, (1898-1963)
- Ursula K. Le Guin, (born 1929)
- Fritz Leiber, (1910-1992)
- Murray Leinster, (born 1896)(Pseudonym of Will F. Jenkins)
- Stanislaw Lem, (born 1921)
- Jacqueline Lichtenberg
- Nina Liedtke
- Jean Lorrah
- H. P. Lovecraft, (1890-1937)
- Barry B. Longyear
- Sergey Lukyanenko, (born 1968)
M
- Darko Macan, (born 1966)
- John D. MacDonald (1916-1986)
- Katherine Maclean, (born 1925)
- Ken MacLeod, (born 1954)
- Ian R. MacLeod, (born 1956)
- Barry N. Malzberg, (born 1939)
- Laurence Manning, (1899-1972)
- Leo Margulies, (1900-1975)
- Paul Marlowe
- George R. R. Martin, (born 1948)
- Richard Matheson, (born 1926)
- Julian May, (born 1931)
- Paul J. McAuley, (born 1955)
- Anne McCaffrey, (born 1926)
- Jack McDevitt, (born 1935)
- Maureen F. McHugh, (born 1959)
- Sean McMullen
- Capt. S.P. Meek
- Richard C. Meredith, (1937-1979)
- Judith Merril, (1923-1997)
- A. Merritt, (1884-1943)(Abraham Merritt)
- Gustav Meyrink
- China Miéville, (born 1972)
- P. Schuyler Miller, (1912-1974)
- Steve Miller, (born 1950) Liaden universe
- Walter M. Miller, Jr., (1923-1996)
- L. E. Modesitt, Jr., (born 1948)
- Donald Moffitt, (born 1936)
- Elizabeth Moon, (born 1945)
- Michael Moorcock, (born 1939)
- Alan Moore, (born 1953)
- C. L. Moore, (1911-1987)
- Patrick Moore, (born 1923)
- Ward Moore
- Daniel Keys Moran, (born 1962)
- Chris Moriarty
- Sam Moskowitz, (1920-1997)
- Pat Murphy
- Howard L. Myers, (1930-1971)(Pseudonym, Verge Foray)
N
- Linda Nagata, (born 1960)
- Larry Niven, (born 1938)
- Nick Nielsen (possibly pseudonym)
- William F. Nolan, (born 1928)
- Jeff Noon, (born 1957)
- John Norman, (born 1931)
- Janet Norris
- Andre Norton, (born 1912) (pseudonym of Alice Mary Norton)
- Alan E. Nourse, (1928-1992)
O
- Charles Oberndorf
- Andrew J. Offutt, (born 1937)
- Jerry Oltion
- John Ostrander
- Jerry Ordway, (born 1957)
- Marek Oramus
- George Orwell, (1903-1950) (pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair)
P
- Ray Palmer (1910-1977)
- Edgar Pangborn (1909-1976)
- Alexei Panshin, (born 1940)
- Cory Panshin
- Hayford Peirce, (born 1942)
- Charles Pellegrino
- Dalibor Perkovic, (born 1974)
- Steve Perry (author), (born 1947)
- H. Beam Piper, (1904-1964)
- Doris Piserchia
- Charles Platt
- Edgar Allan Poe, (1809-1849)
- Frederik Pohl, (born 1919)
- Jerry Pournelle, (born 1933)
- Terry Pratchett, (born 1948)
- Paul Preuss
Q
R
- Bill Ransom
- Rick Raphael
- Tom Reamy, (1935-1977)
- Javier Redal
- Robert Reed (born 1956)
- Miha Remec, (born 1928)
- Laura Resnick
- Mike Resnick, (born 1942)
- Alastair Reynolds, (born 1966)
- Mack Reynolds, (1917-1983)
- John Ringo, Legacy of the Aldenata, March series with David Weber
- Kim Stanley Robinson, (born 1952)
- Spider Robinson, (born 1948)
- Keith Roberts, (1935-2000)
- Ross Rocklynne, (1913-1988)
- Gene Roddenberry, (1921-1991, Star Trek)
- Joel Rosenberg, (born 1954), Guardians of the Flame
- Tony Rothman
- Christopher Rowley
- Rudy Rucker, (born 1946)
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- Joanna Russ, (born 1937)
- Richard Paul Russo
- Eric Frank Russell, (1905-1978)
- Mary Doria Russell, (born 1950)
S
- Fred Saberhagen, (born 1930)
- Carl Sagan, (1934-1996)
- Domingo Santos (born 1941) (pseudonym of Pedro Domingo Mutiñó)
- David Saperstein
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Pamela Sargent, (born 1948)
- Al Sarrantonio
- Robert J. Sawyer, (born 1960)
- Nat Schachner
- James H. Schmitz, (1911-1974)
- Stanley Schmidt, (born 1944)
- Thomas N. Scortia, (1926-1986)
- Rod Serling, (1924-1975)
- Michael Shaara, (1928-1988)
- William Shatner, (born 1931)
- Richard S. Shaver, (1907-1975)
- Bob Shaw, (1931-1996)
- Charles Sheffield, (1935-2002)
- Robert Sheckley, (born 1928)
- Mary Shelley, (1797-1851)
- Lucius Shepard
- Joel Shepherd, (born 1974)
- T.L. Sherred
- John Shirley, (born 1953)
- Robert Silverberg, (born 1935)
- Clifford D. Simak, (1904-1988)
- Dan Simmons, (born 1948)
- Johanna Sinisalo, (born 1958)
- John Sladek, (1937-2000)
- William Sleator
- Joan Slonczewski
- Clark Ashton Smith, (1893-1961)
- Cordwainer Smith, (1913-1966) (Pseudonym of Paul M.A. Linebarger)
- E. E. Smith, (1890-1965), (Edward E. "Doc" Smith)
- George O. Smith, (1911-1981)
- L. Neil Smith
- Nancy Springer
- Jerry Sohl, (1913-2002)
- Norman Spinrad, (born 1940)
- Michael A. Stackpole, (born 1957)
- Olaf Stapledon, (1886-1950)
- Christopher Stasheff
- Allen Steele
- Neal Stephenson, (born 1959)
- Bruce Sterling, (born 1954)
- S. M. Stirling, (born 1953)
- J. Michael Straczynski, (born 1954)
- Charles Stross, (born 1964)
- Boris and Arkady Strugatsky (sometimes listed contrariwise), a.k.a. the Strugatsky brothers (1925-1991)(born 1933)
- Theodore Sturgeon, (1918-1985)
- Somtow Sucharitkul, (Pseudonym, S. P. Somtow)
- Michael Swanwick, (born 1950)
- Jonathan Swift, (1667-1745)
T
- John Taine, (1883-1960) (Pseudonym of Eric Temple Bell)
- William Tenn, (born 1920)(Pseudonym of Philip Klass)
- Steve Rasnic Tem, (born 1950)(Steve Rasnic)
- William F. Temple, (1914-1989)
- Shari S. Tepper
- Robert Thurston
- Patrick Tilley, (born 1928)
- James M. Tiptree, Jr, (1915-1987)(Pseudonym of Alice Sheldon)
- Karen Traviss
- Wilson Tucker, (born 1914)
- Harry Turtledove, (born 1949)
- Kathy Tyers
U
V
- Voltaire, (1694-1778)
- Jack Vance, (born 1916)
- A. E. van Vogt, (1912-2000)
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., (born 1922)
- John Varley, (born 1947)
- Jules Verne, (1828-1905)
- Joan D. Vinge, (born 1948)
- Vernor Vinge, (born 1944)
- Elisabeth Vonarburg, (born 1947)
W
- Roland C. Wagner, (born 1960)
- Howard Waldrop, (born 1946)
- Ian Wallace, (1912-1998)
- Jerome L. Walton, (1914-?)
- Lawrence Watt-Evans, (born 1954)
- Stanley G. Weinbaum, (1902-1935)
- David Weber, Honor Harrington series
- H. G. Wells, (1866-1946)
- K. D. Wentworth, Heyoka Blackeagle
- Wallace West
- James White, (1928-1999), Sector General series
- Steve White, (born 1946)
- Cherry Wilder, (1930-2002)
- Kate Wilhelm, (born 1928)
- Tad Williams, Otherland
- Walter Jon Williams
- Jack Williamson, (born 1908)
- Connie Willis, (born 1945)
- Robert Anton Wilson, (born 1932)
- Robert Charles Wilson, (born 1953)
- David Wingrove
- Adam Wisniewski-Snerg, (1937-1995)
- Gene Wolfe, (born 1931)
- Donald A. Wollheim, (1914-1990), (Pseudonyms, various)
- Edmund Wnuk-Lipinski, (born 1944)
- Jack Womack
- John Wyndham, (1903-1969)(Pseudonym of John Beynon Harris)
X
Y
- Jane Yolen, (born 1939)
- Tetsu Yano
Z
- Timothy Zahn, (born 1951)
- Janusz A. Zajdel, (1938-1985)
- Yevgeny Zamyatin, (1884-1937)
- George Zebrowski, (born 1945)
- Roger Zelazny, (1937-1995)
- Sarah Zettel, (born 1966)
- Rafal A. Ziemkiewicz (born 1964)
- Andrzej Ziemianski
- Aleksandar Ziljak, (born 1963)
- David Zindell, (born 1952)
See also
External Resources
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America website: http://www.sfwa.org/
A great book for looking up authors is A Reader's Guide to Science Fiction by Baird Searles, Martin Last, Beth Meacham, and Michael Franklin. Even if it hasn't been updated since the 1979 publication at hand, it's very useful. It tells you whom else you might like if you like one author.
Also invaluable are The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2nd. Ed. 1991) ed. by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, and The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, ed. by George Mann (1999) (ISBN 0786708875 or ISBN 1841191779).
If you add any authors to this list, please also consider adding them to the A-Z list of authors.
See also Category:Science fiction writers which contains additions not in this list, and will soon be more complete than this list.