List of science fiction authors

Note that this 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.

Some notable science fiction authors are (in alphabetical order):

A

• Forrest J. Ackerman
• Douglas Adams, (1952-2001)
• Jerry Ahern
• Brian Aldiss, (born 1925)
• Roger MacBride Allen
• Kingsley Amis, (1922-1995)
• Colin Anderson
• Kevin J. Anderson
• Poul Anderson, (1926-2001)
• Piers Anthony, (born 1934)
• Catherine Asaro[?]
• Isaac Asimov, (1920-1992)
• Janet Asimov, (born 1926)
• Robert Asprin, (born 1946)

B

• J.G. Ballard, (born 1930)
• Iain M. Banks, (born 1954)
• John Barnes[?]
• Steven Barnes, (born 1952)
• T. J. Bass
• L. Frank Baum, (1856-1919)
• Stephen Baxter, (born 1957)
• Greg Bear
• Gregory Benford, (born 1941)
• Alfred Bester, (1913-1987)
• James Blish, (1921-1975)
• Robert Bloch, (1917-1994)
• Jorge Luis Borges, (1899-1986)
• 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)
• 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)
• Anthony Burgess, (1917-1993)
• Edgar Rice Burroughs, (1875-1950)
• Octavia E. Butler, (born 1947)

C

• Pat Cadigan, (born 1953)
• John W. Campbell, (1910-1971)
• Orson Scott Card, (born 1951)
• Jeffrey Carver
• Jack L. Chalker, (born 1944)
• A. Bertram Chandler, (1912-1984)
• C. J. Cherryh, (born 1942)
• Ted Chiang[?]
• Charles Chilton, (born 1917)
• John Christopher[?]
• Arthur C. Clarke, (born 1917)
• Jo Clayton[?]
• Hal Clement, (born 1922)
• Brenda Clough[?]
• James Coltrane
• Glen Cook
• Michael Crichton, (born 1942)

D

• Roald Dahl, (1916-1990)
• Brian Daley[?]
• John Dalmas[?]
• Eric von Daniken
• L. Sprague de Camp
• Samuel R. Delany
• Lester del Rey, (1915-1993)
• Philip K. Dick, (1928-1982)
• Gordon R. Dickson, (1923-2001)
• Thomas M. Disch
• Cory Doctorow
• Arthur Conan Doyle, (1859-1930)
• Gardner Dozois, (born 1947)
• David Drake[?]

E

• George Alec Effinger, (1947-2002)
• Greg Egan
• Suzette Haden Elgin[?]
• William B. Ellern, (born 1933)
• Harlan Ellison

F

• Philip José Farmer, (born 1918)
• Eric Flint[?]
• Michael Flynn[?]
• Edward Morgan Forster, (1879-1970)
• Robert L. Forward, (1932-2002)
• Alan Dean Foster, (born 1946)
• Karen Joy Fowler[?]
• Randall Frakes[?]
• C. S. Friedman[?]

G

• Neil Gaiman
• Randall Garrett[?]
• Mary Gentle[?]
• Hugo Gernsback, (1884-1967), (of Hugo Award fame)
• Mark S. Geston[?]
• Edward Gibson[?]
• William Gibson, (born 1948)
• Terry Goodkind, (born 1948)
• Phyllis Gotlieb[?]
• Ron Goulart[?]
• Sammy Gouti
• Ken Grimwood[?]

H

• H. Rider Haggard, (1856-1925)
• Jack C. Haldeman II[?]
• Joe Haldeman, (born 1943)
• Barbara Hambly[?]
• Edmond Hamilton, (1904-1977)
• Peter F. Hamilton
• Harry Harrison, (born 1925)
• M. John Harrison, (born 1945)
• Robert Heinlein, (1907-1988)
• Zenna Henderson[?]
• Frank Herbert, (1920-1986)
• Douglas Hill[?]
• Christopher Hinz[?]
• Paul Hofrichter[?]
• James P. Hogan, (born 1941)
• Robert L. Holt[?] & Frank L. Holt[?]
• Fred Hoyle, (1915-2001)
• L. Ron Hubbard, (1911-1986)
• Stephen Hunt
• Matthew Hunter[?]
• Aldous Huxley, (1884-1963)

I

• Dean Ing[?]
• Simon Ings[?]

J

• D. F. Jones[?]
• Raymond F. Jones[?]
• Diana Wynne Jones, (born 1934)

K

• Franz Kafka, (1883-1924)
• Colin Kapp, (born 1928)
• Stephen King, (born 1947)
• Damon Knight, (1922-2002)
• Cyril M. Kornbluth, (1923-1958)
• Nancy Kress[?], (born 1948)
• Henry Kuttner[?]

L

• R. A. Lafferty, (1914-2002)
• Geoffrey Landis[?]
• Glen A. Larson[?]
• Keith Laumer, (1925-1993)
• Stephen R. Lawhead
• Tanith Lee[?]
• 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)
• Stanislaw Lem, (born 1921)
• Jacqueline Lichtenberg
• Nina Liedtke[?]
• Jean Lorrah[?]
• H. P. Lovecraft, (1890-1937)
• Barry B. Longyear[?]
• Sergey Lukyanenko, (born 1968)

M

• Katherine Maclean, (born 1925)
• Ken MacLeod, (born 1954)
• Ian R. MacLeod[?]
• Laurence Manning, (1899-1972)
• George R. R. Martin, (born 1948)
• Richard Matheson, (born 1926)
• Paul J. McAuley, (born 1955)
• Anne McCaffrey, (born 1926)
• Jack McDevitt, (born 1935)
• Maureen F. McHugh[?]
• Judith Merril[?]
• Gustav Meyrink
• China Miéville, (born 1972)
• Walter M. Miller, Jr., (1923-1996)
• Donald Moffitt, (born 1936)
• Elizabeth Moon
• Michael Moorcock, (born 1939)
• Alan Moore, (born 1953)
• C. L. Moore, (1911-1987)
• Patrick Moore, (born 1923)
• Daniel Keys Moran[?]
• Pat Murphy[?]

N

• Linda Nagata, (born 1960)
• Larry Niven, (born 1938)
• Jeff Noon, (born 1957)
• Janet Norris[?]
• Andre Norton[?]

O

• Marek Oramus[?]
• George Orwell, (1903-1950)

P

• Edgar Pangborn[?] (1909 - 1976)
• Alexei Panshin[?]
• Corey Panshin[?]
• Steve Perry[?]
• H. Beam Piper[?]
• Doris Piserchia[?]
• 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[?]
• Miha Remec, (born 1928)
• Mike Resnick[?]
• Alastair Reynolds
• Mack Reynolds[?]
• Kim Stanley Robinson, (born 1952)
• Spider Robinson
• Joel Rosenberg, (born 1954)
• Tony Rothman[?]
• Christopher Rowley[?]
• Joanna Russ, (born 1937)
• Eric Frank Russell, (1905-1978)
• Mary Doria Russell, (born 1950)

S

• Fred Saberhagen[?], (born 1930)
• Carl Sagan, (1934-1996)
• David Saperstein[?]
• Robert Sawyer[?]
• James H. Schmitz[?]
• Thomas N. Scortia, (1926-1986)
• William Shatner, (born 1931)
• Bob Shaw, (1931-1996)
• Charles Sheffield, (1935-2002)
• Robert Sheckley, (born 1928)
• Alice Sheldon (listed under her pen name of James Tiptree, Jr)
• Mary Shelley, (1797-1851)
• Lucius Shepard[?]
• Joel Shepherd, (born 1974)
• 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)
• E. E. Smith, (1890-1965), ("Doc" Smith)
• George O. Smith[?]
• L. Neil Smith
• Norman Spinrad, (born 1940)
• Michael A. Stackpole[?]
• Olaf Stapledon, (1886-1950)
• Christopher Stasheff[?]
• Allen Steele[?]
• Neal Stephenson, (born 1959)
• Bruce Sterling
• S. M. Stirling[?]
• J. Michael Straczynski
• Boris and Arkady Strugatsky (sometimes listed contrariwise), a.k.a. the Strugatsky brothers
• Theodore Sturgeon, (1918-1985)
• Michael Swanwick, (born 1950)

T

• John Taine[?] (Pseudonym of Eric Temple Bell)
• Robert Thurston[?]
• James Tiptree, Jr., (1915-1987)
• Patrick Tilley
• Wilson Tucker[?]
• Harry Turtledove, (born 1949)
• Kathy Tyer[?]

U

V

• Jack Vance
• A. E. van Vogt, (1912-2000)
• Kurt Vonnegut, (born 1922)
• John Varley
• Jules Verne, (1828-1905)
• Joan D. Vinge[?]
• Vernor Vinge, (born 1944)

W

• Howard Waldrop, (born 1946)
• Stanley G. Weinbaum[?]
• David Weber
• H. G. Wells, (1866-1946)
• K. D. Wentworth
• James White, (1928-1999)
• Kate Wilhelm[?]
• Walter Jon Williams
• Jack Williamson[?]
• Connie Willis[?]
• 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), (wrote mostly under pseudonyms)
• Jack Womack[?]
• John Wyndham, (1903-1969)

X

Y

• Samuel Youd, (born 1922)

Z

• Timothy Zahn
• Janusz A. Zajdel, (1938-1985)
• Yevgeny Zamyatin, (1884-1937)
• George Zebrowski, (born 1945)
• Roger Zelazny, (1937-1995)
• Sarah Zettel, (born 1966)
• Rafal A. Ziemkiewicz[?]
• David Zindell, (born 1952)

See also

• Science fiction editors
• Novelists
• Fantasy authors
• Horror fiction authors

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).