Harlan Ellison

Biography[edit]

Ellison was born in Cleveland, and experienced a hellish childhood, by his account. However, it did not deter him from discovering writing early, and he made his first professional sale in 1947, to the children's column in the Cleveland News. He also connected with science fiction fandom in his teens, writing for several fanzines of the period.

Ellison entered Ohio State University in 1953, but left for good in 1954. He moved to New York City, where he began his adult career as a writer. His first science fiction sales came in 1956. Over the ensuing career, he has collected nearly all the major awards available in the genres he has touched, including SFWA Grand Master, eight Hugos, three Nebulas, five Bram Stoker Awards for horror, and many, many others.

Ellison has been active in many sociopolitical movements, including civil rights, support for the Equal Rights Amendment and legal actions to protect artists' rights, most famously Ellison v. Robertson, et al, in which he sought to set a precedent on electronic redistribution of work.

He currently lives in Los Angeles, California (U.S. state).

Major works[edit]

"'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" (1965)
"I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" (1967)
Dangerous Visions (1967) and Again, Dangerous Visions (1972), groundbreaking short-story collections that Ellison edited. There was to be a third volume, The Last Dangerous Visions, but it has never been published. Containing never-seen work from some of the biggest names in the field, The Last Dangerous Visions has found its own sort of fame as the best-known unpublished work in science fiction.
"The City on the Edge of Forever" (1967), an episode of Star Trek.
"The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" (1969)
"A Boy and His Dog" (1969)