A. E. (Alfred Elton) Van Vogt

Born in Manitoba and raised in western Canada, A. E. van Vogt began publishing science fiction in 1939, quickly earning attention in Astounding Science-Fiction. He became one of the standout names of the magazine era, writing stories filled with mystery, superhuman minds, and big conceptual twists.

His best-known books include Slan, The Voyage of the Space Beagle, The Weapon Shops of Isher, and The World of Null-A. Readers often remember his work for its dreamlike logic and constant sense of discovery, and his fiction remained influential long after the peak of the pulp-magazine years.

Van Vogt spent much of his adult life in the United States, but he is still widely recognized as an important Canadian-born science fiction author. In 1996, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named him a Grand Master, honoring the long reach of his career and his place in the history of the field.