Basil Wells

Basil Eugene Wells (June 11, 1912–December 23, 2003) was an American author born in Springboro, Pennsylvania. He worked for Talon Inc. near Meadville, Pennsylvania, while writing fiction and maintaining a fifty-acre farm with his wife, Margaret Hughes, whom he married in 1935. They had two sons and later retired to Florida.

His first professional sale, “Rebirth of Man,” appeared in Super Science Stories in 1940. Wells went on to publish science fiction and fantasy in magazines including Planet Stories, as well as western and detective stories, sometimes using the pseudonym Gene Ellerman. His fiction was known for fast-moving plots, unusual ideas, alien points of view, and imaginative settings such as the parallel world of Thrane.

Two major collections, Planets of Adventure (1949) and Doorways to Space (1951), brought together many of his best stories. Wells remained active in science-fiction fandom and small-press publishing for decades, producing additional collections and stories into the 1990s. He died in Starke, Florida, at the age of 91.