Damon Knight

Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922–April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction writer, editor, and critic. Born in Baker, Oregon, he discovered science fiction fandom at age eleven and published a small fanzine called Snide.

Knight became one of the original members of the Futurians, a group that included writers such as Isaac Asimov and Frederic Pohl. His criticism, especially the Hugo Award-winning collection In Search of Wonder (1956), helped shape serious discussion of science fiction, while his short story “To Serve Man” became one of his best-known works after its adaptation for The Twilight Zone.

He also edited influential anthologies, taught writing, and wrote The Futurians (1977), a memoir of science fiction’s early community. Knight received the Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master Award in 1994, and the award was later renamed the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award in his honor.