James E. Gunn

James Edwin Gunn (July 12, 1923–December 23, 2020) was an American science fiction writer, editor, anthologist, and scholar. He began publishing science fiction in 1949 and went on to write more than twenty books, including The Listeners and The Burning series, while also editing major anthologies such as The Road to Science Fiction.

Gunn spent much of his academic career at the University of Kansas, where he became a professor emeritus and directed the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. His nonfiction work included Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction and a celebrated study of Isaac Asimov; he received the Hugo Award for the latter and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2007. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2015.