Laurence M. Janifer

Born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 17, 1933, Laurence M. Janifer was an American author whose fiction career began in the 1950s and continued for decades. He was born Laurence Mark Harris and later adopted Janifer, the original surname of his Polish grandfather.

Janifer became known for his versatility. He wrote science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, westerns, and erotica, and he published under a number of pseudonyms, including Larry M. Harris, Larry M. Jerome, and, in collaboration with Randall Garrett, Mark Phillips. Reference sources on speculative fiction also note that he was a performing musician as well as a writer.

Among science fiction readers, he is especially remembered for his energetic collaborations with Garrett and for the sheer breadth of his output. He died on July 10, 2002, but his work still stands out for its range, pace, and willingness to explore both comic and serious ideas.