author
Laurence Manning
1899–1972
A pioneering early science fiction writer, he helped imagine space travel and far-future societies years before those ideas became common in the genre. His stories are remembered for their bold scope, inventive speculation, and lively pulp-era energy.
1 Audiobook
Expedition to Pluto
by Fletcher Pratt, Laurence Manning
About the author
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, on July 20, 1899, Laurence Manning was a Canadian-born science fiction author who later made his life in the United States. He attended King's College in Halifax, and by the 1920s he was living mainly on Staten Island, where he became active in the growing world of early science fiction.
Manning began publishing in the pulp magazines in 1930, including work with fellow writer Fletcher Pratt. He is especially known for stories such as The Voyage of the Asteroid and the The Man Who Awoke sequence, which helped build his reputation among early science fiction readers. He was also connected to the early rocketry movement as a founder of the American Interplanetary Society and an editor of its journal, Astronautics.
Alongside his writing, Manning spent many years in the flower nursery business, bringing an unusual mix of practical experience and futuristic imagination to his career. He died on April 10, 1972, and is still remembered as an important early voice in North American science fiction.