Lee Hawkins Garby

Born in Missouri, Lee Hawkins Garby is generally identified as an American writer associated with the early history of science fiction. Reliable reference sources agree that she collaborated with Edward E. Smith on The Skylark of Space, the novel first serialized in Amazing Stories in 1928 and later published in book form in the 1940s.

Garby’s role has often been described as a collaboration on the early version of the novel, and later bibliographic records show that her credit remained on the serialization and on some early book editions. The story itself became hugely important in genre history, often cited as one of the earliest major interstellar adventures and a key work in the development of space opera.

Basic biographical details are a little inconsistent across sources, especially her death year, so it is safest to say that she was active in the early 20th century and is remembered today chiefly through that collaboration. Even so, her place in science fiction history endures because her name remains attached to a book that helped shape the genre’s sense of scale and wonder.