author
Leslie F. (Leslie Francis) Stone
1905–1991
A pioneering voice from science fiction's pulp era, this early woman writer brought bold ideas and memorable alien worlds to the magazines of the 1930s. Her stories often pushed beyond space adventure to imagine societies, conflicts, and heroines that felt strikingly fresh.
1 Audiobook
When the Sun went out
by Leslie F. (Leslie Francis) Stone
About the author
Born in Philadelphia in 1905, Leslie F. Stone wrote under a deliberately gender-ambiguous pen name at a time when science fiction magazines were dominated by men. She became one of the first women to break into the pulp science fiction field, publishing more than twenty stories between 1929 and 1940.
Stone is remembered for energetic, idea-rich tales that appeared in magazines such as Amazing Stories, Wonder Stories, and Weird Tales. Readers and critics have continued to single out stories like "The Conquest of Gola" and "Out of the Void" for their imaginative scope and for the way they opened space in early science fiction for female perspectives and more varied protagonists.
Although she published less fiction after her most active pulp years, her reputation has grown over time as scholars and anthologists have revisited the contributions of early women science fiction writers. Today she is often recognized not just as a genre pioneer, but as a writer who helped widen the possibilities of what science fiction could be.