Philip José Farmer

Born in North Terre Haute, Indiana, on January 26, 1918, and raised largely in Peoria, Illinois, Philip José Farmer grew into one of the most original American science fiction and fantasy writers of the 20th century. He studied at Bradley University and built a long career writing novels and short fiction that were energetic, strange, and often far ahead of their time.

Farmer is especially remembered for the Riverworld and World of Tiers series, as well as for his playful reimagining of pulp and literary heroes. His 1952 novella The Lovers is often noted as a breakthrough work because it treated sexuality more openly than was common in science fiction then. Over the years he earned major recognition, including Hugo Awards, and in 2001 he was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

What still makes Farmer interesting is the way he combined wild imagination with curiosity about belief, identity, history, and myth. He loved taking familiar adventure traditions and turning them inside out, which gave his fiction a sense of surprise that has kept readers coming back long after his death on February 25, 2009.