author
T. L. Sherred
1915–1985
A little-known but much-admired science fiction writer, he built a lasting reputation on a remarkably small body of work. His best-known story, "E for Effort," became a classic, and his fiction often drew on the working lives he knew from Detroit's auto industry.
1 Audiobook
Cue for Quiet
by T. L. Sherred
About the author
Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on August 27, 1915, Thomas L. Sherred was an American science fiction writer whose published output was small but memorable. He worked in Detroit's automotive industry, moving from tool-room work into technical writing and public relations, and that background helped shape the practical, grounded feel of many of his stories.
Sherred is best remembered for "E for Effort," first published in 1947, a story that later earned a place in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. He also wrote the novel Alien Island and the collection First Person, Peculiar. Reference sources describe his fiction as frequently set around Detroit and focused on ordinary working people rather than glamorous heroes, which gives his work a distinct, human scale.
He died in Detroit on April 16, 1985. Although he never became a prolific author, Sherred's reputation has lasted because readers and critics continued to value the originality and craft of the work he did leave behind.