Phillip Kindred Dick was an American science fiction writer best known for his psychological portrayals of characters trapped in illusory environments. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 16, 1928, Dick worked in radio and studied briefly at the University of California at Berkeley before embarking on his writing career. His first novel, Solar Lottery, was published in 1955. In 1963, Dick won the Hugo Award for his novel, The Man in the High Castle. He also wrote a series of futuristic tales about artificial creatures on the loose; notable of these was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which was later adapted into film as Blade Runner. Dick also published several collections of short… stories. He died of a stroke in Santa Ana, California, in 1982.
Author Roger Zelazny was born in Euclid, Ohio on May 13, 1937. After receiving his B.A. from Case Western Reserve University and his M.A. from Columbia University, Zelazny began publishing science fiction stories in 1962. His reputation has gone through ups and downs, but he was given a Nebula award in 1966 for And Call Me Coward (1965), in a tie with Dune by Frank Herbert. He won a total of three Nebula awards and six Hugo awards. A prolific writer, Zelazny's works focus on the relationship between illusion and reality. He always pays close attention to his craft, and his stories are intelligent, occasionally sentimental, often romantic and, to his many fans, very satisfying. He died of… kidney failure secondary to colorectal cancer on June 14, 1995.