Harry Harrison

Harry Harrison (1925–2012) was an American science fiction author, editor, and artist, best known for his witty, satirical style and inventive storytelling. Born Henry Maxwell Dempsey in Stamford, Connecticut, he began his career as an illustrator before turning to writing full-time in the 1950s. His service in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II instilled a lifelong pacifism that frequently surfaced in his work.

Harrison's most celebrated creation is the "Stainless Steel Rat" series, chronicling the adventures of Slippery Jim DiGriz, a charming interstellar con man, beginning with The Stainless Steel Rat (1961). His dystopian novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), exploring overpopulation and resource collapse, was adapted into the acclaimed film Soylent Green (1973). Other notable works include the action-packed Deathworld trilogy, the comic space-opera parody Bill, the Galactic Hero (1965), and the alternate-history novel West of Eden (1984), set in a world where dinosaurs survived. He also co-authored the Viking-themed Hammer and the Cross trilogy.

A prolific editor and anthologist, Harrison championed science fiction worldwide and was an enthusiastic advocate of Esperanto. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2004 and named SFWA Grand Master in 2009, cementing his legacy as one of the genre's most entertaining and influential voices.