Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

s and three

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of prof ...

Biography

Poul Anderson was born on November 25, 1926, in

Bristol, Pennsylvania Bristol is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northeast of Center City Philadelphia, opposite Burlington, New Jersey on the Delaware River. It antedates Philadelphia, being settled in 1681 and first incorpora ...

to Scandinavian parents. Soon after his birth, his father, Anton Anderson relocated the family to Texas, where they lived for more than ten years. After Anton Anderson's death, his widow took the children to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. The family returned to the United States after the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, settling eventually on a Minnesota farm. While he was an undergraduate student at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, Anderson's first stories were published by editor

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...

in the magazine ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'': "Tomorrow's Children" by Anderson and F. N. Waldrop in March 1947 and a sequel, "Chain of Logic" by Anderson alone, in July. He earned his BA in physics with honors but became a freelance writer after he graduated in 1948. His third story was printed in the December ''Astounding''. Anderson married Karen Kruse in 1953 and relocated with her to the San Francisco Bay area. Their daughter Astrid (now married to science fiction author Greg Bear) was born in 1954. They made their home in

Orinda, California Orinda is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city's population as of the 2020 census is estimated at 19,514 residents. History Orinda is located within four Mexican land grants: Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados ...

. Over the years Poul gave many readings at

The Other Change of Hobbit The Other Change of Hobbit (sometimes abbreviated TOCOH) is a science fiction and fantasy bookstore, formerly located in Berkeley, California and then El Cerrito; it no longer has a physical location. It was founded in 1977, the same weekend that ...

bookstore in Berkeley; his widow later donated his typewriter and desk to the store. In 1954, he published the fantasy novel '' The Broken Sword'', one of his most known works. In 1965,

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), John ...

said that Anderson "has for some time been science fiction's best storyteller". He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) in 1966 and of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA), also during the mid-1960s. The latter was a group of Heroic fantasy authors organized by

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. ...

, originally eight in number, with entry by credentials as a fantasy writer alone. Anderson was the sixth President of the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a Non-profit organization, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction an ...

, taking office in 1972. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel '' The Cat Who Walks Through Walls'' to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy. The

Science Fiction Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy Fantas ...

made Anderson its 16th SFWA Grand Master in 1998 and in 2000's fifth class, he was inducted into the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organ ...

as one of two deceased and two living writers. He died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. A few of his novels were first published posthumously.

Awards and honors

* Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy (1978) *

(seven times) * John W. Campbell Memorial Award (2000) * Inkpot Award (1986) *

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the p ...

(41 nominations; one win, 1972) *

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas. Established by the Mythopoeic Society in 1971, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Awar ...

(one win (1975)) *

(three times) * Pegasus Award (best adaptation, with Anne Passovoy) (1998) *

Prometheus Award The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction novels given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the award in 1979, but it was not awarded regularly until the newl ...

(five times, including Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2001) * SFWA Grand Master (1997) *

(2000) * Asteroid 7758 Poulanderson, discovered by

Eleanor Helin Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis, 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Some sources gi ...

at Palomar in 1990, was named in his honor. The official was published by the

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function T ...

shortly after his death on September 2, 2001 ().

Bibliography

Explanatory notes

References

Sources

* *

External links

Bio, bibliography and book covers
at FantasticFiction

from the SFWA
Poul Anderson Appreciation
by Dr. Paul Shackley

an essay by

William Tenn William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements. Biography Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass ...

The Society for Creative Anachronism
of which Poul Anderson was a founding member

* * * * * ; By Poul Anderson * * * * *
On Thud and Blunder
an essay by Anderson on fantasy fiction, from the SFWA

at Free Speculative Fiction Online
SFWA directory of literary estates
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Poul 1926 births 2001 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American alternate history writers American fantasy writers American libertarians American male novelists American people of Danish descent American science fiction writers Analog Science Fiction and Fact people Caedmon Records artists Conan the Barbarian novelists Filkers Hugo Award-winning writers Inkpot Award winners Nebula Award winners Novelists from Pennsylvania People from Bristol, Pennsylvania People from Orinda, California Pulp fiction writers Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees SFWA Grand Masters Society for Creative Anachronism University of Minnesota alumni Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area 21st-century American male writers