Aldiss, Brian W.

▪ English author

in full  Brian Wilson Aldiss  

born Aug. 18, 1925, East Dereham, Norfolk, Eng.

      prolific English author of science-fiction short stories and novels that display great range in style and approach.

      Aldiss served with the British Army from 1943 to 1947, notably in Burma (Myanmar), and he went on to use these experiences in such autobiographical novels as The Hand-Reared Boy (1970). He worked as a bookseller until turning to full-time writing shortly after the publication of The Brightfount Diaries in 1955. Non-Stop (1958) was his first science-fiction novel. In addition to writing science fiction, Aldiss was also an influential anthologist and historian of science fiction. Multivolume collections of his own writing include Best SF Stories of Brian W. Aldiss (1988). Individual volumes of his stories include Hothouse (1962) and The Saliva Tree (1966). Aldiss's fiction also includes Barefoot in the Head (1969), Frankenstein Unbound (1973), Moreau's Other Island (1980), the Helliconia trilogy (1982–85), Remembrance Day (1993), and Super-State (2002). His autobiography, Bury My Heart at W.H. Smith, was published in 1990. Aldiss was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2005.

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