Anne McCaffrey

April 1, 1926 - November 21, 2011

The American-born Irish writer, Anne McCaffrey wrote romance and young adult fantasy novels but is best known for her contributions to Science Fiction.

McCaffrey graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College with degrees in Slavonic Languages and Literature. She began her writing career in the United States but emigrated to Ireland after her divorce from her husband.

While living in the United States, McCaffrey published her first short stories in Science Fiction magazines and won a cash award for her first story, Freedom of the Race. Her first novel, Restoree was original in that it portrayed women in a new light, as strong-willed, intelligent, and independently thinking individuals. McCaffrey created multiple planetary systems and universes for her stories including the "Federated Sentient Planets," the "Crystal Universe," and the "Talents Universe". Many of McCaffrey's novels were serial novels, the most popular of which may have been the Dragonriders of Pern series.

During her lifetime, McCaffrey won Hugo and Nebula awards and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006. Her novel, The White Dragon was one of the first Science Fiction novels to appear on the New York Times Best Seller List. McCaffrey's original contributions to the genre and successes definitely make her a Master of Science Fiction.