Stephen R. Donaldson (1947 - )
Stephen Reeder Donaldson was born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio. From the age of three until he was sixteen he lived in India with his father, a medical missionary, who worked extensively with lepers; it was here that he conceived the character of Thomas Covenant. He was awarded the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer for his debut series, 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever', which also won the British Fantasy Award and was shortlisted for the World Fantasy Award. He is the author of two subsequent Thomas Covenant series, the 'Mordant's Need' duology and space opera quintet 'The Gap', among other works. He won the World Fantasy Award in 2000 for collection Reave the Just and Other Tales.