Fritz Leiber (1910-1992)
Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr was born on Christmas Eve, 1910, in Chicago, the son of actors Fritz and Virginia Leiber. He was an accomplished chess player and fencer, and toured a number of times with his parents' theatre company. He was heavily influenced by H. P. Lovecraft in the early years of his career, but later matured into a writer with very much his own voice. Indeed, he became a hugely influential figure in the genre - particularly in the area of Sword & Sorcery (a term he is widely credited with inventing). He is best known for the creation of two of the great rogues of modern fantasy, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser. Winner of 6 Hugos, 3 Nebulas and 2 World Fantasy Awards, Leiber was comfortable writing across the whole gamut of fantastic literature from SF to fantasy to horror. The respect with which he is held in these areas is evidenced by his World Fantasy Life Achievement, Stoker Life Achievement and SFWA Grand Master Awards. Fritz Leiber died in San Francisco in 1992.
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