Thomas Edward Purdom (born 1936) is an American writer best known for a science fiction career that has spanned six decades. His story Fossil Games was a nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Novelette in 2000. The 1964 book I Want the Stars, Tom's first, was a progressive masterpiece. His stories have continued to appear regularly since in all of the prestigious science fiction magazines. He also wrote music criticism articles in the 1980s and 90s. His works have been translated into German, Chinese, Burmese, Russian, and Czech. A resident of Philadelphia since the mid 1950s, he frequently attends the monthly meetings of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and usually attends the Philadelphia Science Fiction Conference in November.