About the Author
Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series has sold over 26 million copies in 20 languages. Before becoming a full-time writer Terry worked as a wildlife artist, a cabinetmaker and a violin maker. terrygoodkind.com @terrygoodkind facebook.com/terrygoodkind
Anne McCaffrey was born in 1926 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and published her first novel in 1967. The author of the celebrated Dragonriders of Pern series, McCaffrey was known for her groundbreaking portrayal of women as heroic protagonists, and for her unique combination of science fiction and fantasy. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award, and in 2005 was named a grand master of science fiction. She lived in County Wicklow, Ireland, in a house of her own design, Dragonhold-Underhill, until her death in 2011.
George R. R. Martin has been a full-time writer for over 25 years. He is the author of the acclaimed, internationally bestselling fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, which is the basis of HBO's popular Game of Thrones television series. Martin has won multiple science fiction awards, including 4 Hugos, 2 Nebulas, the Bram Stoker, the Locus Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Daedelus, the Balrog, and the Daikon (Japanese Hugo).
Robert Silverberg has written more than 160 science fiction novels and nonfiction books. In his spare time he has edited over 60 anthologies. He began submitting stories to science fiction magazines when he was just 13. His first published story, entitled "Gorgon Planet," appeared in 1954 when he was a sophomore at Columbia University. In 1956 he won his first Hugo Award, for Most Promising New Author, and he hasn't stopped writing since. Among his standouts: the bestselling Lord Valentine trilogy, set on the planet of Majipoor, and the timeless classics Dying Inside and A Time of Changes. Silverberg has won the prestigious Nebula Award an astonishing five times, and Hugo Awards on four separate occasions; he has been nominated for both awards more times that any other writer. In 2004, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him their Grand Master award for career achievement, making him the only SF writer to win a major award in each of six consecutive decades.