Robert Sheckley (1928-2005) was an American science-fiction writer whose utterly original work is noted for its merging of quick wit, philosophical musing and dark satire. His many story collections and novels include Untouched By Human Hands (1954) and Dimension of Miracles (1968). In 2001, he was made Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Harry Harrison (1925-2012) Harry Harrison was born Henry Maxwell Dempsey in Connecticut, in 1925. He was the author of a number of much-loved series including the Stainless Steel Rat and Bill the Galactic Hero sequences and the Deathworld Trilogy. He was known as a passionate advocate of Esperanto, the most popular of the constructed international languages, which appears in many of his novels. He published novels for over half a century and was perhaps best known for his seminal novel of overpopulation, Make Room! Make Room!, which was adapted into the cult film Soylent Green.