Brian Wilson Aldiss (photo ©Szymon Sokól) was born on August 18, 1925 in East Dereham, Norfolk, England.

In 1943, during World War II, Brian Aldiss enlisted in the Royal Signals Regiment and fought in the then Burma. After the war he started working as a bookseller in Oxford. It was during this time that he started writing short stories professionally after having done it since his childhood for fun.

Brian Aldiss’ stories about the life in a fictional bookshop were published under the title “The Brightfount Diaries” in 1955 and, although their success was limited, the publisher asked him if he had other stories. The decision to write science fiction was dictated by the fact that in 1954 Aldiss came third in a competition for short stories set in the year 2500 with his short story “Not For An Age” and other short stories were published in the journal “New Worlds”. For this reason, in 1957 his anthology “Space, Time and Nathaniel” was published.

At that point, Brian Aldiss earned from his writing as much as he did as a bookseller so he decided to become a full time writer. However, his literary activity quickly became varied because for some years he was also literary editor for the journal “Oxford Mail”, he devoted himself to literary criticism in various ways and also started editing various anthologies, on his own or in partnership, sometimes with Harry Harrison.

Despite his many activities in the ’50s and ’60s Brian Aldiss found time to write several novels on diverse topics such as “The Canopy of Time”, known in the USA as “Galaxies like Grains of Sand” (1959), “Hothouse”, published in the USA in a revised edition as “The Long Afternoon of Earth” (1962), “The Dark Light Years” (1964) and “Earthworks” (1965).

In those years, Brian Aldiss also started writing essays on various topics but often linked to science fiction. On a trip in the then Yugoslavia he met fans in Ljubljana, which is now the capital city of Slovenia. From that experience he drew the essay “Cities and Stones”, published in 1966. In 1973 he published “Billion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction”, a story of science fiction, revised and expanded in collaboration with David Wingrove for a new edition in 1986 with the title “Trillion Year Spree”.

In the ’70s Brian Aldiss also found time to write other types of novels such as the saga of Horatio Stubbs, in part inspired by his war experiences, composed of: “The Hand-reared Boy” (1970), “A Soldier Erect” (1970) and “A Rude Awakening” (1978).

Brian Aldiss kept on dividing his time among novels, essays and the editing of various anthologies and in the ’80s published the Helliconia trilogy, among his best known works composed of: “Helliconia Spring” (1982), winner of the BSFA, “Helliconia Summer” (1983) and “Helliconia Winter” (1985).

Not satisfied with his many activities, starting in the ’90s, Brian Aldiss also published several books of poetry. He also ran competitions for “mini-sagas”, very short stories composed of only 50 words hosted by “Daily Telegraph” and subsequently collected in anthologies.

In 2001, his 1969 story “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” found renewed fame after the release of the movie “A.I. Artificial Intelligence”, a project started by Stanley Kubrick and finished by Steven Spielberg after the master’s death.

In 2000, Brian Aldiss was made Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. In 2004 he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. In 2013 he received the World Fantasy Special Award. The honors are not only literary because in 2005 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE). All this shows his importance as an author and curator in the field of science fiction.