William B. Ellern (November 30, 1933 – November 18, 2023) was an American

science fiction author This is a list of noted science-fiction authors (in alphabetical order): A *Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960) *Alexander Abasheli (1884–1954) *Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926) *Kōbō Abe (1924–1993) * Robert Abernathy (1924–1990) *Dan Abn ...

. Ellern had worked as an engineer, including for JPL,

Raytheon Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitali ...

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Hughes Aircraft The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other pro ...

and

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. He was born in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

to May Eileen Ellern and William C. Ellern. In July 1965 he asked for, and received, permission from

E. E. Smith Edward Elmer Smith (May 2, 1890 – August 31, 1965), publishing as E. E. Smith, Ph.D. and later as E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and science-fiction author, best known for the '' ...

to extend the ''

Lensman series The ''Lensman'' series is a series of science fiction novels by American author E. E. "Doc" Smith. It was a runner-up for the 1966 Hugo award for Best All-Time Series, losing to the ''Foundation'' series by Isaac Asimov. Plot The series begin ...

'' of novels. After that he continued to produce science-fiction short stories, including "Moon Prospector" ('' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', 1966), "New Lensman" (serialized in 14 parts in ''

Perry Rhodan ''Perry Rhodan'' is a West German/ German space opera franchise, named after its hero. It commenced in 1961 and has been ongoing for decades, written by an ever-changing team of authors. Having sold approximately two billion copies (in novel ...

'' #61-74, 1975) and "Triplanetary Agent" (serialized in 6 parts in ''Perry Rhodan'' #100-105, 1978). There is a fourth unpublished story. In 1976 '' New Lensman'' was published, which contained "Moon Prospector" along with the "New Lensman" serial from ''Perry Rhodan''. "Triplanetary Agent" has yet to be reprinted in book form. Ellern served on the board of directors of the

Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc., or LASFS, is a science fiction and fantasy fan society that meets in the Los Angeles area. The current meeting place can be found on thLASFS website LASFS is the oldest continuously operating scienc ...

until January 2009.De Profundis Issue 432 vs Issue 431
/ref> Ellern married Anne Morrel. William Ellern has four children, William A., Scott A., Gillian D. and Lorita E.

References

* Cover o
April 1966 issue
of Analog magazine, with "Moon prospector" story by William Ellern

External links

* 1933 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers American male short story writers Lensman series 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers {{US-sf-writer-stub