Ray Bradbury
From Illinois Authors
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General Information
Pen Name: None
Genre: Science Fiction, Poetry, Fiction
Born: August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois with the given name of: Rae Douglas Bradbury
Died: June 5, 2012 in California
Credit: Photo by Alan Light
Celebrated on the Illinois State Library, Gwendolyn Brooks Building
"Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future" - Ray Bradbury
Illinois Connection
- Born in Waukegan, Illinois
Biographical and Professional Information
Ray Bradbury was born and raised in Waukegan, Illinois. He is a novelist, short-story writer, essayist, playwright, children's book author, screenwriter, and poet. He has written more than three dozen books and is one of the most celebrated fiction writers of our time.
Bradbury is considered one of the most important figures in the development of science fiction literature, and as among the first authors to combine the concepts of science fiction with a sophisticated prose style. He was awarded the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1977.
Some of his best-known works are Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Dandelion Wine, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. He has written for the theater and cinema, including the screenplay for John Huston’s classic adaptation of Moby Dick, and he has been nominated for an Academy Award.
He adapted 65 of his stories for television’s The Ray Bradbury Theater and won an Emmy for his teleplay of The Halloween Tree. In 2000 Bradbury was honored by the National Book Foundation with a medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He is the recipient of the 2004 National Medal of Arts, the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation and the 2008 Illinois Literary Heritage Award from the Illinois Center for the Book.
Outside of his literary achievements, Ray Bradbury was the idea consultant and wrote the basic scenario for the United States Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. He conceived the metaphors for Spaceship Earth, EPCOT, Disney World, and he contributed to the conception of the Orbitron space ride at Euro-Disney, France. He was creative consultant for the Jon Jerde Partnership, the architectural firm that blueprinted the Glendale Galleria, The Westside Pavilion in Los Angeles, and Horton Plaza in San Diego.
In 1934, when Bradbury was 13, his family moved to Los Angeles. He still resides there today.
Published Works
- Dark Carnival, Arkham House, 1947 - Published in UK as The Small Assassin - Reprinted in 2001 with supplemental material by Gauntlet Press, edited by Donn Albright
- The Martian Chronicles, Doubleday, 1950 - Published in UK as The Silver Locusts
- The Illustrated Man, 1951
- Fahrenheit 451, Ballantine, 1953
- The Golden Apples of the Sun, 1953
- The October Country, 1955
- Switch On the Night, 1955
- Dandelion Wine, Doubleday, 1957
- Sun and Shadow, 1957
- A Medicine For Melancholy, 1959 - Published in UK as The Day It Rained Forever
- Something Wicked This Way Comes, Simon & Schuster, 1962
- R Is For Rocket, 1962
- The Machineries of Joy, 1964
- The Autumn People, Ballantine, 1965
- The Vintage Bradbury, 1965
- S Is For Space, 1966
- Tomorrow Midnight, Ballantine, 1966
- Twice 22, 1966 - Collects the stories in A Medicine for Melancholy & The Golden Apples of the Sun
- I Sing the Body Electric, 1969
- Old Ahab's Friend, and Friend to Noah, Speaks His Piece, Roy A. Squires Press, 1971 - Limited edition of 485 numbered copies
- The Halloween Tree, 1972
- When Elephants Last In The Dooryard Bloomed, 1973
- Long After Midnight, 1976
- Where Robot Mice and Robot Men Run 'Round in Robot Towns, 1977
- The God in Science Fiction, Santa Susanna Press, 1978
- The Mummies of Guanajuato, 1978
- Twin Hieroglyphs that Swim the River Dust, 1978
- Beyond 1984: Remembrance of Things Future, 1979
- This Attic Where the Meadow Greens, 1979
- The Ghosts of Forever, 1980
- The Last Circus and the Electrocution, 1980
- Stories of Ray Bradbury, 1980 - Includes 100 of Bradbury's best stories, including six previously uncollected tales
- About Norman Corwin, Santa Suzana Press, 1980
- The Complete Poems of Ray Bradbury, 1981
- The Haunted Computer and the Android Pope, 1981
- There Is Life On Mars, Reader's Digest Press, 1981
- The Love Affair, 1982
- The Other Foot, Perfection Form Co., 1982
- The Veldt, Perfection Form Co., 1982
- Dinosaur Tales, 1983
- The Last Good Kiss, Santa Susana Press, 1984
- A Memory of Murder, 1984
- Long After Ecclesiastes, Gold Stein Press, 1985
- Death is a Lonely Business, Knopf, 1985
- The April Witch: A Creative Classic, Creative Education, Inc., 1987
- Death Has Lost Its Charm For Me, Lord John Press, 1987
- Fahrenheit 451 /The Illustrated Man /Dandelion Wine /The Golden Apples of the Sun /The Martian Chronicles, 1987
- Fever Dream, 1987
- The Fog Horn: A Creative Classic, Creative Education, Inc., 1987
- The Other Foot: A Creative Classic, Creative Education, Inc., 1987
- The Veldt: A Creative Classic, Creative Education, Inc., 1987
- The Dragon, 1988
- The Toynbee Convector, 1988
- The Climate of Palettes, Lord John Press, 1989 - Signed and numbered limited edition of 150
- Zen in the Art of Writing, 1990
- Classic Stories Volume One, 1990
- Classic Stories Volume Two, 1990
- A Graveyard for Lunatics, Knopf, 1990
- Selected from Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed, 1991
- Green Shadows, White Whale, 1992
- The Stars, 1993
- The Other Foot, 1993
- Quicker Than the Eye, Avon Books, 1996
- Driving Blind, 1997
- Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines, 1998
- Christus Apollo, Gold Stein Press, 1998
- Witness and Celebrate, Lord John Press, 2000
- From the Dust Returned: A Family Remembrance, 2001
- One More for the Road: A New Short Story Collection, 2002
- I Live By the Invisible, 2002
- Let`s All Kill Constance, William Morrow, 2003
- The Cat's Pajamas: Stories, Harper, 2005
- We'll Always Have Paris, Harper, 2010
Titles for Purchase and at Your Library
 | Dark CarnivalISBN: 1887368507 Release Date: 2001-11-12 |
 | The Martian ChroniclesISBN: 0380973839 Release Date: 1997-02-01 |
 | The Illustrated ManISBN: 0380973847 Release Date: 1997-06-01 |
 | Fahrenheit 451ISBN: 0345410017 Release Date: 1996-08-27 |
 | Golden Apples of the Sun, TheISBN: 0380730391 Release Date: 1997-11-01 |
 | The October CountryISBN: 0380973871 Release Date: 1999-09-07 |
 | Switch on the NightISBN: 0375806083 Release Date: 2000-08-08 |
 | Dandelion WineISBN: 0380977265 Release Date: 1999-02-01 |
Sun and shadowASIN: B0006EO97A Release Date: 1957 |
 | A Medicine for Melancholy and Other StoriesISBN: 0380730863 Release Date: 1998-02-01 |
 | The Vintage Bradbury;: Ray Bradbury's Own Selection of his Best StoriesASIN: B0006BMZQA Release Date: 1965 |
 | I Sing the Body ElectricISBN: 0671017896 Release Date: 1998-08-03 |
 | The Halloween TreeISBN: 1887368809 Release Date: 2005-11-15 |
 | When elephants last in the dooryard bloomed: Celebrations for almost any day in the yearISBN: 0246108282 Release Date: 1975 |
 | Long After MidnightASIN: B00129J892 Release Date: |
This attic where the meadow greensASIN: B0006EBNC4 Release Date: 1979 |
 | The ghosts of foreverISBN: 0847803589 Release Date: 1980-01-01 |
 | The Complete Poems of Ray BradburyISBN: 0345305566 Release Date: 1982-08-12 |
 | The Haunted Computer and the Android PopeISBN: 0394514440 Release Date: 1981-07-12 |
The Other FootASIN: B001IPOSKY Release Date: 1982 |
The last good kiss: A poem (California master series)ISBN: 0937483567 Release Date: 1984 |
 | A Memory of MurderISBN: 0440155592 Release Date: 1984-02 |
 | Death Has Lost Its Charm for Me (autographed)ISBN: 0935716416 Release Date: 1987-06-24 |
The Martian ChroniclesASIN: B000XYD5DC Release Date: 1979 |
Ray Bradbury Collection: The Fog HornISBN: 0613939468 Release Date: 1987-09 |
Ray Bradbury Collection: The Other FootISBN: 061393945X Release Date: 1987-09 |
Ray Bradbury Collection: The VeldtISBN: 0613944917 Release Date: 1987-09 |
The dragonASIN: B0006F3MKE Release Date: 1988 |
 | Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on CreativityISBN: 1877741094 Release Date: 1994-08-01 |
 | Classic Stories 2: Selections from Medicine for Melancholy and S is for SpaceISBN: 0553286382 Release Date: 1990-04-01 |
 | A Graveyard for Lunatics: Another Tale of Two CitiesISBN: 0380812002 Release Date: 2001-06-26 |
Ray Bradbury Collection: The Other FootISBN: 061393945X Release Date: 1987-09 |
 | Quicker Than the EyeISBN: 0380789590 Release Date: 1997-10-01 |
 | Driving BlindISBN: 0380973812 Release Date: 1997-10-01 |
 | Ahmed and the Oblivion Machines: A FableISBN: 0380977044 Release Date: 1998-11-11 |
 | Witness and CelebrateISBN: 0935716947 Release Date: |
 | One More for the RoadISBN: 0061032034 Release Date: 2002-12-31 |
 | I Live By the Invisible: New & Selected Poems (Salmon Poetry)ISBN: 1903392209 Release Date: 2002-10-01 |
 | Let's All Kill ConstanceISBN: 0060561785 Release Date: 2003-12-30 |
Literary Awards
- O. Henry Memorial Award and the Benjamin Franklin Award - 1954
- Aviation-Space Writer's Association Award for best space article in an American Magazine - 1967
- World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America - 1977
- In 1990, his name was engraved on the frieze of the Illinois State Library alongside other great Illinois literary figures.
- National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters - 2000
- Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame - 2002
- National Medal of Arts in 2004 - the highest award given to artists and art patrons by the United States government
- Pulitzer Prize Special Citation - 2007
- Illinois Center for the Book's Illinois Literary Heritage Award - 2008
External Links
Editing
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