Julian May

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-09-02

Julian May was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, born July 10, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois, and she died October 17, 2017, at age eighty-six. She entered science fiction fandom in her late teens and sold her first professional story, "Dune Roller," to Astounding Science Fiction in 1950; she was also the first woman to chair a World Science Fiction Convention, in 1952. After a lengthy hiatus from fiction, May wrote thousands of encyclopedia articles beginning in 1954 and produced more than 250 children's and young adult nonfiction books between 1956 and 1981 before returning to speculative fiction in the late 1970s. She is best known for the Saga of Pliocene Exile, a four-book series beginning with The Many-Colored Land (1981), and its sequel, the Galactic Milieu series, comprising Intervention (1987), Jack the Bodiless (1991), Diamond Mask (1994), and Magnificat (1996). She also wrote the Rampart Worlds series and collaborated with Marion Zimmer Bradley and Andre Norton on the Trillium series. In August 2015, May was inducted into the First Fandom Hall of Fame at the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention, recognizing her decades-long contribution to science fiction and fantasy.

Universe(s)

Books

• The Many-Colored Land (1981) · Saga of Pliocene Exile Core Canon
• The Golden Torc (1982) · Saga of Pliocene Exile Core Canon
• The Nonborn King (1983) · Saga of Pliocene Exile Core Canon
• The Adversary (1984) · Saga of Pliocene Exile Core Canon
• Intervention (1987) · Saga of Pliocene Exile Expanded Canon
• Jack the Bodiless (1991) · Saga of Pliocene Exile Expanded Canon
• Diamond Mask (1994) · Saga of Pliocene Exile Expanded Canon
• Magnificat (1996) · Saga of Pliocene Exile Expanded Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 4 books
• Award recognitions across all universes: 2 (1 won, 1 nomination)

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