Fritz Reuter Leiber, Jr. (1910 - 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright and chess expert. Along with writers such as Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber can be regarded as one of the fathers of sword and sorcery fantasy, having in fact created the term. Moreover, he excelled in all fields of speculative fiction, writing award-winning work in fantasy, horror and science fiction.