Fredric Brown was an American mystery and science fiction writer. Born in 1906 in Cincinnati, OH, he is perhaps best known for his use of humor and for his mastery of short stories from one to three pages, with ingenious plotting devices and surprise endings. Brown worked as a proofreader and typesetter for the Milwaukee Journal; his professional writing career began in 1936 when he began to sell mystery short stories to such pulp magazines as Street & Smith’s Detective Story, Thrilling Detective and Detective Fiction Weekly. In the 1950s Brown moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he wrote screenplays for television and movies.

Brown was a prolific writer, the author of over 20 mystery novels, five science fiction novels, and over 250 works of short fiction. His mystery novels include The Fabulous Clipjoint, which won the Edgar Award for outstanding first mystery novel, The Screaming Mimi, and The Lenient Beast; his works of science fiction include What Mad Universe and Martians Go Home. Brown’s most famous short fiction includes “Madman’s Holiday,” “Knock,” and “Arena,” the latter of which was used as the basis for the episode of the same name in the original Star Trek (season 1, episode 8) science-fiction television series and was also adapted in 1973 for Issue 4 of Marvel Comics’ Worlds Unknown.

Fredric Brown died in Tucson, Arizona, on March 11, 1972. He is considered to have been one of the most versatile and engaging writers to ever work in both the mystery and science fiction genres.