Timoti Zan
USABiography of Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn is an American writer in the genre of classic science fiction. He was born in Chicago on September 1, 1951, and grew up in the western suburb of Lombard. He attended Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, where he earned a bachelor's degree in physics in 1973. He then transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he obtained a master's degree in physics in 1975 and continued his work on a doctoral dissertation.
In 1975, Zahn developed a new hobby: writing science fiction. Initially, he devoted his free time to this passion, but over the next three years, he gradually dedicated more and more time to it until he sold his first work in December 1978 ("Ernie," Analog, September 1979). While still pursuing a potential career in physics, he increasingly considered taking an academic leave after completing his doctoral degree to conduct a "grand experiment" to see how much writing could captivate him. This year came sooner than the young man anticipated. In July 1979, his scientific advisor suddenly died of a heart attack. Ironically, on the same day, Zahn received notification that his second work had been purchased by Analog.
Three years of work on his dissertation were completely destroyed. He then spent a semester working on a new topic, trying to reignite his enthusiasm for his work. However, by this time, writing books had become much more interesting to Timothy Zahn than physics. In January 1980, he left the university and embarked on his "grand experiment." With his wife, Anna, working full-time to support the family, Zahn produced 18 works in that first year, earning him over $2000. Since he initially set a goal of $1000, he declared the "experiment" successfully completed. From that moment on, it was no longer a question of whether Zahn could ultimately make a living as a writer, as it had been during the "experiment."
Since then, Zahn has received a Hugo Award for his novella "Cascade Point" and has been nominated twice more. The writer is best known for his five books in the "Star Wars" series: "Heir to the Empire," "Dark Force Rising," "The Last Command," "Specter of the Past," and "Vision of the Future." Zahn is also known for his recently released books, "Angelmass," "Jupiter's Gift," and "Dragon and Thief" (the first of six parts in a young adult science fiction series). Currently, Timothy Zahn lives with his family on the coast of Oregon.
