Bill Ransom

His most recent novel is Burn (Ace, 1995), a sequel to ViraVax (Ace, 1993). Recent poetry is in Puerto del Sol, Spillway and Petroglyph. Jaguar, a 1990 Ace paperback, came out on the internet via Alexandria Digital Literature in 1999, and was the first novel to outstrip short stories for the bestseller slot. Jaguar remained on the bestseller list from January through June, 2000; Wildside Press re-released it as a physical book in 2001. With Richard Landerman, he wrote screenplays of his novels Jaguar, ViraVax and Burn.

Bill Ransom co-authored three Ace Science Fiction novels with Frank Herbert, following up on Herbert's Destination: Void. The Pandora series included: "Songs of a Sentient Flute" in the anthology Medea; The Jesus Incident (1978), The Lazarus Effect (1983) and The Ascension Factor (1988) from the Putnam/Berkley Publishing Group.

His 1973 poetry collection Finding True North & Critter was nominated for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

He began full-time employment at the age of eleven as an agricultural worker. He attended Washington State University on track and boxing scholarships, and the University of Puget Sound on a track scholarship. He received his BA in Sociology and English Education from the University of Washington in 1970, and MA in English from Utah State University in 1997.

From 1965 to 1970 Ransom worked as an expeditor on a Quick Engine Change team, building and repairing military and commercial jet engines. He studied American Minority Literature and Old and Middle English on an NDEA Title IV fellowship at the University of Nevada, Reno, then began a pilot project with the Poetry in the Schools program in Washington state. He received his MA in English from Utah State University. He founded and directed the popular Port Townsend Writers Conference for Centrum and appeared in two feature films: An Officer and a Gentleman and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (CBS).

Bill Ransom (born 1945 in Puyallup, Washington) is a science fiction writer .