Alan Dean Foster is an American author of fantasy and science fiction. He was born on November 18, 1946, in New York City but was raised mainly in California. Foster holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles.

He is widely recognized for his novelizations of film scripts. Among his most notable works are the novelizations for the Alien movie series, the first Terminator film, and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.

Foster began his writing career when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased and published in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth universe.

Foster currently resides in Prescott, Arizona, with his wife. He enjoys traveling as it allows him to meet new people and explore different cultures, experiences that often inspire the new worlds and alien races in his books.