Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author renowned for her contributions to the fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy genres. She is best known for her Arthurian fiction novel The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series. Bradley's work was notable for incorporating a female perspective, which was relatively uncommon in Sword and Sorcery fantasy at the time.

Bradley began her writing career at the age of 17 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hardin-Simmons University. In 1966, she co-founded the Society for Creative Anachronism. Additionally, she served as the editor of the long-running Sword and Sorceress anthology series and was posthumously awarded the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement in 2000.

Despite her popularity, Bradley's reputation suffered posthumously when allegations of sexual abuse surfaced in 2014. Her daughter reported that Bradley had abused her and allegedly assisted her second husband, Walter Breen, a convicted child abuser, in abusing multiple unrelated children. As a result, many science fiction authors publicly condemned Bradley.