Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels. He is best known for "The Chronicles of Amber." Zelazny won the Nebula Award three times and the Hugo Award six times, including two Hugos for novels: the serialized novel ...And Call Me Conrad (1965), subsequently published under the title This Immortal (1966), and the novel Lord of Light (1967).

He was born in Euclid, Ohio, as the only child of Joseph Frank Zelazny and Josephine Sweet. His father emigrated from Poland and met his mother in Chicago. At school, Roger was an editor of the school newspaper and joined the Creative Writing Club. He attended university at the Western Reserve, graduating with a Bachelor in Arts in English in 1959. He later specialized in Jacobian and Elizabethan theater at Columbia University, earning a Master in Arts in 1962.

Zelazny was known for his ability to conceive and portray worlds with plausible magical systems, powers, and supernatural beings. His captivating descriptions and the intricacies of his imagined worlds distinguished his works. He was a prolific writer, creating a new setting for each book, except for the "Amber Chronicles" and related duologies.