Tanith Lee was a British science fiction and fantasy writer. She wrote more than 90 novels and 300 short stories and was a winner of multiple prestigious awards including the World Fantasy Society Derleth Awards, the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Horror.

Lee was the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel (also known as the August Derleth Award) for her book Death's Master (1980). In addition to her novels, she authored a children's picture book (Animal Castle) and many poems.

She also contributed to the BBC science fiction series Blake's 7, writing two episodes titled "Sand" and "Sarcophagus".