Stephen King was born in 1947 in Portland, Maine, and experienced a challenging childhood marked by his father's departure. He attended the University of Maine, where he studied English, wrote for the school newspaper, and eventually earned a teaching certificate. While working as a high school English teacher and in an industrial laundry to support his family, he continued writing short stories until the 1974 publication of his breakout novel, Carrie, allowed him to pursue writing full-time.
Brandon Sanderson, born in 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska, attended Brigham Young University, where he initially studied biochemistry before switching to English. During his college years, he took a two-year leave of absence to serve as a volunteer LDS missionary in South Korea, an experience he credits with helping him develop the linguistic foundations for his magic systems. He went on to become a prolific high fantasy author known for the Cosmere universe and for completing the Wheel of Time series.
Frank Herbert was born in 1920 in Tacoma, Washington, and began his career as a journalist and photographer for various newspapers before turning to fiction. After serving in World War II, he attended the University of Washington, where he met his wife, Beverly Ann Stuart, in a creative writing class. He published several short stories in the 1940s and 1950s, eventually gaining global recognition as the author of the Dune series, which explored complex themes of ecology, politics, and human evolution.
