Nelson Slade Bond (November 23, 1908, Scranton, Pennsylvania - November 4, 2006, Roanoke, Virginia) was an American author who wrote extensively for books, magazines, radio, television and the stage. The 1998 recipient of the Nebula Author Emeritus award for lifetime achievement, Bond was a pioneer in early science fiction and fantasy. His published fiction is mainly short stories, most of which appeared in pulp magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. Many were published in Blue Book magazine. He is noted for his "Lancelot Biggs" series of stories and for his "Meg the Priestess" tales, which introduced one of the first powerful female characters in science fiction. Bond's parents were from Nova Scotia, but moved to Scranton shortly before his birth. The family later relocated to Philadelphia after World War I. In high school, Bond reviewed plays for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He attended Marshall College in Huntington, West Virginia from 1932 to 1934. While at Marshall, he contributed to the Huntington Herald Advertiser and edited the college newspaper, The Parthenon. He met his future wife, Betty Gough Folsom, while at Marshall, and they married in 1934. [1] Bond worked briefly as a public relations agent for the province of Nova Scotia before beginning his writing career in 1935 with non-fiction for various periodicals. He only wrote occasional non-fiction once he was established as an author of fiction. His first science fiction story was "Down the Dimensions" in the April 1937 issue of Astounding, [2] He has also published articles on philately and served on the Board of Governors / Board of Directors of the British North America Philatelic Society. [3] Bond wrote for such radio programs as Dr. Christian, Hot Copy (1941-44) and The Sheriff (1944-51), a continuation of Death Valley Days. Bond also scripted for numerous television anthology programs, such as Lux Video Theatre, Studio One, General Motors Theatre and Tales of Tomorrow. "Mr. Mergenthwirker's Lobblies" was adapted to radio at least a half-dozen times and also ran as a 1938 radio series. After Bond scripted the story as a teleplay, it became the first full-length play presented on network television. It was televised three times - on Broadway Previews (1946), The Philco Television Playhouse (1949) and the Kraft Television Theatre (1953). For Locus Bond described his experiences in radio and TV: Bond worked in public relations before and after his writing career, opening his own agency in 1959. He later became a noted antiquarian bookseller. Bond retired from writing in the late 1950s. After encouragement from fans and professionals, notably Harlan Ellison, he published a new story in 1995. Bond had an extensive correspondence with James Branch Cabell and after Cabell's death Bond his literary executor for a while. In 1998 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made Bond an Author Emeritus. In 2002 Bond donated his personal papers to the Marshall University library, which created a replica of his home office. Bond died of complications from heart problems on November 6, 2006, seventeen days before his 98th birthday. Nelson and Betty Bond had two sons, Kit and Lynn. Betty Bond had her own career in Virginia television, interviewing local notables for her Betty Bond Show on Roanoke's WSLS-TV. [5]