Sterling Edmund Lanier (December 18, 1927 – June 28, 2007), was an editor, science fiction author and sculptor who wrote under the names Sterling Lanier and Sterling E. Lanier. He is perhaps best known as the book editor who single-handedly championed the publication of Frank Herbert’s bestselling Dune. Lanier was born in New York City, lived in Maryland. He was trained as an anthropologist and archaeologist, and educated at Harvard, from which he graduated in 1951. He was a lifelong fan of speculative fiction, as well as a cryptozoology enthusiast. Before beginning his literary career Lanier worked as a research historian at the Winterthur Museum from 1958 to 1960. He died in Sarasota, Florida, at the age of 79. Lanier's career as an author and editor began in 1961, when his first short story was published and he became an editor for Chilton Books. He was instrumental in persuading Chilton to publish Herbert’s Dune in 1965. He also worked as an editor for the John C. Winston Company and McRae-Smith. The most prominent of his own writings are his stories of the crypto-adventurer Brigadier Donald Ffellowes (told in the 'club story' style of Lord Dunsany's Jorkens tales), and the post-apocalyptic novels Hiero’s Journey (1975) and The Unforsaken Hiero (1983). His short story "A Father's Tale" (1974) was a World Fantasy Award nominee. Lanier’s sculptures have been exhibited at a number of museums, including the Smithsonian Institution. He specialized in miniatures, among which were a series featuring characters from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings . One set was given to Tolkien himself, with whom Lanier corresponded. Tolkien reportedly admired the miniatures but did not want them to be marketed commercially, a wish Lanier respected.