Raymond Zinke Gallun (March 22, 1911 - April 2, 1994) was a science fiction author from the United States. Gallun (rhymes with "balloon") was the son of Adolph and Martha Zinke Gallun and was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. In 1928, he graduated from high school. He dropped out of college after a year and traveled through Europe, living as a vagabond and doing a variety of jobs all over the world in the years leading up to World War II. At the age of 16, Gallun penned his first two stories, "The Space Dwellers" and "The Crystal Ray" (both published in 1929). He was a member of the early sci-fi pulp writers that popularized the genre. In the 1930s, he sold numerous popular stories to pulp publications. His first notable story was "Old Faithful" (1934). "The Gentle Brain" appeared in "Science Fiction Quarterly" under the pen name Arthur Allport. People Minus X, his debut book, was released by Simon & Schuster in 1957, followed by The Planet Strappers (Pyramid) in 1961. The Best of Raymond Z. Gallun, published by Ballantine in 1978, is a selection of his early work. Gallun received the I-CON Lifetime Achievement Award at I-CON IV in 1985; the award was eventually renamed The Raymond Z. Gallun Award.
