Author. He received notoriety as an American Science Fiction author. Born the son of George Effinger and Ruth Uray, he was baptized as a Presbyterian at age five according to documents. He attended Yale University with a goal of becoming a physician but left college twice in order to pursue his writing career in New York City under the mentorship of Damon Knight, who was the well-respect science fiction author of "The Twilight Zone." His novels had wide-ranging themes interjected with dark humor. He was part of the 1970 Clarion Class, a six-week workshop for aspiring science fiction writers. His first published story was "The Eight-Thirty to Nine Slot" in 1971. He published under various pennames early in his career. His first novel, "What Entropy Means to Me" in 1972, was nominated for the Nebula Award, which is awarded annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and he received nominations again in 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1989. In 1988 he received the Nebula Award for "Schrodinger's Kitten" as well as the Hugo Award, which is given at the World Science Fiction Convention. He suffered from poor health his entire life and was 70% deaf from childhood diseases. A much-published lawsuit by a hospital over extensive medical bills halted his rights to all of his books and characters, but that was resolved. He did declare bankruptcy, but retained his literary works. He married three times but was divorced at his death. He stopped writing in 1993 when his health declined. "Circuit's Edge" is a video game developed by Westwood Associates and released by Infocom in 1989 and is based on George Alec Effinger's 1986 novel "When Gravity Fails."
Author. He received notoriety as an American Science Fiction author. Born the son of George Effinger and Ruth Uray, he was baptized as a Presbyterian at age five according to documents. He attended Yale University with a goal of becoming a physician but left college twice in order to pursue his writing career in New York City under the mentorship of Damon Knight, who was the well-respect science fiction author of "The Twilight Zone." His novels had wide-ranging themes interjected with dark humor. He was part of the 1970 Clarion Class, a six-week workshop for aspiring science fiction writers. His first published story was "The Eight-Thirty to Nine Slot" in 1971. He published under various pennames early in his career. His first novel, "What Entropy Means to Me" in 1972, was nominated for the Nebula Award, which is awarded annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and he received nominations again in 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1989. In 1988 he received the Nebula Award for "Schrodinger's Kitten" as well as the Hugo Award, which is given at the World Science Fiction Convention. He suffered from poor health his entire life and was 70% deaf from childhood diseases. A much-published lawsuit by a hospital over extensive medical bills halted his rights to all of his books and characters, but that was resolved. He did declare bankruptcy, but retained his literary works. He married three times but was divorced at his death. He stopped writing in 1993 when his health declined. "Circuit's Edge" is a video game developed by Westwood Associates and released by Infocom in 1989 and is based on George Alec Effinger's 1986 novel "When Gravity Fails."
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