Leigh Brackett

Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 18, 1978) was an American novelist and screenwriter best known for her influential work in science fiction—especially space opera—and for screenwriting on Hollywood westerns and crime films. Nicknamed the “Queen of Space Opera,” she wrote numerous pulp-era and later novels and stories (including the Eric John Stark tales) and worked as a screenwriter on films such as Rio Bravo and an early draft of The Empire Strikes Back. Her 1955 novel The Long Tomorrow made her the first woman shortlisted for the Hugo Award for Best Novel.