J. G. Ballard

J. G. Ballard (James Graham Ballard, 1930–2009) was a British novelist and short-story writer associated with dystopian and speculative fiction. Born in Shanghai, he spent part of his childhood in the Shanghai International Settlement and was interned during World War II, experiences later reworked in his semi-autobiographical novel *Empire of the Sun* (1984). After moving to Britain, he studied medicine at King’s College London and later read English at Queen Mary College, University of London. Ballard became a leading voice of the “New Wave” in science fiction, publishing influential works including *The Drowned World* (1962) and *Crash* (1973).