William Ledbetter (born 1961) is a science fiction writer whose short stories have been published in Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog: Science Fiction & Fact, Jim Baen's Universe, Writers of the Future, Escape Pod, and other magazines. His novelette "The Long Fall Up" won the 2016 Nebula Award."2016 Nebula Awards Winners," Locus Magazine, May 20, 2017.
Life William Ledbetter was born in a small town in Indiana"Introduction to 'The Rings of Mars' by William Ledbetter", Writers of the Future, Volume XXVIII, Galaxy Press LLC, 2012. in 1961, the year humans first flew in space. After growing up in Indiana, he moved to Waco, Texas in 1995."Prosper writer wins L. Ron Hubbard award" by Penny Rathbun, Celina Record, May 12, 2012. He now lives in Prosper, Texas, north of Dallas."Meet two North Texas writers who are up for Nebula Awards" by Michael Merschel, The Dallas Morning News, February 28, 2017."Two North Texas Writers Nominated for Nebula Awards" by Ginni Beam, D Magazine, April 11, 2017.
As a child, Ledbetter watched the Apollo 11 Moon landing and dreamed of being an astronaut but was unable to pursue that career due to poor eyesight. Instead, Ledbetter began a thirty-year career as a mechanical designer in the aerospace industry, including work on the radiator system for the International Space Station."Science fiction writer from Prosper stands among giants with Nebula Award win" by Amber Friend, The Dallas Morning News, May 23, 2017.
Writing career
Ledbetter has published a number of science fiction short stories in magazines such as Fantasy & Science Fiction, Analog: Science Fiction & Fact, Jim Baen's Universe, Writers of the Future, Escape Pod, and others. Among the anthologies including his stories is The Year’s Best Military SF and Space Opera."Short stories harder to find, but still exist" by Mark Lardas, Galveston County Daily News, June 28, 2015.
Ledbetter's novelette "The Long Fall Up," originally published in Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the 2016 Nebula Award."'The Long Fall Up' Wins the Nebula Award for Best Novelette" by C.C. Finlay, Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 20, 2017. The science fiction story focuses on a future where children are not allowed to be born in zero gravity due to the risk of disfiguring mutations. His story "The Rings of Mars" was a winner in the Writers of the Future contest.
From 2007 to 2024, Ledbetter administered the Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award contest for Baen Books and the National Space Society. He edited the anthology The Jim Baen Memorial Award: The First Decade, released by Simon & Schuster,Promotional copy for The Jim Baen Memorial Award: The First Decade, edited by William Ledbetter, Simon & Schuster website, accessed July 24, 2017. and is a consulting editor at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly.
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