C.L. Moore

C. L. Moore (Catherine Lucille Moore, 1911–1987) was a pioneering American writer who became one of the first prominent women in science fiction and fantasy during the pulp magazine era of the 1930s.

Moore made a spectacular debut in 1933 with her story Shambleau, published in Weird Tales. The story, which introduced her recurring anti-hero Northwest Smith, was an immediate sensation. It was praised for its sensual prose, psychological depth, and a sophisticated blending of science fiction, horror, and mythology that stood in stark contrast to the more straightforward action-adventure stories of the time.

In 1940, she married writer Henry Kuttner, beginning a celebrated collaboration. Together, often under the pseudonym Lewis Padgett, they wrote many classics of the genre. Moore is remembered for bringing a new literary quality and psychological depth to pulp fiction, profoundly influencing the field.

Moore co-authored a story "round robin" style, The Challenge from Beyond, along with H.P. Lovecraft, Abraham Merritt, Robert E. Howard, and Frank Belknap Long.