Bill Ransom is best known as the coauthor with Frank Herbert of the Pandora Sequence, which includes the novels The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect and The Ascension Factor. His edgy solo SF novels include Jaguar, Viravax, and Burn. Ransom was born in Puyallup, Washington, in 1945, and he began full-time employment at the age of eleven as an agricultural worker. He attended Washington State University on track and boxing scholarships, and the University of Puget Sound on a track scholarship. He received his BA in Sociology and English Education from the University of Washington in 1970. Ransom has published six novels, six poetry collections, numerous short stories and articles. His poetry has been nominated for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.