Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born 6 August 1934 in Oxford, England) is an English American author in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is most famous for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth.
Many of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. He has stated that one of his greatest achievements has been to publish a book for every letter of the alphabet, from Anthonology to Zombie Lover.
Early life
Anthony's family emigrated to the United States from Britain when he was six. He graduated from Goddard College in Vermont in 1956. On This American Life on July 27, 2012, Anthony revealed that his parents had divorced, he was bullied, and he had poor grades in school. Anthony referred to his high school as "a very fancy private school", and refuses to donate money to the school, because as a student, he recalls being part of "the lower crust", and that no one paid attention to or cared about him. He said, "I didn't like being a member of the under class, of the peons like that". He became a naturalized U.S. citizen while serving in the United States Army in 1958. After completing a two-year stint in military service, he briefly taught school at Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida before becoming a full-time writer.
