H.P. Lovecraft

(For the psych-rock band named in his honour please use HP Lovecraft).

Writer of short stories and novellas within the genre that Lovecraft called "cosmic horror" - a combination of science fiction and horror. During his lifetime, most of his stories were published in various pulp magazines such as Weird Tales, Astounding Stories and The Vagrant, among others. His first published story was "The Alchemist", which appeared in The United Amateur in 1916.
Most of his meager income came from selling these short stories to the "pulps" as well as "ghost writing" for other authors. It wasn't until after Lovecraft's death that he gained a wider popularity. This was mainly due to August Derleth setting up a publishing company called "Arkham House" to release Lovecraft's fiction compiled into hardback novel format. His stories would eventually see print in paperback novel format from many different publishers and in at least 15 different languages.
One of his most famous stories is "The Call of Cthulhu", first published in Weird Tales in 1928. Lovecraft has inspired many writers to create tales within the universe he started. These stories have come to be known collectively as "The Cthulhu Mythos". A growing number of filmmakers and musicians have also been inspired by the writings of Lovecraft.