Margaret Weis

Margaret Weis (born 1948 in Independence, Missouri) is an American author of fantasy and science fiction novels. She is best known for creating, together with Tracy Hickman, the Dragonlance world, which grew out of a tabletop role-playing game and became one of the most widely read fantasy settings of its time.

Weis discovered J. R. R. Tolkien while studying at the University of Missouri, where she earned a degree in creative writing and literature. Her first job was at a small publisher in Independence, and she spent the following years working in publishing as an editor and advertising director. During this period she also wrote children's books on subjects as varied as computers, robots and the history of Thanksgiving.

In 1983 she joined TSR as a book editor, after the company turned down her application for a games editor post. There she and Hickman moved from coordinating a novel and a set of AD&D modules to writing the Dragonlance saga, which became a trilogy supported by many linked modules. After leaving TSR in 1986, the two continued to write together for many years.

Her solo work includes The Soulforge, built around Raistlin, the dark wizard who is her favorite character in the saga. Among her own series, the space opera Star of the Guardians is the one she values most. After surviving breast cancer in 1993, she kept up a steady pace of publication.

As a businesswoman she founded Sovereign Press and later Margaret Weis Productions, which has licensed role-playing games based on television and film franchises. In 1999 Pyramid magazine named her among the most influential people of the millennium in adventure gaming, and in 2002 she was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame. Her legacy lies in shaping a style of fantasy closely tied to role-playing, with worlds and characters that have accompanied several generations of readers.