Patricia A. McKillip was born in Salem OR. She went to San Jose State University in California, receiving a BA in 1971 and an MA in English in 1972.
Her first publications were short children’s books The Throne of the Erril of Sherill and The House on Parchment Street (both 1973). Her first longer novel, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (1974), won a World Fantasy Award. Other SF/fantasy novels include