Karl Edward Wagner (12 December 1945 – 14 October 1994) was an American writer, poet, editor and publisher of
horror,
science fiction, and
heroic fantasy, who was born in
Knoxville, Tennessee and originally trained as a
psychiatrist. He wrote numerous dark fantasy and horror stories. As an editor, he created a three-volume set of Robert E. Howard's
Conan the Barbarian fiction restored to its original form as written, and edited the long-running and genre-defining
Year's Best Horror and Fantasy series. His
Carcosa publishing company issued four volumes of the best stories by some of the major authors of the so-called Golden Age
pulp magazines. He is possibly best known for his creation of a series of stories featuring the character
Kane, the Mystic Swordsman.