Avram Davidson was born in Yonkers, New York. He was educated in public schools, then studied anthropology at New York University before joining the U.S. Navy in 1942. He served as a hospital corpsman (medic), first with the Naval Air Corps, and then with the Fifth Marines. After the war, he travelled in England, Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean before returning the the U.S. to resume his education. He continued his education at several schools, but never earned a degree. In 1950 he returned to the U.S. to study at an agricultural school, then went to Israel to become a shepherd. He returned to New York City shortly after and began his writing career as a Talmudic scholar, publishing short stories and several essays in Orthodox Jewish Life beginning in 1949 and in Commentary beginning in 1952, under the name A. A. Davidson. He was very active in the Orthodox Jewish community in New York City during this period. His first published science fiction story, "My Boy Friend's Name is Jello," appeared in Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1954. In 1961 he met Grania Kaiman, and they were married in early 1962, and had a son in November 1962. He became editor of Fantasy & Science Fiction from 1962-1965. In 1963 he and his family moved to Milford, Pennsylvania, but had several disagreements with their landlord which resulted in them being evicted, so they moved to Amecameca, Mexico. In June 1964, Grania moved back to California, while Avram stayed in Mexico with their son. In 1965, he relocated to British Honduras (now Belize), then to California in 1970, where he began to study and then converted to Tenrikyo, a panentheist Japanese New Religion. In 1971 he moved to Sausalito, California, close to San Francisco. In his later years, he lived in Bremerton, Washington, where he died in 1993, aged 70.
Over the course of his writing career, he wrote 20 novels and collaborated on several more, but he was best known for his short science fiction stories. He was recognized with a Hugo Award, a World Fantasy Award (including the prestigious Life Achievement Award), and an Edgar Award. He was survived by his his ex-wife Grania Davis, who continues to edit and release his unpublished works.
