“Once upon a time,’ is code for ‘I’m lying to you.’ We experience stories as lies and truth at the same time. We learn to empathize with real people via made-up people. The most important thing that fiction does is it lets us look out through other eyes, and that teaches us empathy—that behind every pair of eyes is somebody like us.”

British author and storyteller of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Gaiman blends fantasy, science fiction, and horror with lyrical prose. He’s celebrated for works like *The Sandman* comic series, *American Gods*, and *Coraline*, as well as his contributions to children’s literature and film adaptations. His writing often explores myth, imagination, and the boundaries between worlds.