Ray Bradbury graduated from high school in Los Angeles, class of 1938. Although his formal education ended there, he became a full-time writer in 1943. In all, Bradbury has published more than thirty books, close to 600 short stories, and numerous poems, essays, and plays. His short stories have appeared in more than 1,000 school curriculum "recommended reading" anthologies and his work has been included in four Best American Short Story collections.
Ray has received several awards which include being nominated for an Academy Award and winning an Emmy Award. He was also the creative consultant on the United States Pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 1982 he created the interior metaphors for the Spaceship Earth display at Epcot Center, Disney World, and later contributed to the conception of the Orbitron space ride at Euro-Disney, France.