Francis Lillie Pollock was an early twentieth-century Canadian writer who successfully balanced a career in commercial fiction with a life of commercial beekeeping. Born in Huron County, Ontario, Pollock initially worked for the Toronto Mail and Empire newspaper. He was able to transition to full-time writing in 1907 following the successful sale of his serialized novel, The Treasure Trail. Throughout his life, Pollock managed an apiary in Shedden, Ontario, and the world of bees frequently influenced his literary output.
Pollock was a versatile writer who utilized different variations of his name depending on the genre. He published commercial fiction under the pseudonym Frank L. Pollock, westerns and adventure stories as Frank Lillie Pollock, and literary fiction under his birth name. His short stories and poetry appeared in prominent periodicals of the era, including The Youth's Companion, Munsey's Magazine, The Smart Set, The Atlantic, and The Bookman. He also contributed sea stories to Adventure magazine and science fiction tales to The Black Cat.
Today, Pollock is perhaps best remembered for his pioneering science fiction short story "Finis," published in The Argosy in 1906. Set in the mid-twentieth century, the story depicts a man and a woman watching the arrival of a newly discovered, intensely hot star that ultimately threatens Earth. Pollock eventually retired with his second wife, Zella Taylor, to Georgetown, Ontario, where he lived until his death in 1957.
