James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist. He first became associated with the New Wave of science fiction for post-apocalyptic novels such as The Drowned World. Ballard's work explored relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass media. In 1984, Ballard won broader recognition for his war novel Empire of the Sun, a semi-autobiographical account of a young British boy's experiences in Shanghai during Japanese occupation.