H. E. Francis

Herbert Edward Francis Jr. (January 11, 1924 – February 2, 2024) was an American scholar, academic and writer.

Herbert Edward Francis was born in Bristol, Rhode Island, on January 11, 1924. He studied at the University of Wisconsin and earned a master's degree from Brown University.

Francis was a professor of English at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He travelled three times as a Fulbright professor to Argentina. An author in his own right, he published five collections of stories, some of which have been anthologized in the O. Henry, Best American, and Pushcart Prize volumes.

Francis turned 100 on January 11, 2024, and died weeks later, on February 2. At the time of his death he had been residing at a retirement home in Huntsville, Alabama.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville has named its national short fiction prize in his honor.