Barrington resident and renowned science fiction author Gene Wolfe remembers exactly when it happened, when he knew he was a writer.

Living in Ohio with his wife, Rosemary, and four children, he had already sold a handful of short stories. In the early 1970’s, going from a steady paycheck as an engineer to the much less predictable practice of being a novice author was stressful enough, but he still had the regular duties that came from being a husband and father.

In this case, it was working on a wooden chair. He went to work on it, when his wife walked in the room and asked, “Shouldn’t you be writing?”

“I knew then, I was a writer,” the 80-year-old recalled.

And he has ever since.

Wolfe will be honored by the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame with its first Henry Blake Fuller Award, named after the famed Chicago novelist and short story writer. The event will be held March 17 at Barrington’s Sanfilippo Estate and will be hosted by Peter Sagal of NPR’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!”

Donald G. Evans, the executive director of the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, said the award, while separate from induction into the hall of fame, is a lifetime achievement award meant to honor the great living writers in the Chicago area. Wolfe was chosen, he said, because of his critically-acclaimed collection of work in various genres, such as science fiction and fantasy.

“I think he is not as much of a household name as other contemporary writers, but his body of work is fantastic and he is very deserving,” Evans said.

While he typically is known as a science-fiction and fantasy writer, his books often blend and merge with themes from other genres. For example, his 2007 novel “Pirate Freedom,” one of his personal favorites, is at its core a pirate tale, but it blends elements of science-fiction, such as time travel.

Wolfe said writing in those worlds seems natural, as he recalled reading pocketbook science fiction stories when he was a child.

In middle school, he skinned his knee riding his bicycle, so his mother drove him to school. He saw the book she was reading, and asked if he could take a look.

“That started me on science fiction.” Wolfe said. “The first thing I read was Theodore Sturgeon’s ‘Microcosmic God.’ It blew me away. It was a wonderful story. It still is a wonderful story.”

While he didn’t become a full-time writer until the 1970′s, he had some involvement in his youth. While a student at Texas A&M University, he teamed up with his roommate, who did illustrations, to write four short stories for the campus magazine. He dropped out, only to be drafted into the Korean War. Upon his return to the United States, he attended the University of Houston and, after graduation, became an engineer. He still kept a foot in the writing world, editing the monthly industry trade magazine Plant Engineering.

His first attempt at selling a book, an offer for $2,000, went nowhere.

“I figured that would be enough to buy furniture,” he said. “Well, the book never sold, but we did eventually save enough money to buy furniture. But that gave me the writing bug, from trying to write that little book.”

After he started selling stories consistently, his name grew in recognition and he became a full-time author, earning a steady stream of awards over the decades. But, like any artists, there was some criticism and bad reviews along the way.

“It usually takes me down for about a day, and I put it behind me,” he said. “I’ve taught creative writing and something I told students, ‘If you can’t take the criticism, don’t read it,’ because you are going to get some bad reviews. There were bad reviews of ‘Moby Dick’ when it came out. Emily Dickenson got some bad reviews.”

And he has no intention of slowing down. He is on his third draft of his next novel, “The Land Across,” but can’t say for sure when it will come out. His wife is ill and he helps take care of her, not to mention he likely still needs to write at least another draft.

For now, Wolfe is happy to receive the Fuller Award, but such recognitions are not why he started writing, or why he continues to write.

“It feels good, you like (getting awards), but it’s not what you work for,” Wolfe said. “I work to write good material. I want to say, ‘That’s a good book.’”