Dan Simmons

Dan Simmons is an American author who has written fiction and nonfiction pieces, covering a wide range of genres. He was born on April 4, 1948 in East Peoria, Illinois, and spent most of his childhood there before attending Wabash College. Simmons is best known for his horror and science fiction novels, many of which have been adapted into television shows and movies, as well as his non-fiction works focusing on religion, history, and literature.

Simmons began his writing career with his first novel, Song of Kali in 1985. This book was a dark, horror novel, based on a trip to India. This was a major success and earned Simmons critical acclaim, leading to a horror and dark fantasy focus that his novels, miniseries, and short stories would focus on for the next several decades. Simmons’s signature style, incorporating real-world events, cultural or religious references and scientific theories, is also evident in other books he published in the late 80s and early 90s, such as Carrion Comfort (1989) and Summer of Night (1991).

The 1990s saw Simmons become a well-known author, with his works appearing in a variety of medians. In 1995, he released the science fiction novel, Hyperion, which not only earned him critical acclaim, but also won him a Hugo Award. It was also the first of four novels to make the Hyperion Cantos series. The U.K., meanwhile, was enjoying the short story collection Prayers to Broken Stones, while in the U.S., Simmons was being praised for The Fall of Hyperion (1990).

It wasn’t until 2007, that Simmons came back to horror with The Terror (2007). This is when Dan Simmons was able to focus more of his work on theories of horror and suspense, bouncing off the success of his science fiction world-building of Hyperion and its sequels. His next novel, Drood (2009), was well-received, and a handful of other books, such as Black Hills (2010), The Abominable (2013), The Fifth Heart (2015), and The Terror: Infamy (2019), cemented Simmons’s status as a master of horror and thrillers.

Simmons himself has also written on a range of topics, including history, science, culture, psychotherapy, and religion. His non-fiction works, such as his book Imaginary Friends (1997) has won both the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award and continue to be studied by scholars. He’s appeared in a variety of publications including The New York Times Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Dan Simmons is an accomplished author whose works span from science fiction and horror to historical non-fiction. He’s earned a vast number of awards for his works, including the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and Hugo Award. He’s also had works adapted for film and television. Simmons continues to write, both fiction and non-fiction, blending science fiction and horror in an impressive and singular way.