Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

author. He has won the Hugo,Who's Getting Your Vote?
, October 29, 2008, ''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

'' Locus, Campbell and

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

s. His novel ''

The Postman ''The Postman'' is a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction novel by David Brin. It is about a man wandering the desolate Oregon countryside who finds a United States Postal Service uniform, which h ...

'' was adapted into a 1997

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

starring

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...

Early life and education

Brin was born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

, in 1950 to Selma and Herb Brin. He graduated from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

, in 1973."David Brin". ''Contemporary Authors Online''. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 2018-02-01. Available onlin
via ''Encyclopedia.com''
. At the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

, he earned a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in electrical engineering (optics) in 1978 and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree in

in 1981.

Career

From 1983 to 1986, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the California Space Institute, of the University of California, at the San Diego campus in La Jolla. In 2010, Brin became a fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. He helped establish the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination at UCSD. He serves on the advisory board of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

's Innovative and Advanced Concepts group and frequently does futurist consulting for corporations and government agencies. As of 2013, he served on the Board of Advisors for the Museum of Science Fiction.

Personal life

Brin has Polish Jewish ancestry, from the area around

Konin Konin () is a city in central Poland, on the Warta River. It is the capital of Konin County and is located within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. In 2021 the population of the city was 71,427, making it the fourth-largest city in Greater Poland af ...

. His grandfather was drafted into the Russian army and fought in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

of 1904–1905. As of 2022, Brin was living in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...

, with his wife and children.

Works

Most of Brin's fiction is categorized as

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

, in that they apply some degree of plausible scientific or technological change as important plot elements. About half of Brin's works are in his Uplift Universe. These have twice won the

Hugo Award for Best Novel The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year by the World Science Fiction Society for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is ava ...

. Much of Brin's work outside the Uplift series focuses on technology's effects on human society.

Bibliography

Fiction

Uplift

Novels: * '' Sundiver'' (1980), * '' Startide Rising'' (1983), . Hugo and Locus SF Awards winner, 1984; Nebula Award winner, 1983 * '' The Uplift War'' (1987), . Hugo and Locus SF Awards winner, 1988; Nebula Award nominee, 1987 Uplift trilogy, a.k.a. Uplift Storm: * '' Brightness Reef'' (1995) . Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1996 * '' Infinity's Shore'' (1996), * '' Heaven's Reach'' (1998), Short fiction: * "Aficionado" (1998) was first published as "Life in the Extreme" in ''

Popular Science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

'' magazine, republished in the 2003 limited-edition collection ''Tomorrow Happens'', and included in Brin's 2012 novel ''Existence''. It is available on Brin's website. "Aficionado" takes place before the novels. * "Temptation" (1999) appeared in

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is a prolific American science fiction author and editor. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a SFWA Grand ...

's anthology ''Far Horizons: All New Tales from the Greatest Worlds of Science Fiction'' and is set after the events of ''Infinity's Shore''. Other works: * ''Contacting Aliens: An Illustrated Guide to David Brin's Uplift Universe'' (2002), (co-written by Brin and Kevin Lenagh)

High Horizon

* ''Colony High'' (February 2021) ; reprinted June 2023 * ''Castaways of New Mojave'' (August 2021) ; reprinted October 2023 – with Jeff Carlson

Stand-alone novels

* '' The Practice Effect'' (1984), * ''

'' (1985), – Campbell and Locus SF Awards winner, Hugo Award nominee, 1986; Nebula Award nominee, 1985. Originally appeared, in substantially different form, as a three-part novella in '' Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine''. Filmed by

as a major motion picture. * '' Heart of the Comet'' (1986), (with Gregory Benford) – Locus SF Award nominee, 1987 * ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

'' (1990), – Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1991. Contains many successful predictions of current trends (such as

email spam Email spam, also referred to as junk email, spam mail, or simply spam, refers to unsolicited messages sent in bulk via email. The term originates from a Spam (Monty Python), Monty Python sketch, where the name of a canned meat product, "Spam (food ...

) and technologies. * '' Glory Season'' (1993), – Hugo and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1994 * '' Kiln People'' (2002; published in the UK as ''Kil'n People''), – Campbell, Clarke, Hugo, and Locus SF Awards nominee, 2003. It was shortlisted in four different awards for best SF/fantasy novel of 2002—the Hugo, the Locus, the John W. Campbell Award, and the Arthur C. Clarke Award; each time finishing behind a different book. * ''Existence'',

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

(2012), * ''The Ancient Ones'', self-published (2020),

Comics

* ''Forgiveness'' (2002), ('' Star Trek: The Next Generation''

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

) * ''The Life Eaters'' (2003), (published by the

Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...

imprint of

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, art by Scott Hampton) * ''Tinkerers'' (2010) (discussion of the causes of the decline of American manufacturing)

Short fiction collections

* '' The River of Time'' (1986), * '' Otherness'' (1994), * ''Tomorrow Happens'' (2003), * ''Insistence of Vision'' (2016), * ''The Best of David Brin'' (2021),

Fiction set in worlds created by others

* '' Foundation's Triumph'' (1999), novel set in

Asimov's ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine edited by Sheila Williams and published by Dell Magazines, which is owned by Penny Press. It was launched as a quarterly by Davis Publications in 1977, after obtaining Isaac A ...

Foundation Universe, * "71" in ''

Ring of Fire IV The following is a list of publications in the 1632 series, ''1632'' series of alternate history fiction. For Grantville Gazettes, please see The Grantville Gazettes. Novels published by Baen Books Anthologies published by Baen Books G ...

'' (2016) anthology, short story set in Eric Flint's 1632-verse,

Games

Brin designed the game ''Tribes'', published in 1998 by Steve Jackson Games, and wrote the storyline for the 2000

Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

'' Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future''.

Nonfiction

Ongoing: * Articles in professional journals, including ''

The Astrophysical Journal ''The Astrophysical Journal'' (''ApJ'') is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of astrophysics and astronomy, established in 1895 by American astronomers George Ellery Hale and James Edward Keeler. The journal discontinued its print edition and ...

'' and ''Information Technology and Libraries;'' as well as popular magazines, such as '' Omni'', ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'', and ''

''. Books: * ''Extraterrestrial Civilization'' by Thomas Kuiper and Glen David Brin, (1989) * '' The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom?'' (1998) —won the Eli M. Oboler Award for intellectual freedom from the American Library Association * '' Star Wars on Trial: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Debate the Most Popular Science Fiction Films of All Time'' (2006) * ''Polemical Judo: Memes for our Political Knife-fight'' (2019)

Honors and awards

* 1984 Nebula Award for Best Novel * 1984, 1988

* 1985

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

* 1984, 1986, 1988

Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel The Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine Locus (magazine), ''Locus''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar ...

* 1985 Hugo Award for Best Short Story * Small Solar System body 5748 Davebrin, discovered by

Eleanor Helin Eleanor Francis "Glo" Helin (née Francis, 19 November 1932 – 25 January 2009) was an American astronomer. She was principal investigator of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (Some sources gi ...

in 1991, is named in his honor.

References

External links

* * David Brin's

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

Contrary Brin
* * * * ;Interviews

at SFFWorld.com (2002-07-19)

at Actusf.com
All of David Brin's audio interviews on the podcast ''The Future And You''
in which he describes his expectations of the future

Video of conversation between David Brin
and James Pinkerton on Bloggingheads.tv *
Alliance for Progress Encyclopedia, encyclopedia of David Brin's Uplift Universe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brin, David 1950 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American futurologists American graphic novelists American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers American short story writers American transhumanists Analog Science Fiction and Fact people California Institute of Technology alumni Hugo Award–winning writers Inkpot Award winners Jewish American novelists Jewish American short story writers Nebula Award winners University of California, San Diego alumni Writers from Glendale, California