Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

, historical fiction,

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and ...

postcyberpunk Since the advent of the cyberpunk genre, a number of derivatives of cyberpunk have become recognized in their own right as distinct subgenres in speculative fiction, especially in science fiction. Rather than necessarily sharing the digitally a ...

, and

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

. Stephenson's work explores

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from grc, , translit=kryptós "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or '' -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adv ...

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

, and the history of science. He also writes non-fiction articles about technology in publications such as '' Wired''. He has written novels with his uncle, George Jewsbury ("J. Frederick George"), under the collective pseudonym Stephen Bury. Stephenson has worked part-time as an advisor for

Blue Origin Blue Origin, LLC is an American private spaceflight, privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Am ...

, a company (founded by

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former presi ...

) developing a spacecraft and a space launch system, and is also a cofounder of Subutai Corporation, whose first offering is the interactive fiction project '' The Mongoliad''. He was Magic Leap's Chief Futurist from 2014 to 2020.

Early life

Born on October 31, 1959, in Fort Meade,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

, Stephenson came from a family of engineers and

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosop ...

s; his father is a professor of

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

while his paternal grandfather was a

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

professor. His mother worked in a

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

laboratory, and her father was a

professor. Stephenson's family moved to Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1960 and then in 1966 to Ames, Iowa. He graduated from Ames High School in 1977. Stephenson studied at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

, first specializing in physics, then switching to geography after he found that it would allow him to spend more time on the university mainframe. He graduated in 1981 with a B.A. in

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

and a minor in physics. Since 1984, Stephenson has lived mostly in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

and currently lives in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

with his family.

Writing

Stephenson's first novel, ''

The Big U ''The Big U'' (1984) is a novel by American writer Neal Stephenson. His first published novel, it is a satire of campus life. Plot The story chronicles the disillusionment of a number of young intellectuals as they encounter the realities ...

'', published in 1984, is a satirical take on life at American Megaversity, a vast, bland, and alienating research university beset by chaotic riots. His next novel, ''

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pa ...

'' (1988), is a thriller following a radical environmentalist in his struggle against corporate polluters. Neither novel attracted much critical attention on first publication, but showcased concerns that Stephenson would further develop in his later work. Stephenson's breakthrough came in 1992 with ''

Snow Crash ''Snow Crash'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer Neal Stephenson, published in 1992. Like many of Stephenson's novels, it covers history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography ...

'', a

or post-cyberpunk novel fusing memetics, computer viruses, and other high-tech themes with

Sumerian mythology Sumerian religion was the religion practiced by the people of Sumer, the first literate civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. The Sumerians regarded their divinities as responsible for all matters pertaining to the natural and social orders. Ove ...

, along with a sociological extrapolation of extreme laissez-faire capitalism and collectivism. Stephenson at this time would later be described by

Mike Godwin Michael Wayne Godwin (born October 26, 1956) is an American attorney and author. He was the first staff counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and he created the Internet adage Godwin's law and the notion of an Internet meme, as ...

as "a slight, unassuming grad-student type whose soft-spoken demeanor gave no obvious indication that he had written the manic apotheosis of cyberpunk science fiction." In 1994, Stephenson joined with his uncle, J. Frederick George, to publish a political thriller, '' Interface'', under the pen name "Stephen Bury"; they followed this in 1996 with '' The Cobweb''. Stephenson's next solo novel, published in 1995, was '' The Diamond Age: or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer''. The plot involves a weapon implanted in a character's skull, near-limitless replicators for everything from mattresses to foods, smartpaper, and air and blood-sanitizing nanobots. It is set in a world with a neo-Victorian social structure. This was followed by '' Cryptonomicon'' in 1999, a novel including concepts ranging from

Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, and theoretical biologist. Turing was highly influential in the development of theoretical ...

's research into codebreaking and cryptography during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, to a modern attempt to set up a

data haven A data haven, like a corporate haven or tax haven, is a refuge for uninterrupted or unregulated data. Data havens are locations with legal environments that are friendly to the concept of a computer network freely holding data and even protectin ...

. In 2013, ''Cryptonomicon'' won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award. '' The Baroque Cycle'' is a series of historical novels set in the 17th and 18th centuries, and is in some respects a prequel to ''Cryptonomicon''. It was originally published in three volumes of two or three books each – '' Quicksilver'' (2003), ''

The Confusion ''The Confusion'' is a novel by Neal Stephenson. It is the second volume in ''The Baroque Cycle'' and consists of two sections or books, ''Bonanza'' and ''The Juncto''. In 2005, ''The Confusion'' won the Locus Award, together with ''The System o ...

'', (2004) and '' The System of the World'' (2004) – but was subsequently republished as eight separate books: ''Quicksilver'', ''King of the Vagabonds'', ''Odalisque'', ''Bonanza'', ''Juncto'', ''Solomon's Gold'', ''Currency'', and ''System of the World''. (The titles and exact breakdown vary in different markets.) '' The System of the World'' won the Prometheus Award in 2005. Following this, Stephenson wrote '' Anathem'' (2008), a long and detailed novel of speculative fiction. It is set in an Earthlike world, deals with metaphysics, and refers heavily to Ancient Greek philosophy. '' Anathem'' won the

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''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award f ...

in 2009. In May 2010, the Subutai Corporation, of which Stephenson was named chairman, announced the production of an experimental multimedia fiction project called '' The Mongoliad'', which centered upon a narrative written by Stephenson and other speculative fiction authors. Stephenson's novel ''

REAMDE ''Reamde'' is a technothriller novel by Neal Stephenson, published in 2011. The story, set in the present day, centers on the plight of a hostage and the ensuing efforts of family and new acquaintances, many of them associated with a fictional M ...

'' was released on September 20, 2011. The title is a play on the common filename README. This thriller, set in the present, centers around a group of MMORPG developers caught in the middle of Chinese cyber-criminals, Islamic terrorists, and Russian mafia. On August 7, 2012, Stephenson released a collection of essays and other previously published fiction entitled ''Some Remarks: Essays and Other Writing''. This collection also includes a new essay and a short story created specifically for this volume. In late 2013, Stephenson stated that he was working on a multi-volume work of historical novels that would "have a lot to do with scientific and technological themes and how those interact with the characters and civilisation during a particular span of history". He expected the first two volumes to be released in mid-to-late 2014.Kelion, Leo. (2013-09-17
BBC News - Neal Stephenson on tall towers and NSA cyber-spies
. Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2014-01-14. However, at about the same time, he shifted his attention to a science fiction novel, '' Seveneves'', which was completed about a year later and was published in May 2015. On June 8, 2016, plans were announced to adapt ''Seveneves'' for the screen. In May 2016, as part of a video discussion with

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

, Stephenson revealed that he had just submitted the manuscript for a new historical novel—"a time travel book"—co-written with

Nicole Galland Nicole Galland is an American novelist, initially known for her historical fiction. She has written ''The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.'' in collaboration with Neal Stephenson. She wrote the contemporary comedic novel ''Stepdog''. Under the name E.D. d ...

, one of his ''Mongoliad'' coauthors. This was released as ''

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. ''The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.'' is a science fantasy novel by American writers Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland. It was published in 2017. Premise The story follows the members of a secret U.S. government agency known as the Department of D ...

'' on June 13, 2017. In June 2019 his novel '' Fall; or, Dodge in Hell'' was published. It is a near-future novel that explores mind uploading into the cloud, and contains characters from 2011's ''

Reamde ''Reamde'' is a technothriller novel by Neal Stephenson, published in 2011. The story, set in the present day, centers on the plight of a hostage and the ensuing efforts of family and new acquaintances, many of them associated with a fictional M ...

'', 1999's '' Cryptonomicon'', and other books. ''

Termination Shock The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding interstell ...

'', published in November 2021, is a

climate fiction Climate fiction (sometimes shortened as cli-fi) is literature that deals with climate change.Glass, Rodge (31 May 2013).Global Warning: The Rise of 'Cli-fi' retrieved 3 March 2016 Generally speculative in nature but scientifically-grounded, wor ...

novel about solar geoengineering.

Writing style

Stephenson's books tend to have elaborate plots drawing on numerous technological and sociological ideas at the same time. The discursive nature of his writing, together with significant plot and character complexity and an abundance of detail suggests a

writing style, which Stephenson brought fully to bear in the three-volume ''Baroque Cycle''.

Outside of writing

Stephenson worked at

—

' spaceflight company—for seven years in the early 2000s when its focus was on "novel alternate approaches to

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consi ...

, alternate propulsion systems, and business models", but left after Blue became a more standard aerospace company. In 2012, Stephenson launched a Kickstarter campaign for CLANG, a realistic sword-fighting fantasy game. The concept was to use motion control to provide an immersive experience. The campaign's funding goal of $500,000 was reached by the target date of July 9, 2012, on Kickstarter, but funding options remained open and the project continued to accept contributions on its official site. The project ran out of money in September 2013. This, and the circumstances around it, angered some backers with some threatening a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

lawsuit. The CLANG project ended in September 2014 without being completed. Stephenson took part of the responsibility for the project's failure, stating, "I probably focused too much on historical accuracy and not enough on making it sufficiently fun to attract additional investment". In 2014, Stephenson was hired as Chief Futurist by the Florida-based

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

company Magic Leap. Stephenson left the company in April 2020 as part of a layoff. In June 2021, Stephenson and colleagues Sean Stewart and Austin Grossman released ''New Found Land: The Long Haul'', an Audible audio drama based on the intellectual property they developed at Magic Leap. In 2022, Stephenson launched Lamina1 to build an open source metaverse that would utilize smart contracts on a

blockchain A blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology (DLT) that consists of growing lists of records, called ''blocks'', that are securely linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, ...

Influence

Stephenson's writing is influential in technology circles.

, Sergey Brin, John Carmack, and Peter Thiel are all fans of his work. In ''Snow Crash'' Stephenson coined the term

Metaverse In science fiction, the "metaverse" is a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal, and immersive virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets. In colloquial usa ...

and popularized the term

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...

in a computing context. The Metaverse inspired the inventors of Google Earth and ''Snow Crash'' was required reading on the Xbox development team under Microsoft executive

J Allard J Allard (born James Allard, on January 12, 1969 in Glens Falls, New York) is the chief executive officer of Project 529, a company that builds software for cyclists and law enforcement. Prior to starting Project 529, Allard was chief technology ...

. According to academic Paul Youngquist, ''Snow Crash'' also dealt the

genre a "killer blow". According to ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', ''Cryptonomicon'' is "often credited with sketching the basis for cryptocurrency."

Bibliography

Novels

* ''

'' (1984) * ''

'' (1988) * ''

'' (1992) –

British Science Fiction Association Award The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...

nominee, 1993; Clarke Award nominee, 1994 * '' Interface'' (1994) with J. Frederick George, as "Stephen Bury" * '' The Diamond Age: or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer'' (1995) – Hugo and Locus SF Awards winner, 1996; Nebula, Campbell and Clarke Awards nominee, 1996 * '' The Cobweb'' (1996) with J. Frederick George, as "Stephen Bury" * '' Cryptonomicon'' (1999) – Locus SF Award winner, 2000; Hugo and Clarke Awards nominee, 2000; 2013 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award * '' Quicksilver'' (2003), volume I of '' The Baroque Cycle'' – Clarke Award winner, 2004; Locus SF Award nominee, 2004 * ''

'' (2004), volume II of ''The Baroque Cycle'' – Locus SF Award winner, 2005 * '' The System of the World'' (2004), volume III of ''The Baroque Cycle'' – Locus SF Award winner, 2005; Prometheus Award winner, 2005; Clarke Award nominee, 2005 * '' Anathem'' (2008) – Locus SF Award winner, 2009;

nominee, 2008; Hugo and Clarke Awards nominee, 2009 * '' The Mongoliad'' (2010–2012) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Seveneves'' (2015) Hugo Award for Best Novel nominee * ''

'' (2017) with

* '' Fall; or, Dodge in Hell'' (2019) * ''New Found Land: The Long Haul'' (2021) with Austin Grossman and Sean Stewart. Audible Original audiobook. * ''

'' (2021)

Short fiction

* " Spew" (1994), in Hackers (1996) * " The Great Simoleon Caper" (1995), ''

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' * "Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of ''Tribes of the Pacific Coast''" in ''Full Spectrum 5'' (1995) * " Jipi and the Paranoid Chip" (1997), ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' * "Crunch" (1997), in '' Disco 2000'' (edited by Sarah Champion, 1998) ("Crunch" is a chapter from ''Cryptonomicon'') * "Atmosphæra Incognita" (2013), in ''Starship Century: Toward the Grandest Horizon'' (edited by

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reas ...

and James Benford)

Other fiction projects

* Project Hieroglyph, founded in 2011, administered by Arizona State University's Center for Science and the Imagination since 2012. ''Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future'', ed. Ed Finn and

Kathryn Cramer Kathryn Elizabeth Cramer (born April 16, 1962) is an American science fiction writer, editor, and literary critic. Early years Kathryn Cramer is the daughter of physicist John G. Cramer. She grew up in Seattle and graduated from Columbia Univ ...

, which includes contributions by Stephenson (preface and chapter "Atmosphæra Incognita"), was published by William Morrow in September, 2014.

Non-fiction

*
Smiley's People
. 1993. *
In the Kingdom of Mao Bell
. '' Wired''. 1994. "A billion Chinese are using new technology to create the fastest growing economy on the planet. But while the information wants to be free, do they?" *
Mother Earth Mother Board
. ''Wired''. 1996. "In which the Hacker Tourist ventures forth across three continents, telling the story of the business and technology of undersea fiber-optic cables, as well as an account of the laying of the longest wire on Earth." * " Global Neighborhood Watch". ''Wired''. 1998. Stopping street crime in the global village. * '' In the Beginning... Was the Command Line''. HarperPerennial. 1999. . *
Communication Prosthetics: Threat, or Menace?
'' Whole Earth Review'', Summer 2001. *
Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out
. Op-ed piece on '' Star Wars'', in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 17, 2005. *
It's All Geek To Me
. Op-ed piece on the film '' 300'' and geek culture, ''The New York Times'', March 18, 2007. * "Atoms of Cognition:

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

in the Royal Society 1715–2010", chapter in ''Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

'', edited by

Bill Bryson William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has b ...

. Stephenson discusses the legacy of the rivalry between Sir Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz, November 2, 2010. *
Space Stasis
. '' Slate''. February 2, 2011. "What the strange persistence of rockets can teach us about innovation." *
Innovation Starvation
. '' World Policy Journal'', 2011. * '' Some Remarks: Essays and Other Writing''. William Morrow. 2012. .

Critical studies, reviews and biography

* * *

References

External links

* *
Neal Stephenson
at the ''

Science Fiction Encyclopedia ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

'' *
"Science Fiction as a Literary Genre"
– lecture by Stephenson at Gresham College, London in May 2008
Neal Stephenson
at authors@Google, September 12, 2008.
Stephen Bury
at LC Authorities, two records {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Neal 1959 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists American futurologists American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American science fiction writers American technology writers Ames High School alumni Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Cyberpunk writers Environmental fiction writers Hugo Award-winning writers Living people Novelists from Iowa Novelists from Maryland Novelists from Washington (state) People from Ames, Iowa Postmodern writers The Baroque Cycle Wired (magazine) people Writers from Seattle