Benjamin Allen "Ben" H. Winters (born June 14, 1976) is an American author. He is best known for mystery/sci-fi novels such as ''

The Last Policeman ''The Last Policeman'' is a 2012 American science fiction mystery novel by Ben H. Winters. It follows a police detective in New Hampshire as he investigates a suicide he believes was really a murder. His efforts are complicated by the social, p ...

'' and '' Underground Airlines'', and for creating the CBS show '' Tracker''.

Early life and education

Winters was born in Washington, D.C. to a middle-class, Jewish family and grew up in Maryland. In high school, he played in the punk band Corm, alongside John Davis, now of

Title Tracks Title Tracks is an American power pop/indie rock solo project from Washington, D.C.–based musician John Davis (formerly of Q and Not U and Georgie James). History In early 2008, although still a member of the band Georgie James, Davis bega ...

. In 1998, he graduated from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

where he was active in the comedy group Mama's Pot Roast.

Career

Winters was first known as the author of the 2009 ''New York Times ''bestseller ''

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters ''Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters'' (2009) is a parody novel by Ben H. Winters, with Jane Austen credited as co-author. It is a mashup story containing elements from Jane Austen's 1811 novel ''Sense and Sensibility'' and common tropes ...

. ''In June 2010, '' Android Karenina'' was published by

Quirk Books Quirk Books is an American independent book publisher based in Philadelphia. History Before 2002, Quirk Books was a creative studio that would pitch novel ideas to other publishers. Quirk Books was founded as a publishing company in 2002 by Da ...

. A young adult novel, ''The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman'', was published by HarperCollins in September 2010. ''Finkleman'' was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America in January 2011. In 2011, Winters published a second book in the Ms. Finkleman series, titled ''The Mystery of the Missing Everything,'' and ''Bedbugs,'' a horror novel for adults. Winters has also written numerous books in the ''

Worst-Case Scenario A worst-case scenario is a concept in risk management wherein the planner, in planning for potential disasters, considers the most severe possible outcome that can reasonably be projected to occur in a given situation. Conceiving of worst-case sc ...

'' Series. In 2012, Winters published ''

'', the first in a trilogy of detective novels set in a pre-apocalyptic United States; that book won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in the category Best Paperback Original; was an Amazon Best Book of 2012; and was nominated for the Macavity Award for Best Mystery by Mystery Readers International. The second novel in the Last Policeman trilogy, '' Countdown City'', was published in July 2013; it won the 2014 Philip K. Dick Award for Distinguished Science Fiction. The third book in the Policeman series, '' World of Trouble'', was published in July 2014. It was nominated for the Edgar Award in the category of Best Paperback Original and for the Anthony Award. Winters's work for the theater includes the Off-Broadway musical ''Slut'', the children's musicals ''The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere'', ''Uncle Pirate'', and ''A (Tooth) Fairy Tale'' and the

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

juke-box musical, ''

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" is a song recorded by Neil Sedaka, co-written by Sedaka and Howard Greenfield. Sedaka recorded this song twice, in 1962 and 1975, in two significantly different arrangements, and it is considered to be his signature s ...

''. Winters's novel '' Underground Airlines'' was published by Mulholland Books in July 2016. It is an

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

book, set in a present-day alternate universe in which the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

never occurred, with human

chattel slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

continuing to be practiced legally in four U.S. states as a result. In the book, the main character, a former slave and bounty hunter working for the U.S. government, attempts to infiltrate an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

organization known as the "Underground Airlines" (a reference to the historical

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

). The book was an Indie Next pick for July 2016 and a New York Times bestseller. The book won the 2016

Sidewise Award for Alternate History The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year. Overview The awards take their name from the 1934 short story " Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in w ...

. His novel ''Golden State'' was published by Mulholland Books in January 2019. The novel imagines an

version of Southern California in which objective reality is fetishized and protected above all things, and lying is the greatest crime imaginable. Winters has said the book was inspired by the rise of

alternative facts "Alternative facts" was a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a ''Meet the Press'' interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the atten ...

and in particular by the argument about the crowd size at the 2017 presidential inauguration. ''Golden State'' was an Indie Next pick for January 2019 and a Book of the Month Club selection. Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Michael Berry called the novel "smart, intricate and propulsive" and "proof that Winters deserves our continued attention as one of crime fiction’s most inventive practitioners." In 2021 Winters published ''The Quiet Boy''. Reviewing ''The Quiet Boy'' in the ''New York Times'', Sarah Lyall wrote "Winters is such a fine writer that by the time he asks you to suspend your disbelief, you’ll follow him anywhere." His thriller ''Big Time'' centering on two average women caught up in the world of corporate espionage, arrived March 2024. Critics praised ''Big Time'' as a "fast-paced and thought-provoking speculative thriller with well-drawn and relatable characters" and "jaw-dropping plot twists." Winters has been active in television since 2016, developing pilots and staffing on shows such as ''Legion'' and the Apple limited series ''

Manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...

''. In 2022 it was announced that Winters was creating a show based on the

Jeffery Deaver Jeffery Deaver (born May 6, 1950) is an American mystery and crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He lat ...

novel ''The Never Game,'' later retitled '' Tracker'' for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. The procedural, starring

Justin Hartley Justin Scott Hartley (born January 29, 1977) is an American actor, television producer, and director. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Passions'' (2002–2006), Oliver Queen on the WB/ CW television series ''Smallvill ...

of ''This is Us'' and directed by

Ken Olin Kenneth Edward Olin (born July 30, 1954) is an American actor, television director, and producer. As an actor, Olin is known for his role as Michael Steadman in the ABC drama series ''Thirtysomething'' (1987–1991), for which he received a Gold ...

, was picked up to series and premiered after Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024.

Personal life

Winters lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children.

Bibliography

Fiction

* ''

'' (2009) * '' Android Karenina'' (2010) * ''The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman'' (2010) * ''The Mystery of the Missing Everything'' (2011) * ''Bedbugs'' (2011) * ''

'' (2012) * '' Countdown City'' (2013) * '' World of Trouble'' (2014) * '' Underground Airlines'' (2016) * '' Golden State'' (2019) * ''The Quiet Boy'' (2021) * ''Big Time'' (2024)

Audio-only

* ''Q&A'' (Audible original) (2020) * ''Inside Jobs: Tales From a Time of Quarantine'' (Audible original) (2020) * '
Self Help
' (Audible original) (2022) *
Stranger
' (Audible original) (2023) *
Hitchhikers
' (Audible original) (2025)

Poetry

Literally Disturbed: Tales to Keep You Up at Night
(2013)
Literally Disturbed #2: More Tales to Keep You Up at Night
(2015)
Romantically Disturbed: Love Poems to Rip Your Heart Out
(2015)

Plays

* ''Slut'' (Off Broadway, 2005) * ''Breaking Up is Hard to Do'' (premiere Capitol Rep, Albany, 2005; licensed by Theatrical Rights Worldwide) * ''The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere'' (TheatreWorks USA, 2006); licensed by Samuel French * ''A (Tooth) Fairy Tale'' (premiered by Vital Theater, 2009); licensed b
Samuel French
* ''Uncle Pirate'' (premiered by Vital Theater, 2010); licensed b
Samuel French

Recognition

* 2008 Dramatists Guild Fellowship * 2010 Edgar Award Nomination (The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman) * 2011 Bank Street Best Children's Book (The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman) * 2012 Edgar Award Winner (The Last Policeman) * 2012 Macavity Award Nominee (The Last Policeman) * 2013 Philip K. Dick Award Winner (Countdown City) * 2014 Edgar Award Nominee (World of Trouble) * 2015 Anthony Award Nominee (World of Trouble) * 2017 Chautauqua Prize finalist (Underground Airlines) * 2017 International Thriller Award nominee (Best Novel) (Underground Airlines) * 2019 Grand prix de L'Imaginaire (Foreign-Language Novel) (Underground Airlines) * 2020 Audie Award Nominee (Inside Jobs)

References

External links

*
Modern Signed Books BlogTalkRadio Interview with Rodger Nichols about The Underground Airlines August 2016
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winters, Ben H. Living people 1976 births 21st-century American novelists American male dramatists and playwrights American male novelists 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights American people of Czech-Jewish descent American satirists American satirical novelists Edgar Award winners Sidewise Award winners Washington University in St. Louis alumni Novelists from Maryland 21st-century American male writers