Allen Steele became a full-time science fiction writer in 1988, following publication of his first short story, "Live From The Mars Hotel" (Asimov's, mid-Dec. '88). Since then he has become a prolific author of novels, short stories, and essays, with his work appearing in England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Japan.

Steele was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He received his B. A. in Communications from New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire and his M. A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Before turning to SF, he worked as a staff writer for daily and weekly newspapers in Tennessee, Missouri, and Massachusetts, freelanced for business and general-interest magazines in the Northeast, and spent a short tenure as a Washington correspondent, covering politics on Capitol Hill.

His novels include Orbital Decay, Clarke County, Space, Lunar Descent, Labyrinth of Night, The Jericho Iteration, The Tranquillity Alternative, and A King of Infinite Space. He has also published two collections of short fiction, Rude Astronauts and All-American Alien Boy. His work has appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction, Analog, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Omni, Science Fiction Age, Absolute Magnitude, Journal Wired, Pirate Writings, and The New York Review of Science Fiction, as well as in many anthologies.

His novella "The Death Of Captain Future" (Asimov's, Oct. '95) received the 1996 Hugo Award for Best Novella and the 1996 Science Fiction Weekly Reader Appreciation Award. It was also nominated for a 1997 Nebula Award and for a Shieun Award (Japan). His novelette "The Good Rat" (Analog, mid-Dec. '95) was nominated for a Hugo in 1996. Orbital Decay received the 1990 Locus Award for Best First Novel, and Clarke County, Space was nominated for the 1991 Phillip K. Dick Award. Steele was First Runner-Up for the 1990 John W. Campbell Award, and received the Donald A. Wollheim Award in 1993.

His novella "...Where Angels Fear to Tread" (Asimov's, Oct./Nov. '97) won the 1998 Hugo, Locus, and the Asimov's Readers Award for Best Novella. It was also nominated for the Nebula, and was First Runner-Up for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial award.

Steele lives in western Massachusetts with his wife Linda and their three dogs. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the Space Frontier Foundation, and collects vintage SF books and magazines.