Steven Barnes (born March 1, 1952) is an American

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 ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, and

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

writer. He has written novels, short fiction, screen plays for

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, scripts for comic books, animation, newspaper copy, and magazine articles.

Career

Barnes wrote several episodes of ''The Outer Limits'' and ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bo ...

''. His " A Stitch In Time" episode of The Outer Limits won an Emmy Award. He also wrote the episode "Brief Candle" for ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...

'' and the '' Andromeda'' episode "The Sum of Its Parts". Barnes's first published piece of fiction, the 1979 novelette "The Locusts", was written with

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are '' Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, '' The Mote in God's E ...

, and was a Hugo Award nominee.Award nominees

/ref> Barnes subsequently collaborated with Niven on several other books, including two books with both Niven and

Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s ...

. Barnes said he clashed politically with the two conservative writers but enjoyed working with them, calling it "a tremendous learning opportunity". Barnes's alternate history novel '' Lion's Blood'' won the 2003

Endeavour Award The Endeavour Award, announced annually at OryCon in Portland, Oregon, is awarded to a distinguished science fiction or fantasy book written by a Pacific Northwest author or authors and published in the previous year. Pacific Northwest is home to ...

. His 2004 Star Wars tie-in novel ''

The Cestus Deception ''The Cestus Deception'' is a science fiction novel by Steven Barnes set in the '' Star Wars'' galaxy during the Clone Wars. The book takes place one year after the Battle of Geonosis in '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'', ...

'' was a

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 ...

bestseller. Together with his wife,

Tananarive Due Tananarive Priscilla Due ( ) (born January 5, 1966) is an American author and educator. Due won the American Book Award for her novel '' The Living Blood''. She is also known as a film historian with expertise in Black horror. Due teaches a cours ...

, and actor

Blair Underwood Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film ''Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series '' L.A. Law''. Underwood has ...

, Barnes won the 2009 NAACP Image Award for outstanding Literary Work - Fiction for ''In the Night of the Heat: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel''.

Early life and education

Barnes, was born on March 1, 1952 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He has had a varied education, including a secondary education at

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest public high school in the Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are called the Romans. Los Angeles High School is a pub ...

. He continued at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

, majoring in Communication Arts.''Steven Barnes: White & Black''. Locus Magazine; vol/issue 50/3 062003. Pages 84-86.
excerpts

Personal life

Barnes is married to

, a writer.Interview: Steven Barnes
, by Greg Beatty. ''Strange Horizons'', July 29, 2002. Retrieved August 31, 2013 The couple live in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and host a video blog together. They also taught a course together at UCLA called "The Sunken Place: Racism, Survival & Black Horror" that experienced a surprise visit from ''

Get Out ''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Land ...

'' director Jordan Peele. The course is now available as a webinar. Barnes has a daughter from his first marriage and a son from his current marriage. Barnes is also an avid practitioner of martial and physical arts. He began studying in 1969. He is a black belt in Kenpo Karate (BKF style), and

Kodokan Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

. He holds an instructor certificate in Wu Ming Ta, and has an instructor candidate ranking in Filipino

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

stick and knife fighting. He is an advanced student in Jun Fan kickboxing ( Bruce Lee method under

Dan Inosanto Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

), and is an instructor in

Wu-style t'ai chi ch'uan The Wu family style () t'ai chi ch'uan (Taijiquan) of Wu Quanyou and Wu Chien-ch'uan (Wu Jianquan) is the second most popular form of t'ai chi ch'uan in the world today, after the Yang style, and fourth in terms of family seniority. This styl ...

under Hawkins Cheung. He is an intermediate student in self-defense pistol shooting (preferring the Turnipseed modified Weaver method). He holds a brown belt in Shorenji Jiu Jitsu, and intermediate rankings in

Tae Kwon Do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

and

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...

. He completed the Yoga Works basic Hatha Yoga instructor program; is studying Pentjak Silat (an Indonesian fighting system) with Guru Stevan Plinck, and Ashtanga Yoga, an aerobic form of yoga.

Bibliography

* The

Dream Park ''Dream Park'' is a 1981 sci-fi/murder mystery novel written by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes set in a futuristic amusement park of the same name. It was nominated for the 1982 Locus Award and later expanded into a series of cyberpunk murder myst ...

series: ** ''Dream Park'' (1981; with

) ** ''The Barsoom Project'' (1989; with Larry Niven) ** ''The California Voodoo Game'' (1992; with Larry Niven) ** ''The Moon Maze Game'' (2011; with Larry Niven) * The Aubry Knight series: ** ''Street Lethal'' (1983) ** ''Gorgon Child'' (1989) ** ''Firedance'' (1993) * The Heorot series: ** ''

The Legacy of Heorot ''The Legacy of Heorot'' is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes, first published in 1987. Reproduction and fertility expert Dr Jack Cohen acted as a consultant on the book, designing the no ...

'' (1987; with Larry Niven and

) ** ''

Beowulf's Children ''Beowulf's Children'' is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes, first published in 1995. It is a sequel to ''The Legacy of Heorot''. The book was published in the United Kingdom as ''The Drago ...

'' (1995; with Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle) ** '' Starborn and Godsons'' (2020; with Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle) * The Insh'Allah series: ** '' Lion's Blood'' (2002; winner of the 2003

) ** '' Zulu Heart'' (2003) * The "Ibandi" series: ** ''Great Sky Woman'' (2006) ** ''Shadow Valley'' (2009) * The Tennyson Hardwick Novels: ** '' Casanegra'' (2007; with

and

) ** ''In the Night of the Heat'' (2008; with Blair Underwood and Tananarive Due) ** ''From Cape Town with Love'' (2010; with Blair Underwood and Tananarive Due) ** ''South by Southeast'' (September 2012; with Blair Underwood and Tananarive Due) * Stand-alone novels, screenplays, and other works: ** '' The Descent of Anansi'' (1982; with Larry Niven) ** " To See the Invisible Man" (1986; a television script adapting a short story by

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gr ...

, for the 1980s revival of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'') ** ''The Kundalini Equation'' (1986) ** ''

Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

'' (1987) (issues #1–5 only) ** ''Achilles' Choice'' (1991) (with Larry Niven) ** ''Blood Brothers'' (1996) ** ''Iron Shadows'' (1997) ** '' Far Beyond the Stars'' (1998) ('' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' novelization) ** ''

The Lives of Dax List of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' novels based on the American science fiction television series of the same name. The book line was published by Simon & Schuster imprints Pocket Books, Pocket Star, Gallery, and Atria. More recent ''Deep ...

'': "The Music Between the Notes" (1999) ** ''Saturn's Race'' (2000) (with

) ** ''Charisma'' (2002) ** ''

'' (2004) ('' Star Wars'' novel set in the

Clone Wars Clone Wars may refer to: Star Wars Film and television * ''Star Wars: Clone Wars'' (2003 TV series), an American animated television series set in the ''Star Wars'' galaxy * ''Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' (2008 TV series), an American 3D CGI anim ...

) ** ''Assassin and Other Stories'' (2010), a collection, ISFiC Press ** ''The Invisible Imam'', a novel included in ''Assassin and Other Stories'' (2010) ** ''Devil's Wake'' (2012; with Tananarive Due) ** ''Domino Falls'' (2013; with Tananarive Due) ** ''Star Wars Saved My Life: Be the HERO in the adventure of your lifetime!'' (2015), illustrated by Trey Jackson and Angelina Greenwood ** ''The Seascape Tattoo'' (2016; with

) ** ''Twelve Days'' (2017) * Short stories ** "The Woman in the Wall" (2000; novelette) ** "Danikil", ''Whose Future Is It?'' (2018)"Steven Barnes" in ''Cellarius Stories, Volume 1'', ch. 10. Cellarius, Ed., New York: 2018, .

References

External links

*
"Black Science Fiction and Fantasy"
with

, Steven Barnes, and Sheree R. Thomas on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, ''

News & Notes ''News & Notes'' was a National Public Radio program focusing on issues affecting African-Americans and African diaspora communities. The listenership was multiracial and international. The program aired for one hour each weekday and was hosted b ...

'', August 13, 2007 (audio and transcript)
Audio Interview - Steven Barnes on the Horace J. Digby Report

''Lightspeed'' magazine Interview with Steven Barnes
by Christian A. Coleman, in May 2017 (Issue 84)
''Apex Magazine'': Interview with Author Steven Barnes
by Andrea Johnson on May 16, 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Steven 1952 births 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists African-American novelists American male screenwriters American science fiction writers American male novelists American television writers Black speculative fiction authors Endeavour Award winners Living people American male television writers Pepperdine University alumni Afrofuturist writers 21st-century American male writers American comics writers African-American screenwriters 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American writers African-American male writers