Benjamin Allen H. "Ben" Winters (born 1976) is an American author.

Early life and education

Winters was born in Maryland. In high school, he played in the punk band Corm, alongside John Davis, now of Title Tracks. In 1998, he graduated from

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

in St. Louis, Missouri, 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 A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...

. ''In June 2010, ''

Android Karenina ''Android Karenina'' is a 2010 parody novel written by Ben H. Winters based on the 1877 novel ''Anna Karenina'' by Leo Tolstoy. The novel is a mashup, adding steampunk elements to the Russian 19th-century environment of ''Anna Karenina,'' a book ...

'' 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 s ...

'' Series. In 2012, Winters published ''

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, po ...

'', 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 The Philip K. Dick Award is an American science fiction award given annually at Norwescon and sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005) the Philip K. Dick Trust. Named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, ...

for Distinguished Science Fiction. The third book in the Policeman series, ''

World of Trouble ''World of Trouble'' is an American soft science fiction mystery novel by Ben H. Winters and published by Quirk Books. It is the third and last installment of the '' Last Policeman'' trilogy. It was published on July 15, 2014. Plot Only weeks ...

'', 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 ...

''. Winters's novel ''

Underground Airlines ''Underground Airlines'' is a 2016 novel by Ben Winters which is set in a contemporary alternate-history United States where the American Civil War never occurred because Abraham Lincoln was assassinated prior to his 1861 inauguration and a ...

'' was published by Mulholland Books in July 2016. It is an

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

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

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

never occurred, with human

chattel slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

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 movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

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

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

). 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 wh ...

. 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 at ...

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'' 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." Winters has been active in television since 2016, developing pilots and staffing on shows such as

Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...

and the forthcoming Apple limited series ''Manhunt''. In summer of 2022 it was announced that Winters was creating a show for CBS 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 later ...

novel ''The Never Game'', to be directed by

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

and starring

Justin Hartley Justin Scott Hartley (born January 29, 1977) is an American actor. He has played Fox Crane on the NBC daytime soap opera ''Passions'' (2002–2006), Oliver Queen/Green Arrow on The CW television series ''Smallville'' (2006–2011), and Adam New ...

of ''This is Us''.

Personal life

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

Bibliography

Fiction

* ''

'' (2009) * ''

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

'' (2012) * '' Countdown City'' (2013) * ''

'' (2014) * ''

'' (2016) * '' Golden State'' (2019) * ''The Quiet Boy'' (2021)

Audio-only

* ''Q&A'' (Audible original) (2020) * ''Inside Jobs: Tales From a Time of Quarantine'' (Audible original) (2020)

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 Edgar Award winners Sidewise Award winners Washington University in St. Louis alumni Novelists from Maryland 21st-century American male writers