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

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

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

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

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

Early life and education

Barnes, was born on March 1, 1952, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He has had a varied education, including a secondary education at Los Angeles High School. He continued at

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

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

Career

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

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), 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 ...

''. His " A Stitch In Time" episode of ''The Outer Limits'' won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

. 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 fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...

'' 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 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...

, and was a

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

nominee.Award nominees

/ref> Barnes subsequently collaborated with Niven on several other books, including three 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 ergonomics, human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. ...

. 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 an author or authors from the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia, The Yukon ...

. His 2004

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

tie-in novel '' The Cestus Deception'' was a

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

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'' (2001), and the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel, the Shirley Jackson Award for Best ...

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

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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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 ...

'' director

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for his film and television work in the Comedy film, comedy and Horror film, horror genres. He has received List of awards and nominations r ...

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

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

stick and knife fighting. He is an advanced student in Jun Fan

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

(

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (born Lee Jun-fan; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was an American-born Hong Kong martial artist, actor, filmmaker, and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy which was formed from ...

method under Dan Inosanto), and is an instructor in Wu-style tai chi 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 and

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which 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 practic ...

. He completed the Yoga Works basic

Hatha Yoga Hatha yoga (; Sanskrit हठयोग, International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''haṭhayoga'') is a branch of yoga that uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word ह� ...

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

Bibliography

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

) ** ''The Barsoom Project'' (1989; with

) ** ''The California Voodoo Game'' (1992; with

) ** ''The Moon Maze Game'' (2011; with

) * 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 n ...

'' (1987; with

and

) ** '' The Dragons of Heorot'' (1995; with

and

) ** '' Beowulf's Children'' (1995; with

and

) ** ''Starborn and Godsons'' (2020; with

and

) * 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 Blair Underwood 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 a prolific American science fiction author and editor. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a SFWA Grand ...

, for the 1980s revival of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'') ** ''The Kundalini Equation'' (1986) ** '' Fusion'' (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'': "The Music Between the Notes" (1999) ** ''Saturn's Race'' (2000) (with

) ** ''Charisma'' (2002) ** '' The Cestus Deception'' (2004) (''

'' novel set in the Clone Wars) ** ''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) ** ''Star Wars: Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss'' (2024) (''

'' novel set shortly after

The Phantom Menace ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

) * 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

Steven Barnes' blog

Steven Barnes' Homepage
(archived) *
"Black Science Fiction and Fantasy"
with

, Steven Barnes, and Sheree R. Thomas on NPR, '' News & Notes'', August 13, 2007 (audio and transcript) *
''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 African-American writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists African-American male writers African-American novelists African-American screenwriters Afrofuturist writers American comics writers American male novelists American male screenwriters American male television writers American science fiction writers American television writers Speculative fiction writers of African descent Endeavour Award winners Living people Pepperdine University alumni