Allen Mulherin Steele, Jr. (born January 19, 1958) is an American journalist and science fiction author.

Background

Steele was born in Nashville, Tennessee on January 19, 1958. He was introduced to science fiction fandom attending meetings of Nashville's science fiction club. He graduated high school from the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, received a bachelor's degree from New England College and a master's from the University of Missouri.

Writing

Before he established himself as a science fiction author, he spent several years working as a journalist. Steele began publishing short stories in 1988. His early novels formed a future history beginning with Orbital Decay and continuing through Labyrinth of Night. Some of his early novels such as Orbital Decay and Lunar Descent were about blue-collar workers working on future construction projects in space. Since 1992, he has tended to focus on stand-alone projects and short stories, although he has written five novels about the moon Coyote. Steele serves on the Board of Advisors for both the Space Frontier Foundation and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and he is a former member (Eastern Regional Director) of the SFWA Board of Directors. In April 2001, he testified before the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics of the U.S. House of Representatives, in hearings regarding space exploration in the 21st century. In 2004, he contributed a chapter to the collaborative hoax novel, Atlanta Nights.

Awards

Allen Steele received several awards for his writing:

Novels

Chapbooks

Short fiction

Non-fiction

Critical studies and reviews of Steele's work

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