From his first story 'Man-Made Self' in 1976 to his latest 'Kiosk' in 2007, Sterling has written science fiction that is sharply extrapolated and technologically literate. His 'Shaper/Mechanist' stories were part of the cyberpunk movement of the '80s, just as his 'Leggy Starlitz' and 'Chattanooga' stories covered the near future of the '90s.

Born in Texas in 1954, Sterling has traveled the globe writing and working for The New York Times, Nature, Wired, Newsday, and a number of industrial design magazines. His novels include far future adventures Involution Ocean and The Artificial Kid, Schismatrix, Islands in the Net, The Difference Engine, Heavy Weather, Holy Fire, Distraction, and The Zenith Angle.