Photo: Bob Lee; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 20:21, 14 June 2010 (UTC) / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Neal Stephenson is, for my money, the closest thing science fiction has to a polymath architect. Born at Fort Meade, home of the NSA, he writes about cryptography, mathematics, and currency with an obsessive depth that feels almost biographical. Snow Crash gave us the word metaverse and reshaped how a generation imagined the internet, and his shelf of Hugo and Locus awards confirms it was no fluke. His doorstop novels demand real stamina, but that density is precisely the reward; he never condescends. Reading him feels less like entertainment than mental training, and I keep coming back because he makes me think harder.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Neal Stephenson
- Name (Japanese)
- ニール・スティーヴンスン
- Reading
- にーる・すてぃーゔんすん
- Born
- October 31, 1959 (age 66)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Boar
- Origin
- Fort Meade, Maryland, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- novelist / science fiction writer / author
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Ames High School
- University
- Boston University
Awards & achievements
- Prometheus Award - Hall of Fame
- 1997 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for Best Foreign Novel
- 1996 Hugo Award for Best Novel
- 1996 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
- 2000 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
- 2004 Arthur C. Clarke Award
- 2005 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
- 2009 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Neal Stephenson born?
Born October 31, 1959 (age 66).
Where is Neal Stephenson from?
Neal Stephenson is from Fort Meade, Maryland, United States.
What does Neal Stephenson do?
Neal Stephenson works as novelist, science fiction writer, author.
Novelist — see all → · Science fiction writer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.