Greg Bear was born in San Diego, California, on August 20th, 1951, to Wilma M. and Dale F. Bear. His father was in the navy so as a child he had traveled extensively to Japan, the Philippines and Alaska, as well as touring various parts of the United States.

He completed his first short story at the age of 10 while living in Alaska. At age thirteen or fourteen he began to submit stories to magazines, and at fifteen he sold his first short short to Robert Lowndes’ Famous Science Fiction magazine, but it didn’t appear in print until he was sixteen years old. It took five years to sell his next story, but by the time he was twenty-three he was selling regularly. He completed his first novel when he was nineteen but it was not published until 13 years later (having been completely rewritten). He sold his first novel, Hegira, to Dell in 1979.

He is the author of more than thirty books of science fiction and fantasy, including Blood Music, The Forge of God, Darwin’s Radio, and Quantico. He is married to Astrid Anderson Bear and is the father of Erik and Alexandra. Awarded two Hugos and five Nebulas for his fiction, one of two authors to win a Nebula in every category, Bear has been called the “Best working writer of hard science fiction” by “The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.” His stories have been collected into an omnibus volume by Tor Books. Bear has served on political and scientific action committees and has advised Microsoft Corporation, the U.S. Army, the CIA, Sandia National Laboratories, Callison Architecture, Inc., Homeland Security,  and other groups and agencies.

To listen to our interview with Greg Bear, click play below: