Ian McDonald

Ian McDonald was born in Manchester, England in 1960. When he was five his family moved to Belfast, where he has lived ever since.

At the age of nine, Ian began to write; when he was 22 he had sold his first story to a local magazine in Belfast; and by 1987 he had become a full-time writer. It was through television that he developed a love for science fiction. He worked in this medium later, contributing scripts to the Sesame Workshop production in Northern Ireland, Sesame Tree.

Ian’s first novel, Desolation Road, earned him a number of nominations as well as wins, including the Arthur C. Clarke and Locus Awards. He has won and been nominated for many awards since; including the Hugo, Philip K. Dick, and British Science Fiction Association awards.

He is known for setting his stories in developing countries, often travelling to them for periods of time to research and write. These places range from India (River of Gods) to Lusophone, South America (Brasyl) to Africa (Chaga Saga).

His next novel to be released is Planserunner, due out later this year.

Ian was the Guest of Honour at last year’s P-CON, and we are happy that he will be returning again this year. You can keep up to date with his news by following him on Twitter.

Bio by Sarah Elliott