Bio: Michael A. Burstein was born in New York City in 1970, and grew up in the neighborhood of Forest Hills in the borough of Queens. He attended Hunter College High School in Manhattan. In 1991 he graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Physics, and in 1993 he earned a Master's in Physics from Boston University. In 1994 he attended the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Workshop.

Burstein's first published story, "TeleAbsence," which appeared in the July 1995 issue of Analog, was nominated for the Hugo Award and was chosen by the readers of Analog as the best short story published by the magazine in 1995. Two years later, Burstein won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer at the 1997 World Science Fiction Convention, LoneStarCon2. Burstein subsequently received Hugo nominations for "Broken Symmetry," "Cosmic Corkscrew," "Kaddish for the Last Survivor," (also a Nebula nominee) "Spaceships," and "Paying It Forward," and a Nebula and Sturgeon nomination for "Reality Check." From 1998 to 2000, Burstein served as Secretary of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Burstein lives with his wife Nomi in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, where he is an elected Town Meeting Member and Library Trustee. He has also worked as a Science teacher at all levels. He has given lectures and spoken at various science fiction conferences and libraries, and to groups at MIT and Harvard.

More information on Burstein and his work can be found on his webpage or via his electronic newsletter, MABFAN. [Photo by Nomi S. Burstein.]