Born October 31, 1959, in Fort Meade, MD; son of David Town (a professor) and Janet (a laboratory technician) Stephenson; married Ellen Marie Lackermann (a physician), June 28, 1985. Education: Boston University, B.A., 1981. Addresses: Home: Seattle, WA. Agent: Liz Darhansoff, 1220 Park Ave., New York, NY 10128.

NOVELS; EXCEPT AS NOTED

• The Big U, Vintage Trade (New York, NY), 1984.
• Zodiac: The Eco-Thriller, Atlantic Monthly Press (New York, NY), 1988.
• Snow Crash, Bantam (New York, NY), 1992.
• The Diamond Age; or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, Bantam (New York, NY), 1995.
• Cryptonomicon, Avon (New York, NY), 1999.
• In the Beginning ... Was the Command Line (essay), Perennial (New York, NY), 1999.
• Anathem, William Morrow (New York, NY), 2008.

• Quicksilver, Morrow (New York, NY), 2003.
• The Confusion, Morrow (New York, NY), 2004.
• The System of the World, Morrow (New York, NY), 2004.

Also contributor to Wired and the Akron Beacon Journal.

NOVELS; AS STEPHEN BURY

• (With J. Frederick George) Interface, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1995, republished under the name Neal Stephenson, 2005.
• (With J. Frederick George) The Cobweb, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1996.