John Shirley is one of the original cyberpunk authors.

He has been called 'the Lou Reed of Cyberpunk'; in addition to publishing numerous polemical essays and seminal works of cyberpunk, he has also played in punk-rock bands such as Sado-Nation and is the lead singer [and lyricist] of The Panther Moderns - a San Francisco-based rock band. He's also been the lead singer in the rock bands Terror Wrist and Obsession. Among Cyberpunks, he is perhaps the only genuine Punk. Far be it from us to gossip, but when Shirley writes about rock'n'roll, weird hairstyles, controlled substances, sick violence and tacky sex, one gets the impression of a writer (like Jack London or B.Traven) who draws on his own adventures and has earned the right to a revolutionary stance by serving his season in the Lower Depths. His career as a punk started in high school in Salem, Oregon, where he was expelled for keeping a teacher locked in a closet while he lectured the class on what a nuclear war would be like.

Shirley is the author of numerous works in a variety of genres; his story collection "Heatseeker" was chosen by the Locus Reader's poll as one of the best short story collections of 1989.

John Shirley was born in February 10, 1953 in Houston, Texas, United States. He spent most of his youth in Oregon state. He has also written under the pseudonym of D.B.Drumm (the 'Traveler' series). He's married to Michelina Shirley [aka Micky].