Dean Wesley Smith

Dean Wesley Smith (born November 10, 1950) is an American writer of science fiction, mystery, and fantasy. Smith has published nearly 200 novels and hundreds of short stories.

Smith has also written novels for various media franchises including Star Trek, Spider-Man, X-Men, Men in Black, and many other gaming, television, and movie properties.

Smith's novel Laying the Music to Rest, was nominated for the 1990 Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. Smith's short story, In the Shade of the Slowboat Man, was nominated for the 1997 Nebula Award for Best Short Story.

He is married to fellow writer/editor Kristine Kathryn Rusch; they have collaborated on several works. Smith and Rusch operated Pulphouse Publishing for many years and edited the original (hardback) incarnation of Pulphouse Magazine; they won a World Fantasy Award in 1989.

Smith attributes his prolific output to a self-developed writing method he calls "cycling", where he does minor edits and revisions as he goes along with a manuscript. The goal is to finish a sellable novel within a few weeks or a month, without needing a substantial second draft, due to his belief that over-writing or endlessly editing a novel tends to diminish its quality.