Colorado Horror Author Takes Top State Prize

Former teacher and now full-time writer Dan Simmons took home a Colorado Book Award in the category of Genre Fiction for his novel A Winter Haunting. The book tells the story of a professor who returns to his hometown to learn the truth behind his childhood friend's death.

Dan Simmons' career started in 1982, when his first story was published on the same day as the birth of his daughter. To date, he has 21 published fiction novels (with two more on the way), along with 15 pieces of nonfiction and dozens of short stories. His work runs the gamut from fantasy, science fiction, horror, suspense, historical fiction, noir crime fiction, and mainstream literary fiction.

He has also written screenplays which were adapted for a low-budget TV series called "Monsters". He hopes to adapt A Winter Haunting into a film, with the help of German film director Robert Sigl ("Isle of Fear", " Lexx: The Dark Zone Stories").

Source: Denver Post, Dan Simmons website