Dan Simmons is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is renowned for his work in the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works that span the genres of science fiction, horror, and fantasy, sometimes intermingling within a single novel.

His genre-intermingling novel Song of Kali (1985) won the prestigious World Fantasy Award. In addition to his contributions to science fiction and fantasy, Simmons writes mysteries and thrillers, some of which feature the recurring character Joe Kurtz.