Editing William Shunn

{{Short description|American Science fiction author (born 1967)}}

{{Infobox writer
|name         = William Shunn
|image        = Shunn, William (WFA).jpg
|imagesize    =
|caption      = William Shunn at the 2007 [[World Fantasy Convention]]
|pseudonym    =
|birth_name   = Donald William Shunn II
|birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1967|08|14}}
|birth_place  = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
|death_date   = 
|death_place  = 
|occupation   = [[Short story]] writer
|education    = [[University of Utah]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
|period       = 1993–present
|genre        = [[Science fiction]]
|subject      =
|movement     =
|notableworks = 
|spouse       = 
|partner      =
|children     =
|awards       = 
|signature    =
|website      = {{URL|http://www.shunn.net/}}
|portaldisp   =
}}

'''William Shunn''' (born August 14, 1967) is an American [[science fiction]] writer and computer programmer. He was raised in a [[Latter-day Saint]] household, the oldest of eight children. In 1986, he served a [[Mormon missionary|mission]] to Canada for [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], but was arrested for making a false bomb threat, for the purpose of preventing his fellow missionary from returning home.<ref>[http://www.shunn.net/terror/terrorherald27.html "Missionary gets day's jail, $2,000 fine for bomb hoax"], Monica Zurowski, ''[[Calgary Herald]]'', February 27, 1987</ref>

==Life and career==
Shunn received a B.S. in [[computer science]] at the [[University of Utah]] in 1991.<ref>[http://www.continuum.utah.edu/2007fall/tty.html "Through the Years"], ''Continuum: The Magazine of the University of Utah'', Fall 2007</ref>  He went to work for [[WordPerfect|WordPerfect Corporation]] and was part of the team that developed [[WordPerfect]] 6.0 for [[MS-DOS]].  In 1995, he moved from [[Utah]] to [[New York City]].  He left the [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS Church]] at the same time and created one of the earliest [[ex-Mormon]] web sites.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19970101103844/http://rainfrog.com/bill/mormon.shtml "Mormon Matter"]</ref>

Shunn's first professional short story was published in ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction]]'' in 1993.<ref>Editorial introduction to "From Our Point of View We Had Moved to the Left," ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction]],'' February 1993</ref>  He has been nominated once for the [[Hugo Award]] and twice for the [[Nebula Award]].

Shunn is the author of a 2015 memoir, ''The Accidental Terrorist: Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary''.<ref>Shunn, W., [https://www.accidentalterrorist.com/prelude.html ''The Accidental Terrorist: Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary''], Sinister Regard (November 10, 2015). {{ISBN|978-1941928554}}</ref>

In the wake of the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], he created what may have been the first online [[survivor registry]].<ref>''Journalism After September 11,'' Barbie Zelizer and Stuart Allan (eds), Routledge, 2002, {{ISBN|0-415-28799-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cooper |first1=Charles |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/online-help-spawns-hope-for-victims/ |title=Online help spawns hope for victims |work=CNET |date=13 September 2001 |access-date=30 June 2022}} Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20010913185424/http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1014-201-7147460-0.html Retrieved 30 June 2022.</ref>

Shunn is also known for creating a web site, Spelling Bee Solver, that offers daily hints to [[The New York Times Spelling Bee|''The New York Times'' Spelling Bee]]. This tool is commonly used within the community of Spelling Bee players.<ref name="BeeTimes">{{cite news |last1=Amlen |first1=Deb |title=The Genius of Spelling Bee |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/16/crosswords/spellingbee-puzzles.html |access-date=4 November 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=16 October 2020}}</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
* 2001: Nominated for [[Nebula Award]] for [[Nebula Award for Best Novelette|Best Novelette]] for "[[Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites]]" (''Vanishing Acts,'' ed. [[Ellen Datlow]], [[Tor Books]], [[New York City|New York]], [[New York (state)|NY]], 2000)
* 2006: Nominated for [[Hugo Award]] for [[Hugo Award for Best Novella|Best Novella]] and [[Nebula Award]] for [[Nebula Award for Best Novella|Best Novella]] for "[[Inclination (novella)|Inclination]]" (''[[Asimov's Science Fiction]]'', April/May 2006)

==Bibliography==
===Fiction===
* [[Netherview Station]] story series:
** ''[[The Practical Ramifications of Interstellar Packet Loss]]'' (1998)
** ''[[Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites]]'' (2000)
** ''[[Inclination (novella)|Inclination]]'' (2006)
* ''[[Strong Medicine (novella)|Strong Medicine]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Love in the Age of Spyware]]'' (2003)
*  ''[[An Alternate History of the 21st Century]]'', chap-book (2007)

===Nonfiction===
* ''The Accidental Terrorist: Confessions of a Reluctant Missionary'' (2015)

In 1993 or 1994, Shunn wrote a style guide for [[standard manuscript format]] (the generally accepted method for preparing a fiction manuscript for submission to professional markets), based on advice gathered at the [[Clarion Workshop]] and elsewhere.<ref>W. Shunn, [https://www.shunn.net/format/introduction.html "Introduction to Proper Manuscript Format"], shunn.net. Retrieved 8 Jun 2022</ref> First published to the web in 1995, this guide (and its later revisions),<ref>W. Shunn, [https://www.shunn.net/format/ "Proper Manuscript Format"], shunn.net. Retrieved 17 Mar 2022. Earlier version published on ''Writers Write: The Internet Writing Journal'', December 1998: https://www.writerswrite.com/journal/proper-manuscript-format-12984 Retrieved 17 Mar 2022. Earliest version published online in late 1995: https://shunn.net/format/original/ Retrieved 8 Jun 2022.</ref> commonly known as "Shunn format"{{cn|date=June 2022}}, has since been adopted by many magazines including [[Clarkesworld Magazine|Clarkesworld]], [[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Analog]], and [[Interzone (magazine)|Interzone]] as a requirement for submissions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Submissions |url=https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/submissions/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=[[Clarkesworld Magazine|Clarkesworld]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Writer's Guidelines |url=https://www.analogsf.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jelley |first=Gareth |title=Submissions |url=https://interzone.press/submissions/ |access-date=2024-10-17 |website=[[Interzone (magazine)|Interzone]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Science Fiction|Biography}}
*[http://www.shunn.net Official site]
*{{isfdb name|id=William_Shunn|name=William Shunn}}
*[http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/ramifications.htm "The Practical Ramifications of Interstellar Packet Loss"] (short story)
*[http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/07/16/city_of_angels/ "Love in the Age of Spyware"] (short story from ''[[Salon.com|Salon]],'' 16 July 2003)
*[http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/11/10/medicine/ "Strong Medicine"] (short story from ''[[Salon.com|Salon]],'' 10 November 2003)
*[https://www.sensesfive.com/2006/06/07/the-missionary-imposition-by-william-shunn/ "The Missionary Imposition"] (personal essay)
*[https://www.wired.com/2015/11/geeks-guide-william-shunn/ Podcast of Shunn comparing the Book of Mormon to Lord of the Rings]
*[https://www.sbsolver.com/ Spelling Bee Solver]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shunn, William}}
[[Category:1967 births]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Former Latter Day Saints]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American Mormon missionaries in Canada]]
[[Category:University of Utah alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Mormon missionaries]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American male short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:Novelists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]