Whitley Strieber was born on June 13, 1945, in San Antonio, Texas. He received a BA in Law from the University of Texas in 1967 and spent a year at the London Film School in 1968. In 1969 he moved to New York and has lived there ever since.

Strieber had an extremely happy childhood until 1957 when a series of tragedies struck the family. Again in 1966 he was victimized by tragedy when he was witness to a sniper assault on the campus of the University of Texas where 14 people were killed.

Before he became a writer Strieber worked first in the newspaper business, then in the film business and finally in the advertising industry, leaving Cunningham and Walsh in 1978 as a vice president.

In 1982 he began to writer serious fiction about important social and political issues. His first novel of this type was WARDAY, a collaboration with science writer James Kunetka. It concerned the problem of limited nuclear war. It was written with a strict adherence to facts, which were themselves derived from an extensive search of scientific literature as well as interviews with many military people.

Strieber's next book, WOLF OF SHADOWS, was a story for young people about the idea of nuclear winter. It received the 1986 Olive Branch Award as the outstanding book of the year for young people on the subject of world peace, a Friends of American Writers Award, and was named Outstanding Science Book for Children by the National Science Teachers Association.

NATURE'S END, again written with Jim Kunetka, was published in 1986. It takes place 35 years from now, and presents a portrait of what the world will be like if we do not pay attention to the condition of the environment. After NATURE'S END Strieber published a novel he wrote in 1981 entitled CATMAGIC. The book, originally published under the pseudonym John Barry, is about “white” witchcraft and is based on Strieber's experiences with members of this beautiful and misunderstood pagan religion.

Before WARDAY he published four entertainment novels, among them the bestsellers THE WOLFEN (1978) and THE HUNGER (1981), both of which were made into films.

Strieber wrote COMMUNION between March and June of 1985. [ERROR - SEE BELOW] The book has been extremely well received in the United States, with many hundreds of people writing and calling Strieber to say that they shared his experience of an apparent encounter with nonhuman beings. The New York Times has called the book “powerfully written and involving,” and it has become a major national bestseller. Strieber's next book, TRANSFORMATION, was also a New York Times bestseller the fall of 1988.

Strieber's newest book, BILLY, was recently released by Putnam and Oliver Stone has purchased the film rights.

ERROR: Should read “between March and June 1986”, since a December 26, 1985 experience was a central part of Communion. Strieber said on Dreamland in August 2000 that he began writing Communion in April 1986. See Report on Communion for more.
Background on Whitley Strieber
From the presskit for the paperback edition of MAJESTIC
© 1990 The Berkley Publishing Group