Daniel Keyes author page

Daniel Keyes biography

Daniel Keyes (August 9, 1927 – June 15, 2014) was an American writer known chiefly for his science fiction exploring human consciousness and identity.

He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and left high school early to enlist in the United States Maritime Service. After his service, he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Brooklyn College in 1950.

Keyes began his publishing career as an editor and writer for pulp magazines. He worked for Magazine Management and Marvel Science Stories and later as an associate editor for Atlas Comics. Early in his writing career he published under pseudonyms such as Kris Daniels and A.D. Locke.

In 1959 Keyes published a short story version of Flowers for Algernon in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He expanded it into a full novel in 1966, which won the Nebula Award and later the Hugo Award when published in its shorter form. The novel has been adapted for film, television and theatre.

Keyes taught creative writing at Wayne State University and later joined the faculty of Ohio University in 1966 as professor of English and creative writing. He retired as professor emeritus in 2000.

His non-fiction works include The Minds of Billy Milligan (1981) and Unveiling Claudia (1986). He published an autobiography, Algernon, Charlie and I: A Writer’s Journey, in 2000.

He won the Hugo Award for the 1959 short form of Flowers for Algernon and the Nebula Award for the 1966 novel version.