I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 2, 1978, the first of three brothers.

The Lies of Locke Lamora, my first novel, was bought by Simon Spanton at Orion Books in August, 2004. Prior to that I had just about every job you usually see in this sort of author bio-- dishwasher, busboy, waiter, web designer, office manager, prep cook, and freelance writer. I trained in basic firefighting at Anoka Technical College in 2005; from 2005-2016 I served as a paid-on-call firefighter in the city of New Richmond, Wisconsin.

In 2007 The Lies of Locke Lamora was a World Fantasy Award finalist.

In 2008 I received the Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award from the British Fantasy Society.

In 2013, The Republic of Thieves was a New York Times and Times of London bestseller.

In 2025, The Lies of Locke Lamora burst back onto the USA Today bestseller list thanks to its selection as a monthly pick at Barnes & Noble.

In 2026, I was nominated for my first Hugo Award, in the novelette category, for my story "Kaiju Agonistes."

I live in Massachusetts with my wife, acclaimed SF/F writer Elizabeth Bear, and our four cats and two Icelandic horses.