Jack McDevitt is a Philadelphia native. He is a graduate of LaSalle and holds a master’s in literature from Wesleyan University. He has been a naval officer, an English teacher, a customs officer, and a motivational trainer. He has directed high school theater groups, appearing, like Hitchcock, in cameos.

He wrote his first SF story in 1980 at the suggestion of his wife, Maureen, as an antidote to the routine of training customs inspectors. "The Emerson Effect" sold to Twilight Zone Magazine. Since then, McDevitt says, it’s been downhill all the way. His third story, "The Jersey Rifle", was described by Charles Sheffield as "the best chess story ever written." His fourth, "Cryptic", was a final ballot Nebula Award nominee.

His first novel, The Hercules Text, won the Locus Award for best first novel and the Philip K. Dick Special Award. A revised version, together with A Talent for War, can be found in the omnibus volume Hello Out There. "Ships in the Night" won the $10,000 UPC International competition. He won the Homer Award for the novella "Time Travelers Never Die", and also received the 2000 Phoenix award. The Engines of God was a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for the best SF novel published in the UK. Three recent novels, Ancient Shores, Moonfall, and Infinity Beach, have been on the short list for the Nebula.

He is married to the former Maureen McAdams of Philadelphia. McDevitt and his wife live in Brunswick, Georgia.

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