Jeff VanderMeer was born on July 7th, 1968 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Fiji with his parents, both of whom worked for the Peace Corps. He spent much of his childhood in the Fiji Islands, an experience that has informed much of his ecological and surreal imagination in his writings. After they moved back to the United States, he attended the University of Florida. VanderMeer started his professional writing career with short stories before moving on to longer works. He has since gained notoriety for his contributions to the New Weird genre and as an editor of anthologies in the speculative fiction field. VanderMeer also teaches writing workshops and speaks on issues related to climate change and biodiversity.