Benjamin Sonnek

Ben Sonnek wasn’t really taught to read. He just kind of picked it up from his family. Once he could somehow understand text, though, he actually didn’t read a lot of fiction; he was the quiet nerd who read mostly illustrated science nonfiction or comic strips. Once he did get into fiction, though, the story ideas moved in to stay, and when he tries to evict them by writing them down, more come in to take their place.

Less than five years after graduating summa cum laude with his bachelor’s degree in English, Ben became the editor of the awarded over-150-year-old newspaper, The Sauk Centre Herald (ask him why his holding that job means he’s a better writer than Sinclair Lewis). He lives in Sauk Centre, MN, with his wife and son, and aside from being a writer and editor, he’s also a second-degree Taekwondo black belt, a Lego enthusiast, a casual PC gamer, a hat collector, a stubborn jogger, and, as an introvert, someone who oscillates between talking too much and not at all.

Ben’s short fiction has appeared in publications including Daily Science Fiction, Aphelion, Perihelion, Edify Fiction, Sonder Midwest, and the Planet Raconteur podcast.