Simon Jimenez

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-08-24

Simon Emmanuel Jimenez is a Filipino-American speculative fiction writer born in 1989, who spent his formative years in both Canada and the Philippines before settling in the United States. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College, where he began developing his debut novel, and cites influences including Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos, David Mitchell, Gabriel García Márquez, and Jennifer Egan. Jimenez's debut novel, The Vanished Birds (2020), was followed by The Spear Cuts Through Water (2022), a genre-blending fantasy that drew on Filipino folklore and oral storytelling traditions. His work has earned significant recognition, including a win of the 2023 Crawford Award and the 2023 British Fantasy Award for Fantasy Novel, as well as a finalist placement for the 2021 Locus Award for Best First Novel, a shortlisting for the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and a nomination for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. Jimenez identifies as gay and multiracial, and currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Outside writing, he plays piano, describing his relationship with the instrument as one of love and frustration in equal measure. He continues to be regarded as one of the more distinctive new voices in literary speculative fiction.

Universe(s)

Books

• The Spear Cuts Through Water (2022) · The Spear Cuts Through Water Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 1 book
• Award recognitions across all universes: 2 (2 won)

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