Jamil Nasir was born in Chicago, Illinois of a Palestinian refugee father and the American daughter of the inventor of the industrial forklift. He spent much of his childhood in the Middle East, surviving two major wars and the local schools. Back in the U.S. he started college at age 14, studying science, mathematics, philosophy, literature, and so many other things that he finally graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a Bachelors of General Studies.
Between college stints he hitchhiked over much of North America, working as a carpenter, estate gardener, shop clerk, warehouseman, apple picker, and paralegal, among others. He finally found himself back in Ann Arbor, where he got a law degree. Since then he has worked part-time at a major Washington, D.C. law firm.
His third novel, Tower of Dreams, won France’s top science fiction award, Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, and was runner up for the Philip K. Dick Award for best science fiction novel in paperback. His short stories have appeared in many science fiction publications.