Peter Straub was born March 2, 1943 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is an American author and poet. He is most famous for his work in the horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in recent history.
Straub earned an honors B.A. in English at the University of Wisconsin_Madison in 1965, and an MA at Columbia University a year later. He briefly taught English at his alma mater, now known as the University School of Milwaukee, then moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 to work on a Ph.D., and to start writing professionally.
In 1979 he returned to America, living first in Westport, Connecticut, where Emma Straub was born, then in New York City, where he and his family inhabit a brownstone on the Upper West Side. He is a member of HWA, MWA, and PEN.
Straub has recently taken up yoga. He remains intensely interested in jazz, as well as opera and other forms of classical music.