Douglas Preston is the author of 35 books, both fiction and nonfiction, sixteen of which have been New York Times bestsellers, with several reaching the number 1 position. Before becoming a writer he worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and was managing editor of CURATOR magazine. His first novel, RELIC, co-authored with Lincoln Child, was made into a movie by Paramount Pictures, which launched the famed Pendergast series of novels. His recent nonfiction book, THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE, is also in production as a film. His latest book, THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD, tells the true story of the discovery of a prehistoric city in the Mosquitia mountains of Honduras. In addition to books, Preston writes about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker, National Geographic, and Smithsonian, and he taught writing at Princeton University. He is past president of International Thriller Writers and serves on the board of the Authors Guild. He is the recipient of numerous writing awards in the US and Europe, including an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Pomona College.