William Shunn (born August 14, 1967) is an American science fiction writer and computer programmer.

In 1986, he served a mission to Canada for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but was arrested for making a false bomb threat, for the purpose of preventing his fellow missionary from returning home.

[3] Shunn's first professional short story was published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1993.

[6][7] Shunn is also known for creating a web site that offers daily hints to The New York Times Spelling Bee.

[9] First published to the web in 1995, this guide (and its later revisions),[10] commonly known as "Shunn format"[citation needed], has since been adopted by many magazines including Clarkesworld, Analog, and Interzone as a requirement for submissions.