Kirt Hickman was born in 1966 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He earned a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1989 and a Master's degree in opto-electronics in 1991, both from the University of New Mexico. Since then, he has worked in research and manufacturing fields related to high-energy lasers, microelectronics, and micro-machines, fields that he leverages to enrich his science fiction stories. Kirt made his publishing debut with his science-fiction conspiracy thriller novel Worlds Asunder.

Kirt teaches self-editing classes through SouthWest Writers. He has been a mentor in the SouthWest Writers mentoring program and has participated in discussion or critique panels for multiple conferences. He also contributes a monthly, full-page column titled "Revising Fiction" to the SouthWest Sage. (See "Articles")

Kirt’s methodical, step-by-step approach to self-editing has helped many make sense of the mass of advice available to the novice writer. He shares his guidance on revising and self-editing in his how-to book Revising Fiction: Making Sense of the Madness.