Shawn Otto is the author of the award-winning nonfiction book The War on Science, which predicted the rise of anti-science authoritarians and the threat they pose to democracy. The book  won the 2017 Minnesota Book Award. He was honoured with the National Distinguished Public Service Award of the IEEE-USA (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – the world’s largest professional association for the advancement of technology). His book Sins of Our Fathers was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize, and won the 2015 NE Minnesota Book Award. His book Fool Me Twice won the 2012 Minnesota Book Award. He was a PEN Center USA finalist for his film House of Sand and Fog, which was nominated for three Academy Awards. He won an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellowship for best science screenplay; and a McKnight Fellowship for best screenplay. He has received speaker and volunteer service awards from several organisations.