David Simon is a person.
David Judah Simon ( born February 9 , 1960 ) is an American author , journalist , writer , and producer . He worked for the Baltimore Sun City Desk for twelve years ( 1982 -- 95 ) and wrote Homicide : A Year on the Killing Streets ( 1991 ) and co-wrote The Corner : A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood ( 1997 ) with Ed Burns . The former book was the basis for the NBC series Homicide : Life on the Street ( 1993 -- 99 ) , on which Simon served as a writer and producer . He was the creator , executive producer , head writer , and show runner for all five seasons of the HBO television series The Wire ( 2002 -- 2008 ) . He was selected as one of the 2010 MacArthur Fellows and named an Utne Reader visionary in 2011 .