James P. Blaylock

JAMES P. BLAYLOCK is a southern California writer whose short stories, novels, and collections have been published in translation around the world. Along with Tim Powers and K.W. Jeter, he was one of the literary pioneers of the Steampunk movement. His novel Homunculus won the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award in 1985. His short story “Paper Dragons” won the World Fantasy Award in 1986, “Thirteen Phantasms” in 1997, and his story “Unidentified Objects” was nominated for an O. Henry Award in 1990. Despite his close association with Steampunk, most of his work is contemporary, realistic fantasy set in southern California, typified by books like The Last Coin, The Digging Leviathan, The Rainy Season, Winter Tides, All the Bells on Earth, and Knights of the Cornerstone, and the young adult novel Zeuglodon, the True Adventures of Kathleen Perkins, Cryptozoologist. Recent novels include In for a Penny and The Invisible Woman, available from PS Publishing.

In all Mr. Blaylock has published some 35 novels and story collections as well as numerous articles and essays. According to the Library Journal, “Blaylock’s evocative prose and studied pacing make him one of the most distinctive contributors to American magical realism.”

He has been a college and university teacher for close to 50 years. In the year 2000, he developed the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts, which he directed for thirteen years, and which led to his being granted the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program 2012 Teacher Recognition Award.