Tim Powers

It has been suggested that Last Call (novel) be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2023.

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American science fiction and fantasy author (born 1952)

Tim Powers

Powers celebrating his 61st birthday in 2013

Born|  (1952-02-29) February 29, 1952 (age 71)
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Pen name| William Ashbless (joint)
Occupation| Writer
Education| California State University, Fullerton
Period| 1976–present
Genre| Adventure fiction, speculative fiction
Literary movement| Steampunk
Spouse| Serena Batsford
Website
www.facebook.com/AuthorTimPowers/
Powers at the annual ICon festival, a fan convention in Israel, October 2005 Powers in the "Koloseum" at ICon 2005

Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952)[1] is an American science fiction and fantasy author. His first major novel was The Drawing of the Dark (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was The Anubis Gates (1983), which won the Philip K. Dick Award, and has since been published in many other languages. His other written work include Dinner at Deviant's Palace (1985), Last Call (1992), Expiration Date (1996), Earthquake Weather (1997), Declare (2000), and Three Days to Never (2006). Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare. His 1987 novel On Stranger Tides served as inspiration for the Monkey Island franchise of video games and was optioned for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film.[2]

Several of Powers' novels depict historical events being influenced by occult or supernatural factors. Regarding his 2001 novel Declare, Powers stated, "I made it an ironclad rule that I could not change or disregard any of the recorded facts, nor rearrange any days of the calendar – and then I tried to figure out what momentous but unrecorded fact could explain them all."[3]

## Life and career[edit]

Powers was born in Buffalo, New York, but has lived in California since 1959.[4] He studied English Literature at Cal State Fullerton, and earned his B.A. in 1976.[5] It was there that he first met James Blaylock and K. W. Jeter, both of whom remained close friends and occasional collaborators; the trio have half-seriously referred to themselves as "steampunks"[6] in contrast to the prevailing cyberpunk genre of the 1980s. Powers and Blaylock invented the poet William Ashbless while they were at Cal State Fullerton.[7]

Another friend Powers first met during this period was noted science fiction writer Philip K. Dick;[8] the character named "David" in Dick's novel VALIS is based on Powers. When Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was retitled Blade Runner to tie-in with the movie based on the novel, Dick dedicated it to Tim and Serena Powers.

Powers' first major novel was The Drawing of the Dark (1979),[4] but the novel that earned him wide praise was The Anubis Gates, which won the Philip K. Dick Award, and has since been published in many other languages.

Powers also teaches part-time in his role as Writer in Residence for the Orange County High School of the Arts and California School of the Arts in San Gabriel Valley in the Creative Writing Conservatory, as well as Chapman University, where Blaylock taught. He also taught part-time at the University of Redlands.

Powers and his wife, Serena Batsford Powers, currently live in Muscoy, California. He has frequently served as a mentor author as part of the Clarion science fiction/fantasy writer's workshop.[9]

## Bibliography[edit]

### Novels[edit]

* The Skies Discrowned (1976), published by Laser Books, ISBN 0373720289. Revised and republished in 1986 as Forsake the Sky by Tom Doherty Associates, ISBN 0812549732.

* An Epitaph in Rust (1976)

* The Drawing of the Dark (1979)

* The Anubis Gates(1983): Philip K. Dick Award winner, 1983;[10] Locus Fantasy Award nominee, 1984;[11] BSFA nominee, 1985[12]
* Dinner at Deviant's Palace (1985): Philip K. Dick Award winner, and Nebula Award nominee, 1985.[12] Dave Langford's review for White Dwarf #92 stated "Sizzling entertainment: but the sudden triumph over alien omnipotence doesn't quite convince."[13]

* On Stranger Tides (1987): Locus Fantasy and World Fantasy Awards nominee, 1988[14] Disney incorporated elements of the novel into the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film.[2]

* The Stress of Her Regard (1989): Locus Fantasy and World Fantasy Awards nominee, 1990[15] and winner of the 1990 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.

#### Fault Lines series[edit]

* Last Call (1992): Locus Fantasy and World Fantasy Awards winner, 1993[16]
* Expiration Date (1996): World Fantasy Award nominee, 1996;[17] 1996 Nebula Award nominee[17]
* Earthquake Weather (1997): BSFA Award nominee, 1997;[18] Locus Fantasy Award winner, 1998[19]

* Declare (2001): World Fantasy Award winner and Locus Fantasy nominee, 2001;[20] 2001 Nebula Award nominee[20]

* Powers of Two (2004): Re-release of Skies Discrowned and Epitaph in Rust.

* Three Days to Never (2006): Locus Fantasy Award nominee, 2007[21]

* Hide Me Among the Graves (2012)

* Medusa's Web (2016)

#### Vickery and Castine series[edit]

* Alternate Routes (August 2018)
* Forced Perspectives (March 2020)
* Stolen Skies (January 2022)[22]

* My Brother's Keeper (2023)

### Short story collections[edit]

* Night Moves and Other Stories (2000)
* On Pirates, by James P. Blaylock and Powers as William Ashbless (2001)
* The Devils in the Details (with James Blaylock) (2003)
* Strange Itineraries: 2005, published by Tachyon Publications of San Francisco, California (includes all six stories from Night Moves plus both stories by Powers from Devils)
* The Bible Repairman and Other Stories: 2011, published by Tachyon Publications
* Down and Out in Purgatory: The Collected Stories of Tim Powers: 2017, published in hardcover and ebook editions by Baen Books in November 2017.[23] Becky Spratford in Booklist called the book "a treat for fans and newbies alike; hand it to readers who enjoy genre-blending authors as varied as Jim Butcher, Dean Koontz and China Miéville."[24]

### Other[edit]

* The Complete Twelve Hours of the Night (1986): A joke pamphlet by Blaylock and Powers as William Ashbless, published by Cheap Street Press; features in The Anubis Gates
* A Short Poem by William Ashbless (1987): A joke chapbook written by Phil Garland, with permission of Blaylock and Powers as Ashbless. Published by The Folly Press.
* The William Ashbless Memorial Cookbook (2002): A cookbook by Blaylock and Powers as Ashbless. Published by Subterranean Press.
* The Bible Repairman (2005): A chapbook containing an original short story. Published by Subterranean Press.
* Nine Sonnets by Francis Thomas Marrity (2006): A chapbook containing nine sonnets "written" by one of the main characters in Three Days to Never. Published by Subterranean Press and given away with the collectors' edition of Three Days To Never.
* A Soul in a Bottle (2007): A ghost story about a poet largely based on American poet Edna St Vincent Millay. This novella published by Subterranean Press.
* Three Sonnets by Cheyenne Fleming (2007): Printed loose and inserted into the collectors' edition of A Soul in a Bottle.
* Death of a Citizen (2012): A short nonfiction essay included in A Comprehensive Dual Bibliography of James P. Blaylock & Tim Powers by Silver Smith. Published by Argent Leaf Press.[25]
* Salvage and Demolition (2013): Time-travel novella.[26][27] Published by Subterranean Press.
* Nobody's Home (2014): novella set in the world of The Anubis Gates.
* Appointment at Sunset (2014): Published by Charnel House
* Down and Out in Purgatory (2016): A ghost story about posthumous revenge. This novella was published by Subterranean Press.
* More Walls Broken (February 2019): novella published by Subterranean Press.
* After Many a Summer (2023): novella published by Subterranean Press.

### Critical studies and reviews of Powers' work[edit]

Salvage and Demolition

* Di Filippo, Paul (August 2013). "On Books". Asimov's Science Fiction. 37 (8): 107–111.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "WonderCon Special Guests," Comic-Con Magazine (Winter 2010), p. 20.
2. ^ a b locusmag (September 21, 2009). "Powers Novel Optioned for New Pirates of the Carribean [sic] Movie". Locus Online. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
3. ^ Powells.com Interviews – Tim Powers Archived 2001-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ a b "The Powers of Fantastic Fiction | An IgnatiusInsight.com Interview with Tim Powers | September 7, 2005". www.ignatiusinsight.com. Retrieved September 14, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20060518042225/http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/tpowers_intvw_sept05.asp
5. ^ "Welcome to the College of the Arts at California State University, Fullerton". Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
6. ^ Nova Express, Volume 6, Number 1, "An Interview with Tim Powers", p. 9.
7. ^ Worden, Tim (April 9, 2012). "CSUF alumni inspire art exhibit". Daily Titan. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
8. ^ "Tim Powers: 'I don't have to make anything up'". the Guardian. June 3, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
9. ^ "The SF Site: An Interview With Tim Powers". www.sfsite.com. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
10. ^ "1983 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
11. ^ "1984 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
12. ^ a b "1985 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
13. ^ Langford, Dave (August 1987). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf. No. 92\. Games Workshop. p. 11.
14. ^ "1988 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
15. ^ "1990 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
16. ^ "1993 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
17. ^ a b "1996 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
18. ^ "1997 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
19. ^ "1998 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
20. ^ a b "2001 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
21. ^ "2007 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
22. ^ Powers, Tim (January 4, 2022). Stolen Skies. ISBN 9781982125837. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
23. ^ Tim Powers title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
24. ^ Spratford, Becky. Booklist (review), v. 114, iss. 5, Nov 1, 2017, p. 27-228.
25. ^ Smith, Silver (2012). A Comprehensive Dual Bibliography of James P. Blaylock & Tim Powers. Dallas, Texas. ISBN 978-0-9767486-0-1. Retrieved June 22, 2014.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
26. ^ "Tim Powers – Salvage and demolition novella to be published in December". Upcoming4.me. Archived from the original on August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
27. ^ Powers, Tim (2013). Salvage and Demolition. Subterranean Press. p. 155\. ISBN 978-1-59606-515-4.

## External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Tim Powers.

* Official website – includes a very long interview
* Tim Powers at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
* Bibliographical list of book reviews published in Locus magazine
* Tim Powers at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Novels by Tim Powers

* The Drawing of the Dark (1979)
* The Anubis Gates (1983)
* Dinner at Deviant's Palace (1985)
* On Stranger Tides (1987)
* Expiration Date (1996)
* Earthquake Weather (1997)
* Declare (2000)
* Three Days to Never (2006)

* v
* t
* e

World Fantasy Award—Collection

1975–2000|

* Worse Things Waiting by Manly Wade Wellman (1975)
* The Enquiries of Doctor Eszterhazy by Avram Davidson (1976)
* Frights by Kirby McCauley (1977)
* Murgunstrumm and Others by Hugh B. Cave (1978)
* Shadows by Charles L. Grant (1979)
* Amazons! by Jessica Amanda Salmonson (1980)
* Dark Forces by Kirby McCauley (1981)
* The Dark Country by Terri Windling and Mark Alan Arnold (1982)
* Nightmare Seasons by Charles L. Grant (1983)
* High Spirits by Robertson Davies (1984)
* Books of Blood, Vols. I-III by Clive Barker (1985)
* Imaginary Lands by Robin McKinley (1986)
* Tales of the Quintana Roo by James Tiptree Jr. (1987)
* The Jaguar Hunter by Lucius Shepard (1988)
* Angry Candy by Harlan Ellison / Storeys from the Old Hotel by Gene Wolfe (1989, tie)
* Richard Matheson: Collected Stories by Richard Matheson (1990)
* The Start of the End of It All and Other Stories by Carol Emshwiller (1991)
* The Ends of the Earth by Lucius Shepard (1992)
* The Sons of Noah & Other Stories by Jack Cady (1993)
* Alone with the Horrors by Ramsey Campbell (1994)
* The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians and A Conflagration Artist by Bradley Denton (1995)
* The Grass Princess by Gwyneth Jones (1996)
* The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye by Jonathan Lethem (1997)
* The Throne of Bones by Brian McNaughton (1998)
* Black Glass by Karen Joy Fowler (1999)
* Moonlight and Vines by Charles de Lint / Reave the Just and Other Tales by Stephen R. Donaldson (2000, tie)

2001–present|

* Beluthahatchie and Other Stories by Andy Duncan (2001)
* Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson (2002)
* The Fantasy Writer's Assistant and Other Stories by Jeffrey Ford (2003)
* Bibliomancy by Elizabeth Hand (2004)
* Black Juice by Margo Lanagan (2005)
* The Keyhole Opera by Bruce Holland Rogers (2006)
* Map of Dreams by M. Rickert (2007)
* Tiny Deaths by Robert Shearman (2008)
* The Drowned Life by Jeffrey Ford (2009)
* There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbor's Baby: Scary Fairy Tales by Lyudmila Petrushevskaya / The Best of Gene Wolfe by Gene Wolfe (2010, tie)
* What I Didn't See and Other Stories by Karen Joy Fowler (2011)
* The Bible Repairman and Other Stories by Tim Powers (2012)
* Where Furnaces Burn by Joel Lane (2013)
* The Ape's Wife and Other Stories by Caitlín R. Kiernan (2014)
* The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings by Angela Slatter / Gifts for the One Who Comes After by Helen Marshall (2015, tie)
* Bone Swans by C. S. E. Cooney (2016)
* A Natural History of Hell by Jeffrey Ford (2017)
* The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen (2018)
* The Tangled Lands by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias S. Buckell (2019)
* Song for the Unraveling of the World by Brian Evenson (2020)
* Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda (2021)
* Midnight Doorways: Fables from Pakistan by Usman T. Malik (2022)

* v
* t
* e

World Fantasy Award—Novel

1970s|

* The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip (1975)
* Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson (1976)
* Doctor Rat by William Kotzwinkle (1977)
* Our Lady of Darkness by Fritz Leiber (1978)
* Gloriana by Michael Moorcock (1979)

1980s|

* Watchtower by Elizabeth A. Lynn (1980)
* The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe (1981)
* Little, Big by John Crowley (1982)
* Nifft the Lean by Michael Shea (1983)
* The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford (1984)
* Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock / Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (1985)
* Song of Kali by Dan Simmons (1986)
* Perfume by Patrick Süskind (1987)
* Replay by Ken Grimwood (1988)
* Koko by Peter Straub (1989)

1990s|

* Lyonesse: Madouc by Jack Vance (1990)
* Only Begotten Daughter by James K. Morrow / Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner (1991)
* Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon (1992)
* Last Call by Tim Powers (1993)
* Glimpses by Lewis Shiner (1994)
* Towing Jehovah by James K. Morrow (1995)
* The Prestige by Christopher Priest (1996)
* Godmother Night by Rachel Pollack (1997)
* The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford (1998)
* The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich (1999)

2000s|

* Thraxas by Martin Scott (2000)
* Declare by Tim Powers / Galveston by Sean Stewart (2001)
* The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin (2002)
* The Facts of Life by Graham Joyce / Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip (2003)
* Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton (2004)
* Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2005)
* Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (2006)
* Soldier of Sidon by Gene Wolfe (2007)
* Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay (2008)
* The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford / Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan (2009)

2010s|

* The City & the City by China Miéville (2010)
* Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor (2011)
* Osama by Lavie Tidhar (2012)
* Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson (2013)
* A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar (2014)
* The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (2015)
* The Chimes by Anna Smaill (2016)
* The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North (2017)
* Jade City by Fonda Lee / The Changeling by Victor LaValle (2018)
* Witchmark by C. L. Polk (2019)

2020s|

* Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender (2020)
* Trouble the Saints by Alaya Dawn Johnson (2021)
* The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri (2022)

* v
* t
* e

Philip K. Dick Award

* Software by Rudy Rucker (1982)
* The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (1983)
* Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)
* Dinner at Deviant's Palace by Tim Powers (1985)
* Homunculus by James Blaylock (1986)
* Strange Toys by Patricia Geary (1987)
* Four Hundred Billion Stars by Paul J. McAuley (1988) (tie)
* Wetware by Rudy Rucker (1988) (tie)
* Subterranean Gallery by Richard Paul Russo (1989)
* Points of Departure by Pat Murphy (1990)
* King of Morning, Queen of Day by Ian McDonald (1991)
* Through the Heart by Richard Grant (1992)
* Growing Up Weightless by John M. Ford (1993) (tie)
* Elvissey by Jack Womack (1993) (tie)
* Mysterium by Robert Charles Wilson (1994)
* Headcrash by Bruce Bethke (1995)
* The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter (1996)
* The Troika by Stepan Chapman (1997)
* 253: The Print Remix by Geoff Ryman (1998)
* Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter (1999)
* Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith (2000)
* Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo (2001)
* The Mount by Carol Emshwiller (2002)
* Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (2003)
* Life by Gwyneth Jones (2004)
* War Surf by M. M. Buckner (2005)
* Spin Control by Chris Moriarty (2006)
* Nova Swing by M. John Harrison (2007)
* Emissaries from The Dead by Adam-Troy Castro (2008) (tie)
* Terminal Mind by David Walton (2008) (tie)
* Bitter Angels by C. L. Anderson (2009)
* The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder (2010)
* The Samuil Petrovitch Trilogy by Simon Morden (2011)
* Lost Everything by Brian Francis Slattery (2012)
* Countdown City by Ben H. Winters (2013)
* The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison (2014)
* Apex by Ramez Naam (2015)
* The Mercy Journals by Claudia Casper (2016)
* Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn (2017)
* Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman (2018)
* Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker (2019)
* Road Out of Winter by Alison Stine (2020)
* Dead Space by Kali Wallace (2021)

* v
* t
* e

Locus Award for Best Horror Novel

1989–1999|

* Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambly (1989)
* Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons (1990)
* The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (1991)
* Summer of Night by Dan Simmons (1992)
* Children of the Night by Dan Simmons (1993)
* The Golden by Lucius Shepard (1994)
* Fires of Eden by Dan Simmons (1995)
* Expiration Date by Tim Powers (1996)
* Desperation by Stephen King (1997)
* Bag of Bones by Stephen King (1999)

2017–present|

* The Fireman by Joe Hill (2017)
* The Changeling by Victor LaValle (2018)
* The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul G. Tremblay (2019)
* Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James (2020)
* Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2021)
* My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones (2022)
* What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (2023)

* Best Novel (1971–1981)
* Best SF Novel (1980–present)
* Best Fantasy Novel (1978–present)
* Best First Novel (1981–present)
* Best Horror Novel (1989–1997, 1999, 2017–present)
* Best Young Adult Book (2003–present)
* Best Novella (1973–present)
* Best Novelette (1975–present)
* Best Short Story (1971–present)

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