Editing James Blaylock

{{short description|American fantasy author|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = James Blaylock
| image = 
| caption = 
| pseudonym =
| birth_name = James Paul Blaylock
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1950|9|20}}
| birth_place = [[Long Beach, California]], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Writer
| education = [[California State University, Fullerton]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
| period = 
| genre = [[Fantasy]], [[Science fiction]]
| subject =
| movement = [[Steampunk]]
| website = {{URL|sybertooth.com/blaylock}}
}}
'''James Paul Blaylock''' (born September 20, 1950) is an American [[Fantasy fiction|fantasy]] author.<ref>Mark Wingenfeld, "James P. Blaylock" in [[Richard Bleiler|Bleiler, Richard]], Ed. ''Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror''. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003. (pp. 89-98) {{ISBN|9780684312507}}</ref>  He is noted for a distinctive, humorous style, as well as being one of the pioneers of the [[steampunk]] genre of science fiction.  Blaylock has cited [[Jules Verne]], [[H. G. Wells]], [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] and [[Charles Dickens]] as his inspirations.<ref name="geek">{{cite web|url=http://www.thegeekgirlproject.com/2013/05/23/interview-with-james-p-blaylock/|title=Interview with Steampunk Legend Author James P. Blaylock|website=The Geek Girl Project|date=May 23, 2013}}</ref>

He was born in [[Long Beach, California]]; studied English at [[California State University, Fullerton]], receiving an M.A. in 1974; and lives in [[Orange, California]], teaching creative writing at [[Chapman University]]. He taught at the Orange County School of the arts until 2013. Many of his books are set in [[Orange County, California]], and can more specifically be termed "[[low fantasy|fabulism]]"{{spaced ndash}}that is, fantastic things happen in our present-day world, rather than in [[high fantasy]], where the setting is often some other world. His works have also been categorized as [[magic realism]].

He and his friends [[Tim Powers]] and [[K. W. Jeter]] were mentored by [[Philip K. Dick]]. Along with Powers, Blaylock invented the poet [[William Ashbless]]. Blaylock and Powers have often collaborated with each other on writing stories, including "The Better Boy", "On Pirates", and "The William Ashbless Memorial Cookbook".

Blaylock previously served as director of the Creative Writing Conservatory at the [[Orange County High School of the Arts]] until 2013, where Powers has also been Writer in Residence.<ref name="geek" /><ref>{{Citation
  | title = CW Alumni Mixer & Farewell to Jim Blaylock
  | website = OCSA Calendar
  | date = August 2, 2013
| access-date = August 24, 2016
| url = http://www.ocsarts.net/calendar?cgid=2&ceid=4649&cerid=0&cdt=8%2F2%2F2013
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160911154114/http://www.ocsarts.net/calendar?cgid=2&ceid=4649&cerid=0&cdt=8%2F2%2F2013
  | archive-date = September 11, 2016
| url-status = dead
  }}</ref>

He has been married to his wife, Viki Blaylock, for more than 40 years. They have two sons.

==Awards==
Blaylock's short story "Thirteen Phantasms" won the 1997 [[World Fantasy Award]] for best Short Fiction.<ref>{{cite web|author=World Fantasy Convention |year=2010 |title=Award Winners and Nominees |url=http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html/ |access-date=February 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201074405/http://worldfantasy.org/awards/awardslist.html |archive-date=December 1, 2010 }}</ref>  "Paper Dragons" won the award in 1986.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/1986.html |title=1986 World Fantasy Award Winners and Nominees|access-date=March 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015020103/http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/1986.html |archive-date=October 15, 2013 }}</ref> ''Homunculus'' won the Philip K. Dick award in 1987.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414083124/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Pkd1987.html|archive-date=April 14, 2009|url=http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Pkd1987.html|title=1987 Philip K. Dick Award|website=Locus}}</ref>

== Bibliography ==
{{Incomplete list |date=November 2024}}

===The "Balumnia" Trilogy===
Whimsical fantasy inspired, according to the author, by ''[[The Wind in the Willows]]'' and ''[[The Hobbit]]''.
# ''[[The Elfin Ship|The Elfin Ship]]'' (1982)
#* ''[[The Man in the Moon (novel)|The Man in the Moon]]'' (2002){{spaced ndash}}The original manuscript, initially rejected, from which ''The Elfin Ship'' was reworked, with commentary and an additional short story.
# ''[[The Disappearing Dwarf (novel)|The Disappearing Dwarf]]'' (1983)
# ''[[The Stone Giant (novel)|The Stone Giant]]'' (1989)

===The "Narbondo / St. Ives Universe" Series===
====Novels====
Sharing the character of villain Ignacio Narbondo; ''The Digging Leviathan'' and its sequel ''Zeuglodon'' are contemporary fantasies set in 1960s California, while the remainder are [[steampunk]] novels set in [[Victorian England]].
* '''Ignacio Narbondo'''
** ''[[The Digging Leviathan]]'' (1984)
** ''[[Zeuglodon (novel)|Zeuglodon]]'' (2012; sequel to ''[[The Digging Leviathan]]'')
* '''Langdon St. Ives'''
*# ''[[Homunculus (novel)|Homunculus]]'' (1986)
*# ''[[Lord Kelvin's Machine (novel)|Lord Kelvin's Machine]]'' (1992) {{spaced ndash}} Expansion of the eponymous 1985 novelette.
*#* "Lord Kelvin's Machine" (1985, novellete) {{spaced ndash}} Expanded into a novel in 1992.
*# ''[[The Ebb Tide (novel)|The Ebb Tide]]'' (2009)
*# ''[[The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs (novel)|The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs]]'' (2011)
*# ''[[The Aylesford Skull (novel)|The Aylesford Skull]]'' (2013)
*# ''[[Beneath London (novel)|Beneath London]]'' (2015)
*# ''[[River's Edge (novel)|River's Edge]]'' (2017, novella)
*# ''[[The Gobblin' Society (novella)|The Gobblin' Society]]'' (2020, novella) ({{ISBN|978-1-59606-948-0}})
====Short fiction and novellas====
* "The Ape-Box Affair" (1978)
* "The Idol's Eye" (1984)
* "Two Views of a Cave Painting" (1987)
* "The Hole in Space" (2002)
* ''[[The Adventure of the Ring of Stones]]'' (2014, novella)
* "Earthbound Things" (2016)
* "The Here-and-Thereians" (2016)
====Collections====
All short fiction (except for the novelette ''Lord Kelvin's Machine'') and two novels have appeared in two collections by [[Subterranean Press]]:
* ''[[The Adventures of Langdon St. Ives]]'' (2008) {{spaced ndash}} Omnibus of ''Homunculus'', ''Lord Kelvin's Machine'', and the stories "The Ape-Box Affair", "The Idol's Eye", "Two Views of a Cave Painting", "The Hole in Space".
* ''[[The Further Adventures of Langdon St. Ives]]'' (2016) {{spaced ndash}} Omnibus of ''The Ebb Tide'', ''The Affair of the Chalk Cliffs'', ''The Adventure of the Ring of Stones'', and the new stories "The Here-and-Thereians" and "Earthbound Things".

===The Land of Dreams Series===
* ''[[Paper Dragons (novelette)|Paper Dragons]]'' (1985, novelette)
* ''[[Land of Dreams (novel)|Land of Dreams]]'' (1987)

===The "Christian" Trilogy===
Present-day fantasy using [[Christianity|Christian]] elements, such as the [[Holy Grail]] and the [[thirty pieces of silver]] paid to [[Judas Iscariot|Judas]].
* ''[[The Last Coin (novel)|The Last Coin]]'' (1988) 
* ''[[The Paper Grail (novel)|The Paper Grail]]'' (1991)
* ''[[All the Bells on Earth (novel)|All the Bells on Earth]]'' (1995)

===The "Ghosts" Trilogy===
Present-day Californian ghost stories.
* ''[[Night Relics (novel)|Night Relics]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Winter Tides (novel)|Winter Tides]]'' (1997)
* ''[[The Rainy Season (novel)|The Rainy Season]]'' (1999)

===Other Novels===
* ''[[The Magic Spectacles (novel)|The Magic Spectacles]]'' (1991){{spaced ndash}}Young adult book.
* ''[[The Knights of the Cornerstone (novel)|The Knights of the Cornerstone]]'' (2008) ({{ISBN|9780441016532}})
* ''[[Pennies from Heaven (novel)|Pennies from Heaven]]'' (2022)

===Collections===
* ''[[13 Phantasms (novel)|13 Phantasms]]'' (2000){{spaced ndash}}Short story collection.
* ''[[On Pirates]]'' (2001){{spaced ndash}}Short story collection with Tim Powers.
* ''In for a Penny'' (2003){{spaced ndash}}Short story collection.
* ''[[The Devils in the Details]]'' (2003){{spaced ndash}}Short story collection with Tim Powers.
* ''Metamorphosis (2009)
* ''[[The Shadow on the Doorstep]]'' (2009){{spaced ndash}}Short story collection.

===Other Publications===
* ''[[The Complete Twelve Hours of the Night]]'' (1986){{spaced ndash}}Joke pamphlet co-written by Tim Powers and published by [[Cheap Street Press|Cheap Street]] Press.
* "Home Sweet Home" and "Postscript to Home Sweet Home" (2012){{spaced ndash}}Nonfiction essays included in ''[[A Comprehensive Dual Bibliography of James P. Blaylock & Tim Powers]]'' ({{ISBN|9780976748601}}).

===Critical studies and reviews of Blaylock's work===
* "Review: The Ring of Stones"{{spaced ndash}}{{cite journal <!--citation bot bypass-->|author=Heck, Peter |author-link=Peter Heck |date=February 2015 |title=On Books |journal=Asimov's Science Fiction |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=108}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://jamespblaylock.com James P. Blaylock] - Official website
*[http://www.sybertooth.com/blaylock/ Website and discussion forum about Blaylock's writing]
*{{isfdb name|id=177|name=James P. Blaylock}}
*[http://protectingprojectpulp.com/protecting-project-pulp-no-29-james-blaylock/ Interview with Blaylock regarding his novel 'The Aylesford Skull' and a reading of his story "The Pink of Fading Neon"]
{{World Fantasy Award Best Short Fiction}}{{Philip K. Dick Award}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaylock, James}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American fantasy writers]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:California State University, Fullerton alumni]]
[[Category:Chapman University faculty]]
[[Category:Novelists from California]]
[[Category:Steampunk writers]]
[[Category:World Fantasy Award–winning writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Long Beach, California]]
[[Category:Philip K. Dick scholars]]