View source for Tim Powers

{{Short description|American science fiction and fantasy author (born 1952)}}
{{use mdy dates |date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name             = Tim Powers
| image            = SFeraKon Kontakt Eurocon Tim Powers 2804201 39 roberta f.jpg
| caption          = Powers celebrating his 61st birthday in 2013
| pseudonym        = William Ashbless (joint)
| birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|1952|2|29}}
| birth_place      = [[Buffalo, New York]], U.S.
| education        = [[California State University, Fullerton]]
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| spouse           = Serena Batsford
| occupation       = Writer
| period           = 1976–present
| genre            = [[Adventure fiction]], [[speculative fiction]]
| subject          = 
| movement         = [[Steampunk]]
| website          = {{URL|https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTimPowers/}}
}}
[[File:Tim Powers.jpg|thumb|Powers at the annual [[ICon festival]], a fan convention in Israel, October 2005]]
[[Image:Ikon-Powers.jpg|250px|thumb|right| Powers in the "Koloseum" at ICon 2005]]
'''Timothy Thomas Powers''' (born February 29, 1952)<ref>"WonderCon Special Guests," ''Comic-Con Magazine'' (Winter 2010), p. 20.</ref> is an American [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy fiction|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 (novel)|Last Call]]'' (1992), ''[[Expiration Date (Powers novel)|Expiration Date]]'' (1996), ''[[Earthquake Weather (novel)|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 (series)|Monkey Island]]'' franchise of video games and was partly adapted into the [[Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides|fourth ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film]].<ref name=":0" />

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."<ref>[http://www.powells.com/authors/powers.html Powells.com Interviews – Tim Powers<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010627162405/http://www.powells.com/authors/powers.html |date=2001-06-27 }}</ref>

==Life and career==

Powers was born in [[Buffalo, New York]], but has lived in California since 1959.<ref name="ignatiusinsight.com">{{Cite web|title=The Powers of Fantastic Fiction {{!}} An IgnatiusInsight.com Interview with Tim Powers {{!}} September 7, 2005|url=http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/tpowers_intvw_sept05.asp|access-date=2021-09-14|website=www.ignatiusinsight.com}} https://web.archive.org/web/20060518042225/http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/features2005/tpowers_intvw_sept05.asp</ref> Powers has described himself as a practicing [[Catholic]].<ref name="Forbes2016">{{Cite web|last=Bowyer|first=Jerry|title=The Last Living Inkling: Tim Powers Is The Charles Williams Of Our Generation|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrybowyer/2016/04/04/the-last-living-inkling-tim-powers-is-the-charles-williams-of-our-generation/|website=Forbes|date=April 4, 2016|access-date=2025-06-30}}</ref> He studied [[English literature|English Literature]] at [[California State University, Fullerton|Cal State Fullerton]], and earned his [[Bachelor's degree|B.A.]] in 1976.<ref name=Begovich2012>{{cite web |url=http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/art/Begovich%202011-12/2012_Steampunk.html |title=Welcome to the College of the Arts at California State University, Fullerton |access-date=2015-04-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203104348/http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/art/Begovich%202011-12/2012_Steampunk.html |archive-date=2016-02-03 }}</ref>  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 "[[steampunk]]s"<ref>''Nova Express'', Volume 6, Number 1, "An Interview with Tim Powers", p. 9.</ref> 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.<ref name="Titan2010">{{Cite web|last=Worden|first=Tim|title=CSUF alumni inspire art exhibit|url=https://dailytitan.com/lifestyle/csuf-alumni-inspire-art-exhibit/article_fc5d247f-eaea-5a04-8190-9855cd3bfc6a.html|access-date=2021-09-14|website=Daily Titan|date=April 9, 2012 |language=en}}</ref>

Another friend Powers first met during this period was noted science fiction writer [[Philip K. Dick]];<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-06-03|title=Tim Powers: 'I don't have to make anything up'|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/03/tim-powers-i-dont-have-to-make-anything-up|access-date=2021-09-14|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> 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),<ref name="ignatiusinsight.com"/> 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 Writers Workshop|Clarion science fiction/fantasy writer's workshop]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The SF Site: An Interview With Tim Powers|url=https://www.sfsite.com/09a/9tp.htm|access-date=2021-09-14|website=www.sfsite.com}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

===Novels===
* ''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;<ref name="WWE-1983">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1983
| title = 1983 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-05
}}</ref> Locus Fantasy Award nominee, 1984;<ref name="WWE-1984">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1984
| title = 1984 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-05
}}</ref> BSFA nominee, 1985<ref name="WWE-1985">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1985
| title = 1985 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-05
}}</ref>
* ''[[Dinner at Deviant's Palace]]'' (1985): Philip K. Dick Award winner, and [[Nebula Award for Best Novel|Nebula Award]] nominee, 1985.<ref name="WWE-1985"/> Dave Langford's review for [[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]] #92 stated "Sizzling entertainment: but the sudden triumph over alien omnipotence doesn't quite convince."<ref name="WD92">{{cite magazine  | last =Langford | first =Dave | author-link =David Langford | title =Critical Mass  | magazine =[[White Dwarf (magazine)|White Dwarf]]  | issue =92  | pages =11   | publisher =[[Games Workshop]]  | date = August 1987  }}</ref>

* ''[[On Stranger Tides]]'' (1987): Locus Fantasy and World Fantasy Awards nominee, 1988<ref name="WWE-1988">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1988
| title = 1988 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-05
}}</ref> Disney incorporated elements of the novel into the [[Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides|fourth ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' film]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=locusmag|date=2009-09-21|title=Powers Novel Optioned for New Pirates of the {{sic|Carri|bean|nolink=y}} Movie|url=https://locusmag.com/2009/09/powers-novel-optioned-for-new-pirates-of-the-{{sic|carri|bean|hide=y}}-movie/|access-date=2021-09-14|website=Locus Online|language=en-US}}</ref>

* ''[[The Stress of Her Regard]]'' (1989): Locus Fantasy and World Fantasy Awards nominee, 1990<ref name="WWE-1990">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1990
| title = 1990 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-05
}}</ref> and winner of the 1990 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.

==== Fault Lines series ====
:*''[[Last Call (novel)|Last Call]]'' (1992): Locus Fantasy and World Fantasy Awards winner, 1993<ref name="WWE-1993">{{cite web | url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1993 | title = 1993 Award Winners & Nominees | work = Worlds Without End | access-date=2009-05-05 }}</ref>
:*''[[Expiration Date (Powers novel)|Expiration Date]]'' (1996): World Fantasy Award nominee, 1996;<ref name="WWE-1996">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1996
| title = 1996 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-05
}}</ref> 1996 Nebula Award nominee<ref name="WWE-1996" /> 
:* ''[[Earthquake Weather (novel)|Earthquake Weather]]'' (1997): BSFA Award nominee, 1997;<ref name="WWE-1997">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1997
| title = 1997 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-05
}}</ref> Locus Fantasy Award winner, 1998<ref name="WWE-1998">{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/LocusWinsByCategory.html#nvlf
 |title       = 1998 Award Winners & Nominees
 |work        = Worlds Without End
 |access-date  = 2009-05-05
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081201034720/http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/LocusWinsByCategory.html#nvlf
 |archive-date = 2008-12-01
}}</ref>

* ''[[Declare]]'' (2001): World Fantasy Award winner and Locus Fantasy nominee, 2001;<ref name="WWE-2001">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2001
| title = 2001 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-05
}}</ref> 2001 Nebula Award nominee<ref name="WWE-2001"/>

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

* ''[[Three Days to Never]]'' (2006): Locus Fantasy Award nominee, 2007<ref name="WWE-2007">{{cite web
| url = http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2007
| title = 2007 Award Winners & Nominees
| work = Worlds Without End
| access-date=2009-05-05
}}</ref>

* ''Hide Me Among the Graves'' (2012)

* ''Medusa's Web'' (2016)

==== Vickery and Castine series ====
:* ''Alternate Routes'' (August 2018)
:* ''Forced Perspectives'' (March 2020)
:* ''Stolen Skies'' (January 2022)<ref name="StolenSkies">{{cite book
| url = https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Stolen-Skies/Tim-Powers/Vickery-and-Castine/9781982125837
| title = Stolen Skies
| isbn = 9781982125837
| access-date=2020-01-21
| last1 = Powers
| first1 = Tim
| date = January 4, 2022
}}</ref>

* ''My Brother's Keeper'' (2023)

===Short story collections===
* ''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.<ref name="ISFDB">{{isfdb title|id=2255817}}</ref> 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]]."<ref name="BL">Spratford, Becky. ''Booklist'' (review), v. 114, iss. 5, Nov 1, 2017, p. 27-228.</ref>

===Other===
* ''The Complete Twelve Hours of the Night'' (1986): A joke pamphlet by Blaylock and Powers as William Ashbless, published by [[Cheap Street Press|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 [[sonnet]]s "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]] was 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.<ref>{{cite book
|url=http://www.argentleaf.com/blog/books/comprehensive-dual-bibliography-james-p-blaylock-tim-powers/
|title=A Comprehensive Dual Bibliography of James P. Blaylock & Tim Powers
|last=Smith
|first=Silver
|year=2012
|place=Dallas, Texas
|isbn=978-0-9767486-0-1
|access-date=2014-06-22
}}</ref>
* ''Salvage and Demolition'' (2013): Time-travel [[novella]].<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://upcoming4.me/news/book-news/tim-powers-salvage-and-demolition-novella-to-be-published-in-december
 |title       = Tim Powers – Salvage and demolition novella to be published in December
 |work        = Upcoming4.me
 |access-date  = 2012-08-02
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120809000559/http://upcoming4.me/news/book-news/tim-powers-salvage-and-demolition-novella-to-be-published-in-december
 |archive-date = 2012-08-09
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Powers|first=Tim|title=Salvage and Demolition|year=2013|publisher=Subterranean Press|isbn=978-1-59606-515-4|pages=155}}</ref> 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===
;''Salvage and Demolition''
* {{cite journal |author=Di Filippo, Paul |title=On Books |date=August 2013 |journal=Asimov's Science Fiction |volume=37 |issue=8 |pages=107–111 }}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421193609/http://theworksoftimpowers.com/ |date=April 21, 2022 |title=The Works of Tim Powers }} – includes a [https://web.archive.org/web/20220421193609/http://www.theworksoftimpowers.com/exclusive-author-interview/ very long interview]
* {{isfdb name|id=175|name=Tim Powers}}
* [http://www.locusmag.com/Magazine/Reviews65.html Bibliographical list of book reviews] published in ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'' magazine
* {{IMDb name|694627|Tim Powers}}

{{Tim Powers}}
{{World Fantasy Award Best Collection}}
{{World Fantasy Award Best Novel}}
{{Philip K. Dick Award}}{{Locus Award Best Horror Novel}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers, Tim}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[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:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:California State University, Fullerton alumni]]
[[Category:American chapbook writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Novelists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Waltham High School alumni]]
[[Category:World Fantasy Award–winning writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Buffalo, New York]]
[[Category:Writers from California]]
[[Category:Philip K. Dick scholars]]