Jim Butcher
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 Drawing of Jim Butcher by Michelle Parker |
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| Born: | October 26, 1971 (age 35) Independence, Missouri |
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| Occupation: | Novelist |
| Nationality: | USA |
| Writing period: | April 2000 – Present |
| Genres: | Fantasy, Speculative fiction, Science fiction |
| Influences: | J. R. R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Lloyd Alexander |
| Website: | http://www.jim-butcher.com/ |
Jim Butcher is a New York Times Best Selling author[1][2] most known for his contemporary fantasy book series The Dresden Files. He also writes the Codex Alera series. Butcher (born in Independence, Missouri, United States, on October 26, 1971)[3] grew up as the only son of his parents, and has two older sisters. He currently lives in Independence with his wife, Shannon K. Butcher (an author of romance novels), and one son, James Joseph.
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[edit] Career biography
While he was sick with strep throat as a child, Butcher's sisters introduced him to The Lord of the Rings and The Han Solo Adventures novels to pass the time, thus beginning his fascination with fantasy and science fiction.[4] As a teenager, he completed his first novel and set out to become a writer. After many unsuccessful attempts to enter the traditional fantasy genre (he cites J. R. R. Tolkien, Lloyd Alexander, and C.S. Lewis, among others, as major influences),[4] he wrote the first book in The Dresden Files—about a professional wizard in modern-day Chicago—as an exercise for a writing course in 1996 at the age of 25.
For two years, Butcher floated his manuscript amongst various publishers before hitting the convention circuit to make contacts in the industry. After meeting Butcher in person, Ricia Mainhardt, the agent who discovered Laurell K. Hamilton, agreed to represent him, kick-starting his writing career.[5] However, Butcher and Mainhardt have since parted ways; Jennifer Jackson is his current agent.[6] Since becoming published, Butcher has written two series: The Dresden Files and Codex Alera. Both are still ongoing, and he has also written a Spider-Man novel, entitled The Darkest Hours, released on June 27, 2006. In addition, he contributed a short story for publication in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding with Charlaine Harris and Sherrilyn Kenyon, among others, released in October 2006.
[edit] The Dresden Files series
Six months after Butcher was signed by Mainhardt, Storm Front, the first novel in The Dresden Files, was picked up by ROC for publishing. It was released as a paperback in April of 2000. Fool Moon followed nine months later on January 1, 2001, and the third book, Grave Peril, appeared on store shelves in September of that year. Thereafter, the release schedule slowed, with Summer Knight appearing on September 3, 2002. The fifth and sixth books, Death Masks and Blood Rites, appeared in August of 2003 and 2004, respectively. Coinciding with the release of Blood Rites, Butcher published a Harry Dresden short story, entitled Restoration of Faith, on his website, chronicling Harry's life before The Dresden Files as a private eye for Ragged Angel Investigations.[7] In December of 2004, the Science Fiction Book Club picked up the first three novels in the series for release in a hardcover omnibus edition entitled Wizard for Hire for a March–April 2005 rush release in order to arrive on store shelves before the seventh novel in May.[8]
Dead Beat, released on May 3, 2005, was the first hardback release in the series by ROC. Unprecedented demand lead the initial run of 15,000 copies to sell through to stores in just three days, and the book immediately went into a second printing to prevent supply problems.[9] A second omnibus edition, called Wizard by Trade and containing Summer Knight and Death Masks, appeared in early 2006, followed by Proven Guilty on May 2, 2006, the same day as the paperback edition of Dead Beat. Proven Guilty quickly climbed to #21 on the New York Times bestseller list and #91 on the USA Today list, the highest positions ever for a Jim Butcher novel.[1] A third omnibus release from the Science Fiction Book Club entitled Wizard at Large and containing Blood Rites and Dead Beat was released in November 2006.[10] A ninth book from ROC, White Night, has been announced with a tentative April 3, 2007 release date, following closely on the heels of a February paperback release for Proven Guilty.
The series garnered a strong following and is now available in several languages, including Russian, Czech, Polish, and Mandarin Chinese.
[edit] The Dresden Files in other media
[edit] Audiobooks
Due to the popularity of The Dresden Files, Buzzy Media Publishing has released the first three novels as audiobooks in both audio and MP3 CD formats. They are voiced by actor James Marsters. Storm Front was released in July of 2002 as an unabridged 8-CD set, with an unabridged 9-CD set of Fool Moon following in August 2003. The Grave Peril audiobook shipped as an unabridged 10-CD set on October 28, 2004, with a free t-shirt bundled with all purchases before December 26, 2004. All three have since been released in MP3-CD format with fewer disks. A reading of the fourth novel, Summer Knight, by Marsters[11] is currently in production.[12] On December 16, 2004 Butcher also inked a deal with Evil Hat Productions to release a role-playing game based on The Dresden Files. The game uses a modified ruleset from Evil Hat's acclaimed Fate RPG.
[edit] Television show
Television writer and producer Morgan Gendel optioned The Dresden Files in June of 2003, paving the way for a film or television release of the series.[13] On April 5, 2004, Sci Fi announced production of a two-hour backdoor pilot film of The Dresden Files based on the events of Storm Front in conjunction with Lions Gate Television and Saturn Films, with Nicholas Cage and Norm Golightly set to executive produce. Gendel was listed to write and executive produce the television series, along with Anthony Peckham.[13] Initially, Harry Dresden was listed as "Erik" Dresden, but by the end of 2004 the name had been canned in early drafts of the pilot in favor of Harry.[8]
On October 5, 2005, Variety reported that the television project had been officially greenlit by Sci Fi, with Hans Beimler and Robert Wolfe coming onboard as executive producers with Cage, Golightly, and Gendel. Production of the pilot took place in Toronto, and the original intent was to air the pilot movie in the summer of 2006.[14] In November, the Sci Fi Wire released casting details for the series, with Paul Blackthorne cast as Harry Dresden over James Marsters, who turned down the part because he was unwilling to relocate from Los Angeles.[15] In May 2006, Sci Fi announced an initial purchase of eleven episodes of The Dresden Files and a January 2007 premiere of the two-hour pilot movie.[16] However, the two-hour pilot was not shown, and the show premiered on January 21, 2007 with the episode Birds of a Feather, originally intended to be the third episode.[citation needed] During its first season, the show garnered generally positive reviews for its noir undertones and strong ratings for a Sci Fi series.[17][18][19]
[edit] The Codex Alera series
After the success of Dresden, Butcher returned to the traditional fantasy genre with his second series, Codex Alera. The series chronicles the life of a young man named Tavi from the Calderon Valley of Alera on the world of Carna. The people of Alera have grown complacent with the trappings of empire (the story is based loosely on the late Roman Empire) and their control of powerful elemental forces known as furies. On March 3, 2003, Jim Butcher announced that Ace won a bidding war against rival publisher Del Rey Books for the rights to the series.[20]
The first novel in the series, Furies of Calderon, was published in hardcover by Ace, and in August of 2004, major booksellers began taking pre-orders for an October 5, 2004 release. Furies of Calderon was the first hardcover release for Butcher,[21] and was a significant step forward in transitioning from a part-time to a full-time writer.[22] A paperback version followed in June, 2005, just a month before the release of the second book, Academ's Fury. It was released in paperback on November 28, 2006, with the third novel, Cursor's Fury, following on December 5.
Originally intended to be a trilogy, Roc has agreed to publish three more novels in the Codex Alera series.[23] The fourth novel is Captain's Fury, scheduled for a December 2007 release.[24]
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] The Dresden Files
| No. | Title | Release date | ISBN | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Books | ||||
| 1 | Storm Front | April 1, 2000 | ISBN 0-4514-5781-1 | paperback |
| 2 | Fool Moon | January 1, 2001 | ISBN 0-4514-5812-5 | paperback |
| 3 | Grave Peril | September 1, 2001 | ISBN 0-4514-5844-3 | paperback |
| 4 | Summer Knight | September 3, 2002 | ISBN 0-4514-5892-3 | paperback |
| 5 | Death Masks | August 5, 2003 | ISBN 0-4514-5940-7 | paperback |
| 6 | Blood Rites | August 3, 2004 | ISBN 0-4514-5987-3 | paperback |
| 7 | Dead Beat | May 3, 2005 | ISBN 0-4514-6027-8 | hardcover |
| May 2, 2006 | ISBN 0-4514-6091-X | paperback | ||
| 8 | Proven Guilty | May 2, 2006 | ISBN 0-4514-6085-5 | hardcover |
| February 6, 2007 | ISBN 0-4514-6103-7 | paperback | ||
| 9 | White Night | April 3, 2007 | ISBN 0-4514-614-01 | hardcover |
| Omnibus editions | ||||
| 1 | Wizard for Hire | March 2005 | ISBN 0-7394-5193-6 | hardcover (Storm Front, Fool Moon, and Grave Peril) |
| 2 | Wizard by Trade | March 2006 | ISBN 0-7394-6581-3 | hardcover (Summer Knight and Death Masks) |
| 3 | Wizard at Large | October 2006 | ISBN 978-0-73-947658-1 | hardcover (Blood Rites and Dead Beat) |
| 4 | Wizard Under Fire | May 2007 | ISBN ? | hardcover (Proven Guilty and White Night) |
| Audiobooks | ||||
| 1 | Storm Front | July 2002 | ISBN 0-9657-2550-2 | |
| ISBN 0-9657-2556-1 | MP3-CD | |||
| 2 | Fool Moon | August 2003 | ISBN 0-9657-2552-9 | |
| ISBN 0-9657-2558-8 | MP3-CD | |||
| 3 | Grave Peril | October 28, 2004 | ISBN 0-9657-2555-3 | |
| ISBN 0-9657-2559-6 | MP3-CD | |||
| 4 | Fool Moon | March, 2007 | ISBN 978-0-9790749-3-6? | |
| ISBN 0-9790749-3-2 | MP3-CD | |||
[edit] Codex Alera
| No. | Title | Release date | ISBN | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Books | ||||
| 1 | Furies of Calderon | October 5, 2004 | ISBN 0-4410-1199-3 | hardcover |
| June 28, 2005 | ISBN 0-4410-1268-X | paperback | ||
| 2 | Academ's Fury | July 5, 2005 | ISBN 0-4410-1283-3 | hardcover |
| November 28, 2006 | ISBN 0-4410-1340-6 | paperback | ||
| 3 | Cursor's Fury | December 5, 2006 | ISBN 0-4410-1434-8 | hardcover |
[edit] Other
- "Restoration of Faith" (Harry Dresden short story)
- "Vignette" (Harry Dresden vignette)
- The Darkest Hours (June 27, 2006, ISBN 1-4165-1068-0)
- "Something Borrowed," published in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (October 3, 2006, ISBN 0-312-34360-4)
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b iago (2006-05-10). Jim's New Books are Climbing the Charts. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.,
- ^ iago is the online pseudonym of Fred Hicks, webmaster for Jim-Butcher.Com and co-author of the Dresden Files RPG.
- ^ iago (2004-10-26). Jim's Birthday!. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ a b Butcher, Jim (2005). "Author's Note", Dead Beat. New York, NY: ROC Books, 395-396.
- ^ About Jim. Jim-Butcher.Com (2004). Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ Clients. Jennifer Jackson. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2004-08-24). Dresden Short Story: Restoration of Faith. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ a b iago (2004-12-29). Jim Updates Us. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2005-05-08). Dead Beat's first run sells dry. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ Wheeler, Andy (2006-10-17). New Books in SFBC November. Science Fiction Book Club. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
- ^ Wizards and Faeries and Bob! Oh My!. The Official James Marsters Site (07 2006). Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2006-05-16). Summer Knight Audio Book. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ a b iago (2003-06-23). Morgan Gendel options the Dresden Files. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ Martin, Denise (2005-10-05). Net cages sci-fi guy: Thesp ventures into TV with 'Dresden'. Variety. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2005-11-10). Jim comments on the casting. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2006-05-24). Dresden Gets SCI FI Pickup. SCI FI Wire. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ Wayne Hall (2007-03-16). 'Dresden Files' Manages Magic Believably. SyFy Portal. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
- ^ Kate O'Hare (2007-03-17). Cage explores the spiritual. The Buffalo News. Retrieved on 2006-03-17.
- ^ Garrett Godwin (2007-03-07). 'The Dresden Files' attempts to cast a spell on viewers. The South End Newspaper. Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
- ^ iago (2003-03-03). Ace Buys Codex Alera. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2004-08-18). Furies of Calderon is available for presale. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2004-08-24). A Comment on the Dresden Files Release Schedule. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ hippie (2006-03-30). Cursor's Fury Hits the Shelves and The Future of Alera. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
- ^ hippie (2006-03-30). Codex Alera. Jim-Butcher.Com. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
[edit] See also
- Codex Alera
- The Dresden Files
- The Dresden Files (TV series)
- Fantasy
- Speculative fiction
- Science fiction
[edit] External links
- Dresden Files RPG
- SCIFI.COM | The Dresden Files
- The Butcher Block: A podcast about Jim and his books.
