Walter Jon Williams

Walter Jon Williams
Born 1953 (age 62–63)
Duluth, Minnesota
Occupation Writer
Nationality American
Education BA
Alma mater University of New Mexico
Period 1981–present
Genre Science fiction
Nautical fiction (as Jon Williams)
Notable awards Nebula Award
Website
walterjonwilliams.net

Walter Jon Williams (born 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, a series of historical novels set during the age of sail, Privateers and Gentlemen (1981–1984).[1]

Career

As Jon Williams, he designed the game Heart of Oak (1982) and Privateers and Gentlemen (1983) for Fantasy Games Unlimited.[2]:74 A Cyberpunk RPG sourcebook called Hardwired (1989) was licensed by R. Talsorian Games, based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Williams.[2]:209

Several of Williams' novels have a distinct cyberpunk feel to them, notably Hardwired (also an homage to Roger Zelazny's novel Damnation Alley), Voice of the Whirlwind and Angel Station. However, he has explored a number of different styles and genres, including farce (e.g., the Majistral series), postcyberpunk space opera (Aristoi), military science fiction (Dread Empire's Fall series), alternative history (Wall, Stone, Craft), science fantasy/arcanepunk (Metropolitan and City on Fire), disaster thriller (The Rift), a Star Wars novel (The New Jedi Order: Destiny's Way) and historical adventure (Privateers and Gentlemen series), and police procedural (Days of Atonement), usually in a science fiction context. He has also contributed to some of the Wild Cards cooperative novels.

Williams was born in Duluth, Minnesota and attended the University of New Mexico, where he received his BA degree in 1975. He currently lives in Valencia County, south of Albuquerque in New Mexico.

Williams played roleplaying games (in a group with other sf authors including George R. R. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass, which led to him becoming a contributor to their Wild Cards series) and has written both fiction and rulebooks for the games Privateers and Gentlemen from Fantasy Games Unlimited and Cyberpunk from R. Talsorian Games.

In 2006, Williams founded the Taos Toolbox, a two-week writer's workshop for fantasy and science fiction writers.

Publications

Novels

A comedy of manners sci-fi series about the aristocratic burglar Drake Maijstral. Collected as an omnibus, "Ten Points for Style" (1995)
  • The Crown Jewels (1987)
  • House of Shards (1988)
  • Rock of Ages (1995)
A military science fiction / space opera series.
  • The Praxis (2002)
  • The Sundering (2003)
  • Conventions of War (2005)
  • Investments (2008), novella
  • Impersonations (2016)
A sci-fi thriller series involving crowdsourcing and alternate reality games.
  • This Is Not a Game (2009)
  • Deep State (2011)
  • The Fourth Wall (2012)
  • Diamonds from Tequila (2014), short story published in Rogues

Short fiction collections

Notable short fiction

References

  1. 1 2 "The Nautical Fiction List" (T–Z). An Annotated Bibliography of Novels based in part on the work of John Kohnen (part 9). California Maritime Academy (csum.edu). Retrieved 2014-08-02.
  2. 1 2 Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
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