Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author. He has written the contemporary fantasy The Dresden Files, Codex Alera, and Cinder Spires book series.

Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1971.

Career 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, beginning his fascination with fantasy and science fiction. 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), However, Butcher and Mainhardt have since parted ways; Jennifer Jackson is his current agent. Butcher has written two series: The Dresden Files and Codex Alera. Codex Alera has ended after six novels and The Dresden Files are still ongoing; 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. He has since contributed to the anthologies Many Bloody Returns in September 2007 and My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon in December 2007. In October 2008, he released another short story in Blood Lite and a novelette, "Backup", illustrated by Mike Mignola.

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/Penguin Books for publishing. It was released as a paperback in April 2000. Fool Moon followed nine months later on January 1, 2001, and the third book, Grave Peril, was published in September 2001. 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 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. In December 2004, the Science Fiction Book Club picked up the first three novels in the series for release in a hardcover omnibus edition titled Wizard for Hire for a March–April 2005 rush release in order to arrive on store shelves before the seventh novel in May.

Dead Beat, released on May 3, 2005, was the first hardback release in the series by Roc. The first printing of 15,000 copies sold out in three days, and the book was immediately reprinted. A second omnibus edition, titled 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 Best Seller list and #91 on the USA Today list.

A ninth book from Roc, White Night, was released on April 3, 2007, shortly after the paperback edition for Proven Guilty in February. White Night reached the top five of the New York Times Best Seller list on an initial printing of 100,000 copies. Small Favor, the tenth book in the series, was released April 1, 2008. It debuted at number two on the New York Times Best Seller list, Butcher's highest debut ever, and number three on the USA Today best seller list. The eleventh book in the series, Turn Coat, was released April 7, 2009. The 12th book in the series, Changes, was released April 6, 2010. The 13th book, Ghost Story, was released July 26, 2011. The 14th book, Cold Days was released in hardback in November 2012. The 15th book, Skin Game, was released on May 27, 2014. The series garners a strong following and is now available in several languages, including Spanish, Dutch, French, Czech, Polish, German and Mandarin Chinese.

Codex Alera series

After the success of the beginning of The Dresden Files, 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. The inspiration for the series came from a bet Butcher was challenged to by a member of the Del Rey Online Writer's Workshop. The challenger bet that Butcher could not write a good story based on a lame idea, and he countered that he could do it using two lame ideas of the challenger's choosing. The "lame" ideas given were "Lost Roman Legion", and "Pokémon. On March 3, 2003, Jim Butcher announced that Ace had won a bidding war against rival publisher Del Rey Books for the rights to the series.

The first novel in the series, Furies of Calderon, was published in hardcover by Ace, and in August 2004, major booksellers began taking pre-orders for an October 5, 2004 release. Furies of Calderon was the first hardcover release for Butcher, and was a significant step forward in making the transition from a part-time to a full-time writer. 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.

While originally intended to be a six-book series, Codex Alera was initially signed as a trilogy. After the series showed success, Roc agreed to publish three more novels in the Codex Alera series. The fourth novel, Captain's Fury, released December 4, 2007 and peaked at #17 on The New York Times Best Seller list. The sixth and final novel, First Lord's Fury, was released on November 24, 2009, and has reached #7 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Audio rights to the Codex Alera belong to Penguin Audio. Captain's Fury was released in audio format March 27, 2008, read by Kate Reading. Audio versions of the first three books were released in November 2008. The audio book of First Lord's Fury was released simultaneously with the hardcover. On December 16, 2004, Butcher also signed a deal with Evil Hat Productions to release the game. The game uses a modified ruleset from Evil Hat's acclaimed Fate RPG.

Television series

Television writer and producer Morgan Gendel optioned The Dresden Files in June 2003, paving the way for a film or television release of the series. 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 Nicolas Cage and Norm Golightly set to executive produce. Gendel was listed to write and executive produce the television series, along with Anthony Peckham. 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. 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 opportunity to audition because he was unwilling to relocate from Los Angeles. 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. The show garnered mixed reviews.

After the season one finale aired on April 15, 2007, fans began a letter campaign in an attempt to have the show renewed. Sci Fi decided not to continue production on The Dresden Files the following August.

Awards Butcher has received nominations for the Hugo Award for Best Novel for Skin Game in 2015 and The Aeronaut's Windlass in 2016, and a nomination for the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story for Welcome to the Jungle in 2009. In 2019 he was also nominated for the Locus Award for Best Collection for Brief Cases.

Published works Dresden Files series

Codex Alera series + No. Title Release date Hardcover ISBN Paperback ISBN Audiobook ISBN Audio Release 1 Furies of Calderon October 5, 2004 November 20, 2008 2 Academ's Fury July 5, 2005 November 20, 2008 3 Cursor's Fury December 5, 2006 November 20, 2008 4 Captain's Fury December 4, 2007 March 27, 2008 5 Princeps' Fury December 2, 2008 November 25, 2008 6 First Lord's Fury November 24, 2009 November 24, 2009

Cinder Spires series

Other Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours (June 27, 2006, )