Jim Butcher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Jim Butcher | |
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 Drawing of Jim Butcher by Michelle Parker |
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| Born | October 26, 1971 Independence, Missouri, United States |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | American |
| Writing period | April 2000–present |
| Genres | Fantasy, Speculative fiction, Science fiction |
| Notable work(s) | The Dresden Files, Codex Alera |
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Influences
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| Official website | |
Jim Butcher (born in Independence, Missouri, United States, on October 26, 1971)[1] is a New York Times Best Selling author[2][3] most known for his contemporary fantasy book series The Dresden Files. He also writes the Codex Alera series. Butcher 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), one son, James Joseph, and his guard dog, Frostbite Doomreaver MacBane Butcher.
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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. He has since contributed to the anthologies Many Bloody Returns in September 2007 and My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon in December 2007.[7] In October 2008, he released another short story in Blood Lite and a novelette, Backup, illustrated by Mike Mignola.[8]
[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 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 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.[9] In December 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.[10]
Dead Beat, released on May 3, 2005, was the first hardback release in the series by ROC. Unprecedented demand led 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.[11] 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 Best Seller List and #91 on the USA Today list.[2] 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.[12]
A ninth book from ROC, White Night, was released on April 3, 2007, following closely on the heels of a February paperback release for Proven Guilty. White Night reached the top five of the New York Times Best Seller List on an initial run of 100,000 copies.[13] Small Favor, the tenth book in the series, was released April 1, 2008.[14] It debuted at number two on the New York Times Best Seller List, Butcher's highest debut ever,[15] and number three on the USA TODAY best seller list.[16] The eleventh book in the series, "Turn Coat", was released April 7, 2009. The 12th book in the series has been announced for an April 2010 release and has been titled as 'Changes' [17]. The series garners a strong following and is now available in several languages, including Russian, Spanish, French, Czech, Polish, German and Mandarin Chinese.
[edit] The Dresden Files in other media
[edit] Audiobooks and game
Due to the popularity of The Dresden Files, Buzzy Media Publishing has released the first four novels as audiobooks in both audio and MP3 CD formats. They are voiced by actor James Marsters. Storm Front was released in July 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. Summer Knight was released March 31, 2007. All four have since been released in MP3-CD format with fewer discs.
Buzzy Multimedia announced in November 2007 that Penguin Audio had purchased the audio rights to the remaining Dresden Files novels, and the tenth novel, Small Favor, would be next in line for audio treatment. The audio book was released simultaneously with the hardcover April 1, 2008.[18] Jim-Butcher.com reports that Penguin Audio intends to produce and release the remaining novels as soon as James Marsters' schedule allows.[19]
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.[20]
[edit] Television show
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.[21] 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.[21] 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.[10]
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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24] 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] The show garnered mixed reviews[25]
After the season one finale aired on April 15, 2007, fans began a letter campaign in an attempt to have the show renewed.[26] Sci Fi decided not to continue production on the Dresden Files the following August.[27]
[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.[28]
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,[29] and was a significant step forward in transitioning from a part-time to a full-time writer.[30] 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.[31] The fourth novel, Captain's Fury, released December 4, 2007 and peaked at #17 on the New York Times Best Seller List.[7] The fifth novel, Princeps' Fury, was released November 25, 2008 and peaked at #13 on the New York Times Best Seller List[32]. The release date for the sixth and final novel has been set as November 24th 2009 the title of the book has been confirmed as First Lord's Fury.
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 Princeps' Fury was released simultaneously with the hardcover.[33]
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] The Dresden Files
| No. | Title | Release date | Hardcover ISBN | Release date | Paperback ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Storm Front | 2007 November 6 | 0-4514-6197-5 | 2000 April 1 | 0-4514-5781-1 |
| 2 | Fool Moon | 2008 July 1 | 0-4514-6202-5 | 2001 January 1 | 0-4514-5812-5 |
| 3 | Grave Peril | 2008 November 4 | 0-4514-6234-3 | 2001 September 1 | 0-4514-5844-3 |
| 4 | Summer Knight | 2009 July 7 | 0-4514-6275-0 | 2002 September 3 | 0-4514-5892-3 |
| 5 | Death Masks | 2009 November 3 | 0-4514-6294-7 | 2003 August 5 | 0-4514-5940-7 |
| 6 | Blood Rites | 2010 July | 0-4514-6335-8 | 2004 August 2 | 0-4514-5987-3 |
| 7 | Dead Beat | 2005 May 3 | 0-4514-6027-8 | 2006 May 2 | 0-4514-6091-X |
| 8 | Proven Guilty | 2006 May 2 | 0-4514-6085-5 | 2007 February 6 | 0-4514-6103-7 |
| 9 | White Night | 2007 April 3 | 0-4514-614-01 | 2008 February 5 | 0-4514-6155-X |
| 10 | Small Favor | 2008 April | 0-4514-6189-4 | 2009 May 3 | 0-4514-6200-9 |
| 11 | Turn Coat | 2009 April | 0-4514-6256-4 | 2010 March 3 | 0-4514-6281-5 |
| 12 | Changes | 2010 April 6 | 0-4514-6317-3 | — | — |
| Omnibus editions | Hardcover ISBN | Contents | |||
| 1–3 | Wizard for Hire | 2005 March | 0-7394-5193-6 | Storm Front, Fool Moon & Grave Peril | |
| 4,5 | Wizard by Trade | 2006 March | 0-7394-6581-3 | Summer Knight & Death Masks | |
| 6,7 | Wizard at Large | 2006 October | 978-0-7394-7658-1 | Blood Rites & Dead Beat | |
| 8,9 | Wizard Under Fire | 2007 May | 0-7394-8344-7 | Proven Guilty & White Night | |
| Audiobooks | Audio CD ISBN | MP3 CD ISBN | |||
| 1 | Storm Front | 2002 July | 0-9657-2550-2 | 0-9657-2556-1 | |
| 2 | Fool Moon | 2003 August | 0-9657-2552-9 | 0-9657-2558-8 | |
| 3 | Grave Peril | 2004 October | 0-9657-2555-3 | 0-9657-2559-6 | |
| 4 | Summer Knight | 2007 March | 0-9790-7492-4 | 0-9790-7493-2 | |
| 8 | Proven Guilty | 2009 April | 0-1431-4473-1 | — | |
| 9 | White Night | 2009 April | 0-1431-4474-X | — | |
| 10 | Small Favor | 2008 April | 0-1431-4339-5 | — | |
| 11 | Turn Coat | 2009 April | 0-1431-4472-3 | — | |
- "Restoration of Faith" (Harry Dresden short story)
- "Vignette" (Harry Dresden vignette)
- "Something Borrowed" (Harry Dresden short story), published in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (October 3, 2006, ISBN 0-312-34360-4)
- "It's My Birthday Too" (Harry Dresden short story), published in Many Bloody Returns (September 4, 2007, ISBN 0441015220)
- "Heorot" (Harry Dresden short story), published in My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon (December 26, 2007, ISBN 0-312-37504-2)
- "Day Off" (Harry Dresden short story), published in Blood Lite (October 21, 2008, ISBN 1416567836)
- Welcome to the Jungle, a prequel to the series. A graphic novel, illustrated by Ardian Syaf), published by Dabel Brothers (October 21, 2008, ISBN 0345507460
- Backup: A Story of the Dresden Files (Harry Dresden novelette, illustrated by Mike Mignola), published by Subterranean Press (October 31, 2008, ISBN 1596061820)
- "The Warrior", published in Mean Streets (January 6, 2009, ISBN 9780451462497)
- "Last Call", published in Strange Brew (July 7, 2009, ISBN 9780312383367)
The following are the planned release dates for the audio books, read by James Marsters: Proven Guilty (release date April 2009), White Knight (release date April 2009), Turn Coat (release date April 2009), Death Masks (release date November 2009), Blood Rites (release date July 2010) and Dead Beat (release date July 2010).
Butcher received a nomination for the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story for Welcome to the Jungle.[34]
[edit] Codex Alera
| No. | Title | Release date | Hardcover ISBN | Paperback ISBN | Audiobook ISBN | Audio Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Furies of Calderon | October 5, 2004 | 0-4410-1199-3 | 0-4410-1268-X | 0-14314376-X | November 20, 2008 |
| 2 | Academ's Fury | July 5, 2005 | 0-4410-1283-3 | 0-4410-1340-6 | 0-14314377-8 | November 20, 2008 |
| 3 | Cursor's Fury | December 5, 2006 | 0-4410-1434-8 | 0-4410-1547-6 | 0-14314378-6 | November 20, 2008 |
| 4 | Captain's Fury | December 4, 2007 | 0-4410-1527-1 | 0-4410-1655-6 | 0-14314338-7 | March 27, 2008 |
| 5 | Princeps' Fury | December 2, 2008 | 0-4410-1638-3 | 0-4410-1796-7 | 0-14314375-1 | November 25, 2008 |
| 6 | First Lord's Fury | November 24, 2009 | 0-4410-1769-X | — | — | — |
[edit] Other
- The Darkest Hours (June 27, 2006, ISBN 1-4165-1068-0)
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ iago (2004-10-26). "Jim's Birthday!". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000027.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ a b iago (2006-05-10). "Jim's New Books are Climbing the Charts". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000120.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.,
- ^ iago is the online pseudonym of Fred Hicks, webmaster for Jim-Butcher.Com and co-author of the Dresden Files RPG.
- ^ a b Butcher, Jim (2005). "Author's Note". Dead Beat. New York, NY: ROC Books. pp. 395–396.
- ^ "About Jim". Jim-Butcher.Com. 2004. http://www.jim-butcher.com/jim/. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ "Clients". Jennifer Jackson. http://www.jenniferjackson.org/clients.html. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ a b priscellie (2007-12-19). "Codex Alera". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000236.php. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
- ^ priscellie (2008-04-09). "The Mega-Minicast". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000269.php. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ iago (2004-08-24). "Dresden Short Story: Restoration of Faith". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000019.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ a b iago (2004-12-29). "Jim Updates Us". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000050.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2005-05-08). "Dead Beat's first run sells dry". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000076.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ Wheeler, Andy (2006-10-17). "New Books in SFBC November". Science Fiction Book Club. http://thebookblogger.com/sfbc/2006/10/new_books_in_sfc_november.html. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
- ^ priscellie (2007-04-16). "White Night in NYT's top 5!". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000182.php. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
- ^ "Jim-Butcher.Com: Books - Dresden Files - Book 10". Jim-Buther.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/10/. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ New York Times (2008-04-20). "Hardcover Fiction". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/books/bestseller/0420besthardfiction.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ USA TODAY (2008-04-20). "This week's top 150 best sellers". USA TODAY. http://content.usatoday.com/life/books/booksdatabase/default.aspx. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
- ^ "Jim-Butcher.Com: Books - Dresden Files - Book 12". Jim-Buther.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/books/dresden/12/. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ^ Buzzy Multimedia. "Small Favor Audiobook". Buzzy Multimedia Publishing. http://www.buzzymultimedia.com/small-favor-audiobook.html. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ priscellie. "Remaining Audiobooks". Jim-Butcher.com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/feedback/. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ "jim-butcher.com". http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000047.php. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
- ^ a b iago (2003-06-23). "Morgan Gendel options the Dresden Files". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000005.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ Martin, Denise (2005-10-05). "Net cages sci-fi guy: Thesp ventures into TV with 'Dresden'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117930240?categoryid=14&cs=1. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2005-11-10). "Jim comments on the casting". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000102.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2006-05-24). "Dresden Gets SCI FI Pickup". SCI FI Wire. http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=2&id=36229. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ Wayne Hall (2007-03-16). "'Dresden Files' Manages Magic Believably". SyFy Portal. http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/dresdenfiles?q=Jim%20Butcher. Retrieved 2007-03-17.
- ^ CNET Networks, Inc.. "Dresden Files, The". Metacritic. http://maenad.tripod.com/saveharrydresden/. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
- ^ Matt Roush (2007-08-03). "Dresden in Sci Fi's Circular File". TV Guide. http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Roush-Dispatch/Dresden-Sci-Fis/800019821. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
- ^ iago (2003-03-03). "Ace Buys Codex Alera". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000004.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2004-08-18). "Furies of Calderon is available for presale". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000018.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ iago (2004-08-24). "A Comment on the Dresden Files Release Schedule". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000020.php. Retrieved 2006-08-28.
- ^ hippie (2006-03-30). "Cursor's Fury Hits the Shelves and The Future of Alera". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000152.php. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/books/bestseller/besthardfiction.html?_r=1
- ^ priscellie (2008-04-09). "The Mega-Minicast". Jim-Butcher.Com. http://www.jim-butcher.com/news/000269.php. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ "2009 Hugo Award Nominations". thehugoawards.com. thehugoawards.com. 2009-03-20. http://www.thehugoawards.org/?p=260. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
Find more about Jim Butcher on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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News stories from Wikinews
Learning resources from Wikiversity[edit] External links
- Dresden Files RPG
- SCIFI.COM | The Dresden Files
- The Butcher Block: A podcast about Jim and his books.
- The official Jim Butcher Site
- Penguin Audio Register here to be notified when The Dresden Files 5..9 are released as audio books.
- Novel synopses, cover art, and reviews at FantasyLiterature.net
- Jim Butcher at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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