Walter Jon Williams
Walter Jon Williams in 2017
Walter Jon Williams in 2017
Born (1953-10-28) October 28, 1953 (age 70)
Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
OccupationWriter
EducationUniversity of New Mexico (BA)
Period1981–present
GenreScience fiction
Nautical fiction (as Jon Williams)
Notable awardsNebula Award
Website
walterjonwilliams.net

Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953)[1] is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, Privateers and Gentlemen (1981–1984), a series of historical novels set during the Age of Sail.[2]

Career

Writing as Jon Williams, he designed the wargame Tradition of Victory and role-playing game Promotions and Prizes, which were republished by Fantasy Games Unlimited as Heart of Oak (1982) and Privateers and Gentlemen (1983).[3]: 74  A role-playing game sourcebook for Cyberpunk called Hardwired (1989) was licensed by R. Talsorian Games, based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Williams.[3]: 209 

Williams was born in Duluth, Minnesota and graduated from 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.

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

In 2017, Williams was the Guest of Honor at the 75th World Science Fiction Convention, held in Helsinki.

Publications

Novels

Short fiction collections

Notable short fiction

References

  1. ^ Williams, Walter Jon (28 October 2007). "Geezer Test". Walter Jon Williams. Retrieved 20 May 2021. Since it's now my birthday, and the whole day is entirely about me—making it not unlike other days, actually—it's only appropriate that I devise a test to discover if you guys are as wise as I am.
  2. ^ a b "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.
  3. ^ a b Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.
  4. ^ Williams, Walter Jon (15 February 2022). Lord Quillifer. ISBN 978-1481490030.