Walter Jon Williams

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For other uses, see Walter Williams (disambiguation).
Walter Jon Williams
Walter Jon William in 2017
Walter Jon William in 2017
Born (1953-10-28) October 28, 1953 (age 67)
Duluth, Minnesota
OccupationWriter
EducationBA
Alma materUniversity of New Mexico
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[]

As Jon Williams, he designed the games Heart of Oak (1982) and Privateers and Gentlemen (1983) for Fantasy Games Unlimited.[3]: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.[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[]

An SF comedy of manners 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)
  • The Accidental War (2018)
  • Fleet Elements (2020)
  • Privateers and Gentlemen series, as Jon Williams[2]
    • To Glory Arise, originally The Privateer (1981)
    • The Tern Schooner, originally The Yankee (1981)
    • Brig of War, originally The Raider (1981)
    • The Macedonian (1981)
    • Cat Island (1981)
  • Dagmar Shaw series
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[]

  • Facets (1990)
  • Frankensteins and Foreign Devils (1998)
  • The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories (Trade Hardcover: Night Shade Books, 2010, ISBN 978-1-59780-177-5)

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. ^ Jump up to: 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. ^ Jump up to: a b Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907702-58-7.

External links[]

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