James P. Blaylock (1950- )
James Paul Blaylock was born in Long Beach, California, in 1950, and attended California State University, where he received an MA in 1974. He was befriended and mentored by Philip K. Dick, along with his contemporaries K.W. Jeter and Tim Powers, and is regarded - along with Powers and Jeter - as one of the founding fathers of the steampunk movement. Winner of two World Fantasy Awards and a Philip K. Dick Award, he is currently director of the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County High School of the Arts, where Tim Powers is Writer in Residence.