Jim Butcher is an American author, best known for writing the contemporary fantasy series The Dresden Files, Codex Alera, and Cinder Spires. Born on October 26, 1971, Butcher is a martial arts enthusiast with fifteen years of experience in various styles, including Ryukyu Kempo, Tae Kwon Do, Gojo Shorei Ryu, and a sprinkling of Kung Fu. He is also a skilled rider, having worked as a summer camp horse wrangler and performed in front of large audiences in both drill riding and stunt riding exhibitions.

Jim enjoys fencing, singing, bad science fiction movies, and live-action gaming. He resides in Missouri with his wife, son, and a vicious guard dog. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and participates in LARPs whenever he can make time for it.

Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He adopted this nickname in the early 1990s when he decided to become a published author. Typically, only 3 out of 1000 who make such an attempt manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 earn enough to call it a living. The sale of his second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist. Despite his success, he refuses to change his nickname.