D. J. Butler


David John Butler is an American speculative fiction author. His epic flintlock fantasy novel Witchy Kingdom won the Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel in 2020. Witchy Winter won the 2018 AML Award for Best Novel and the 2018 Whitney Award for Best Speculative Fiction, and Witchy Eye was a preliminary nominee for the Gemmell Morningstar Award.

Life and career

Butler attended the New York University School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor in 1999. He is married to Emily Butler, and has four children. He spent over a decade working as a lawyer for companies including Micron Technology before opening an independent firm in 2010. He is employed as a corporate trainer, using his skills as a storyteller to educate business people. He began pursuing his childhood dream of being an author in 2010. His steampunk Western novel, City of Saints, was a 2012 Whitney Award finalist in the speculative fiction category.
In 2017, Baen published the first of Butler's American epic flintlock fantasy series, Witchy Eye, set in an alternate 1815 America. It was a finalist for a Dragon Award in 2017 and was a preliminary nominee for a Gemmell Morningstar Award in 2018. The second book in the series, Witchy Winter, won the 2018 AML Award for Best Novel, the 2018 Whitney Award for Best Speculative Fiction, and was a finalist for the 2018 Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel. Witchy Kingdom won the Dragon Award for Best Alternate History Novel in 2020.
In addition to being an author, Butler is Senior Editor for new publisher Ark Press. Previously, he served as Consulting Editor at Baen Books and Acquisitions Editor for WordFire Press.
In 2025, after the Grand Blanc Township church attack, in which a man burned down a meetinghouse of the The [Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints] and shot and killed four people, Butler, who himself is a LDS member, set up a fundraising page for the man's family. In less than two weeks, three hundred eighty thousand dollars were donated from nine thousand five hundred people. He said he set up the page because "Jesus tells us that we should do this. We should love our enemies, that we should mourn with those that mourn, that we should care for the widow and the orphan"

The Buza System

  • Crecheling
  • ''Urbane''

    City of Saints

Alternate history Civil War era featuring secret agents Samuel Clemens and Edgar Allan Poe trying to obtain the plans for airship and ray gun technology.
  1. Liahona
  2. Deseret
  3. Timpanogos
  4. Teancum
An omnibus, collecting all four novels, was also published:
  • ''City of Saints''

    ''The Extraordinary Journeys of Clockwork Charlie''

A clockwork boy, Charlie Pondicherry, has various adventures. This is a middle grade series.
  • The Kidnap Plot
  • The Giant's Seat
  • ''The Library Machine''

    Hiram Woolley

  • The Cunning Man with Aaron Michael Ritchey
  • The Jupiter Knife with Aaron Michael Ritchey
  • "The Seven Nipples of Molly Kitchen", in The Chronicles of Davids edited by David Afsharirad
  • "The Greatest Horse Thief in History", in Straight Outta Deadwood edited by David Boop
  • "The Dead Who Care", in Parallel Worlds: The Heroes Within edited by L. J. Hachmeister and R.R. Virdi
  • "Thirsty Bones", in Twilight Tales edited by Jaleta Clegg and Joe Monson
  • "Upon the Bells of the Horses", in The Florilegium of Madness edited by Callie Butler and Joe Monson
  • "The Hearts of the Children", in The Florilegium of Madness edited by Callie Butler and Joe Monson
  • "The Lord Set a Mark", in And Then It Got Weird: An Anthology of Paranormal Peculiarities edited by Jamie Ibson

    Indrajit and Fix

  • "The Path of the Hunter" in Negotiation edited by Kacey Ezell and Marisa Wolf
  • "No Trade for Nice Guys" in When Valor Must Hold edited by Rob Howell and Chris Kennedy
  • In the Palace of Shadow and Joy
  • "The Lady in the Pit" in No Game for Knights
  • Between Princesses and Other Jobs
  • ''Among the Gray Lords''

    ''Rock Band Fights Evil''

  • Hellhound on My Trail
  • Snake Handlin' Man
  • Crow Jane
  • Devil Sent the Rain
  • This World Is Not My Home
  • The Good Son
  • Earth Angel
  • All Along the Watchtower
Two omnibuses collect the first six novels:
  • Band on the Run
  • ''The Road to Hell''

    ''The Witchy War''

Alternate history flintlock fantasy set in the early 1800s North America.
  • "Dei Britannici", a prequel short story in ''Free Stories 2017''

    Witchy Eye series

  • Witchy Eye
  • Witchy Winter
  • Witchy Kingdom
  • ''Serpent Daughter''

    ''Time Trials''

  • Time Trials with M. A. Rothman
  • Ice Trials with M. A. Rothman

    Other Fiction

  • Press Forward Saints, Mormon steampunk anthology edited by Butler
  • The Wilding Probate
  • The Florilegium of Madness, collection of short fiction
  • Abbott in Darkness
  • The Chrestomathy of Desire, collection of short fiction

    Nonfiction

  • The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy,

    Critical reception

The writing in Time Trials, co-authored with M. A. Rothman, was described as "highly enjoyable" and "entertaining", having well-developed characters, and praised for "refreshingly respect for ancient civilizations and their accomplishments".

Awards and honors

Butler has received the following awards and honors:
YearOrganizationAward title,
Category		WorkResultRefs
2012StorymakersWhitney Award,
Best Speculative Fiction		City of Saints
2016Association for Mormon LettersAML Award,
Middle Grade Novel		The Kidnap Plot
2017Dragon ConDragon Award,
Best Alternate History Novel		Witchy Eye
2018DGLAGemmell Award,
Morningstar Award		Witchy Eye
2018Association for Mormon LettersAML Award,
Novel		Witchy WinterWon
2018Dragon ConDragon Award,
Best Alternate History Novel		Witchy Winter
2018StorymakersWhitney Award,
Best Speculative Fiction		Witchy WinterWon
2019Association for Mormon LettersAML Award, NovelThe Cunning Man
2020Dragon ConDragon Award,
Best Alternate History Novel		Witchy KingdomWon
2021Association for Mormon LettersAML Award, NovelThe Jupiter Knife