Upsetting the Balance

Harry Turtledove was born in Los Angeles in 1949. After flunking out of Caltech, he earned a Ph.D. in Byzantine history from UCLA. He has taught ancient and medieval history at UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, and Cal State L.A., and has published a translation of a ninth-century Byzantine chronicle, as well as several scholarly articles. He is also a full-time science fiction and fantasy writer; much of his creative effort has been devoted to alternate history or history-based fantasy. His alternate history works include A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE (a first-contact story), THE GUNS OF THE SOUTH (a speculative novel of the Civil War), and the Worldwar tetralogy that began in 1994 with WORLDWAR: IN THE BALANCE. His novella "Down in the Bottomlands" won a Hugo award in 1994, and he is the coauthor, with actor Richard Dreyfuss, of THE TWO GEORGES. Two of his fantasy series, The Videssos Cycle and The Tale of Krispos, are set in a world modeled on the Byzantine Empire, and he returns to that universe with his current Time of Troubles tetralogy. He is married to fellow novelist Laura Frankos. They have three daughters: Alison, Rachel, and Rebecca.