Born in Philadelphia in 1947, James Morrow spent his adolescent years making short 8mm fantasy films with his friends. After receiving a master's degree from Harvard University in 1971, Morrow worked for several years as an English teacher, a cartoonist, and an independent filmmaker. Between 1977 and 1978 he produced the manuscript of his first novel, The Wine of Violence, and shortly afterwards became addicted to writing fiction.

The first book of the Godhead Trilogy, Towing Jehovah, was the winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire. The sequel, Blameless in Abaddon, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Morrow's other novels include This Is the Way the World Ends, a Nebula finalist, and Only Begotten Daughter, winner of the World Fantasy Award. Most of his short fiction is collected in Bible Stories for Adults, including the Nebula Award-winning fable, "The Deluge." His novella, City of Truth, also received a Nebula Award. With the 1999 publication of The Eternal Footman, James Morrow offered up his final satiric meditation on the death of God. Morrow's latest novel is The Last Witchfinder a historical novel about the coming of the Enlightenment and the birth of the scientific worldview.

Morrow now lives in State College, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Kathryn, his son, Christopher, and two enigmatic dogs. He devotes his leisure hours to his family, his Lionel toy electric trains, and his video collection of vulgar Biblical spectacles