Tim Powers was born in Buffalo, New York, on Leap Year Day in 1952, but has lived in southern California since 1959. He graduated from California State University at Fullerton with a B.A. in English in 1976; the same year saw the publication of his first two novels, The Skies Discrowned and Epitaph in Rust (both from Laser Books).

Powers's subsequent novels include The Drawing of the Dark, The Anubis Gates, Dinner at Deviant's Palace, The Stress of Her Regard, Last Call, Expiration Date, Earthquake Weather, and Declare.

A uniquely brilliant, versatile author, Tim Powers has been compared to Michael Crichton, Neal Stephenson, and Clive Barker, and was lauded by Kirkus as "the reigning king of adult historical fantasy." His novel Declare, a supernatural secret history of post-WWII espionage, won the 2001 World Fantasy and the International Horror Guild Awards. He is also the two-time recipient of the Philip K. Dick Award for The Anubis Gates and Dinner at Deviant's Palace, and a three-time Locus Award winner for Last Call, Expiration Date, and Earthquake Weather. His latest novel is Three Ways to Never (Morrow, 2006), a taut supernatural thriller.

Powers has taught at the Clarion Science Fiction Writers' Workshop at Michigan State University six times, and has three times co-taught the Writers of the Future Workshop with Algis Budrys.

Powers lives with his wife Serena in San Bernardino, California.