Over the past fifty-odd years, while "mostly wandering about the house," James Sallis has published eighteen novels, multiple collections of short stories, poems and essays, three books of musicology, reams of criticism, a classic biography of Chester Himes, and a translation of Raymond Queneau's novel Saint Glinglin. Onetime editor of the London-based magazine New Worlds, Jim worked for many years as a reviewer for periodicals including the New York Times, L.A. Times and Washington Post; served for three years as books columnist for the Boston Globe; and maintains a books column at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has taught at Phoenix College, Otis College, and the Piper Center and still performs on multiple instruments with his band Three-Legged Dog, as sideman for other musicians, or solo. His novels include Drive, from which Nic Refn's award-winning film derived, the six Lew Griffin novels, Death Will Have Your Eyes, and The Killer Is Dying. Jim has received a lifetime achievement award from Bouchercon, the Hammett Award for literary excellence in crime writing, and the Grand Prix de Littérature policière.

Born in Helena, Arkansas, in 1944, Jim spent his childhood on the banks of the Mississippi River along with his older brother John, a philosopher who's neck and neck with Jim as to published books. Just outside his bedroom window was a drive-in playing music all night: Jimmy Reed, Ferlin Husky, Arthur Alexander. Days he listened to Sonny Boy Williamson on The King Biscuit Hour on KFFA radio, over which he'd later read some of his first stories. Jim played French horn in the school band and has written an essay about his band director, Robert Cinq-Mars, a vastly important influence. At home his turntable regularly spun Mozart, Telemann, Mahler and Tchaikovsky.