Stephen Billias is the published author of seven fantasy novels, one collection of short stories, and a literary novel, Pilgrim Maya, that he wrote with his wife Bela Breslau. He is a MacDowell Fellow.
Stephen has worked as a professional actor, street-performing juggler, dishwasher, New York City taxi driver, technical writer, and project manager.
With The Zen Time Traveler, Stephen is returning to the Buddhist themes he explored in his first fantasy novel, The American Book of the Dead, a black comedy about World War III issued by Time Warner under the Questar imprint.
A storyteller, Stephen wrote another fantasy for Time Warner, Quest for the 36, based on the Thirty-Six Just Men (Lamed Vov) of Jewish folklore. Stephen and writer/director Dennis Lanson produced a documentary, Seeking the 36, based on that book, in which they went into the world and looked for the Thirty-Six in real life. In addition, Stephen wrote two Cyberpunk novels based on the world of the roleplaying fantasy game Cyberpunk 2020, The Ravengers and Holo Men, for Warner under the Aspect imprint.
He is a longtime practitioner of the esoteric Japanese martial art Shintaido. A one-time president of Shintaido of America, Stephen is an Instructor in Shintaido. He lives in Deerfield Massachusetts where he and Bela established and ran the Shintaido Farm, a spiritual retreat center for the practice of Shintaido, from 2006-2016.
For the last fifteen years, Stephen has studied Tai Chi with renowned teacher Wolfe Lowenthal. He sits with the Boundless Way Zen group in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he is often jiki (practice leader) or doan (bellringer). A former student of the legendary Roshi Bernie Glassman, Billias brings a rare combination of historical rigor and spiritual authenticity to his prose.
