John Gregory Betancourt, born in Missouri on October 25, 1963, is an author known for his contributions to science fiction, fantasy, and mystery genres through novels and short stories. He penned And the Band Played On: The Band's Tale featured in the Tales from Jabba's Palace anthology. Additionally, he is the author of four Star Trek novels, the new Chronicles of Amber prequel series, and a collection of original novels numbering over a dozen. His editorial experience includes roles as an assistant editor at Amazing Stories and as editor for Horror: The Newsmagazine of the Horror Field, the revived Weird Tales magazine, the inaugural issue of H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror, Cat Tales magazine, and Adventure Tales magazine. Furthermore, his essays, articles, and reviews have been published in various publications, including Writer's Digest and Amazing Stories.
Philip P. Betancourt, an archaeologist, is the father of John Betancourt. During his childhood, John Betancourt spent summers in remote Greek locations, particularly Crete, where his father was involved in the Pseira excavation. It was during these formative years that he cultivated a passion for reading and discovered authors such as Clark Ashton Smith, Michael Moorcock, and Jack Vance through books imported from the United Kingdom. When he exhausted his reading material, he began creating his own stories for entertainment.
At the age of 15, his poem, "The Argia," was his first work to be published, appearing in Space & Time magazine. By age 16, he achieved his first professional sale with "Vernon's Dragon," which was included in the anthology 100 Great Fantasy Short-Short Stories, edited by Isaac Asimov, John F. Carr, and Martin H. Greenberg. He initiated his first published novel, The Blind Archer, at age 17, completed it at age 18, and successfully sold it to Avon Books at age 19.
Throughout his career, Betancourt has alternated between writing and editing. During his college years, he served as an assistant editor for Amazing Stories. Following the closure of the Philadelphia office, he partnered with George Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer to establish a literary agency. One year later, Betancourt, Scithers, and Schweitzer secured a license for the name Weird Tales from Weird Tales, Ltd. and brought the magazine back to life.
In 1989, Betancourt married Kim Hermo, now known as Kim Betancourt, and relocated from Philadelphia to Newark, New Jersey. In 1989, they established Wildside Press with the intention of publishing a collection of essays by Fritz Leiber to commemorate Leiber's appearance as Principle Speaker at Philcon that year. The book, titled Fafhrd & Me, quickly sold out, prompting Betancourt to pursue publishing additional titles as a hobby.
In 1990, Betancourt was appointed as the science fiction editor for Byron Preiss Visual Publications. He remained with Byron Preiss for seven years, eventually advancing to the position of Senior Editor before departing to dedicate his time to full-time writing and caring for his and Kim Betancourt's first child. This transition marked the beginning of his most productive period as an author.
Betancourt discovered print on demand technology, which allows for the production of books individually, in 1998. He emerged as a pioneer in this field, utilizing PoD to bring hundreds, and eventually thousands, of books back into print. Betancourt formally incorporated Wildside Press in 2004 and continued to expand the company, witnessing consistent growth in gross annual sales. As of May 2008, Wildside Press boasted a catalog of over 4,500 books in print, encompassing a wide range of genres from classic literature to genre titles by authors such as H. Beam Piper, John W. Campbell, Jr., and Andre Norton, among numerous others.
While Wildside Press demanded an increasing amount of his time, Betancourt still managed to produce one novel and several short stories most years. He enlisted the expertise of genre writers and editors to collaborate on Wildside Press projects. During the period from 2000 to 2007, employees included authors and editors such as P.D. Cace, Darrell Schweitzer, George H. Scithers, Vera Nazarian, Stephen H. Segal, and Sean Wallace.
Betancourt partnered with AudioRealms in 2006 to release both new and classic science fiction, fantasy, and horror titles in audiobook format. Initial releases included H. Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy and Andre Norton's The Time Traders, in addition to works by Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft.
In 2007, Betancourt was honored with the Black Orchid Novella Award from the Nero Wolfe Society and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine for his novella "Horse Pit." The award, which consisted of a certificate, a prize of $1,000.00, and publication in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, was presented at the Wolfe Pack's annual Black Orchid Banquet on December 1, 2007.
He co-authored the original young adult fantasy novel Born of Elven Blood with Kevin J. Anderson. His solo written original novels include The Blind Archer, Johnny Zed, and Rememory. He currently resides in Maryland with his wife, Kim, and their two sons, Ian and David.
- " And the Band Played On: The Band's Tale " — Tales from Jabba's Palace featured in Tales from Jabba's Palace