George Lanning
Born	George William Lanning, Jr. (1925-07-30)July 30, 1925 Lakewood, Ohio
Died	August 5, 1995(1995-08-05) (aged 70) Cleveland, Ohio
Occupation	Novelist short story writer critic
Notable works	The Pedestal Technique in Fiction

George William Lanning Jr. (July 30, 1925 – August 5, 1995) was an American editor, novelist and critic whose literary career spanned the 1950s through the 1980s.

George Lanning was born on July 30, 1925, inLakewood, Ohio.^[1] He was the only child of George William Lanning (1886–1969) and Helen A. Lanning (nee Gravatt) (1898–1968). His father was born in Yarmouth inElgin County, Ontario, and moved to the United States in 1904. His mother was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents married on October 18, 1920.

As an undergraduate atKenyon College, he majored inEnglish and was a student ofJohn Crowe Ransom.^[2] He received anAB, graduatingsumma cum laude from Kenyon in 1952.

While continuing his association with Kenyon College after graduating (he received aFellowship in Fiction in 1954–1955), he was an assistant editor atThe World Publishing Company. He was an associate editor of the magazineThe Kenyon Review from 1960 to 1967, and editor from 1967 to 1970. Kenyon College closed down the magazine due to financial burdens; the last issue (Vol. 32, #1) was published in April 1970. (It was started up again in 1979 under different management.) He taught the techniques of fiction at writers' conferences at the Universities ofNew Hampshire andColorado, and was visiting writer atLongwood College.^[3]

His first professional sale of a short story was "Old Turkey Neck" inTomorrow magazine in 1950, while still a student at Kenyon. His stories and criticism appeared inThe Best American andO. Henry collections and various magazines.^[3]

He published three novels.This Happy Rural Seat was published by The World Publishing Company in 1953.The Pedestal was published byHarper & Row in 1966, and was nominated for Best First Novel byMystery Writers of America in 1967.^[4] His third novel wasGreen Corn Moon, published byViking in 1968.

He co-authored (withRobie Macauley) a textbook on writing,Technique in Fiction (first published by Harper & Row in 1964, second edition published bySt. Martin's Press in 1987).

He was a member ofPhi Beta Kappa,The Authors Guild, and the Rowfant Club of Cleveland.He died on August 5, 1995.^[1]

• 1925 births
• 1995 deaths
• 20th-century American novelists
• American literary critics
• American magazine editors
• American male novelists
• Kenyon College alumni
• 20th-century American male writers
• 20th-century American non-fiction writers
• American male non-fiction writers

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from July 2017