William F. Nolan
William F. Nolan in 2008
Born	William Francis Nolan (1928-03-06)March 6, 1928 Kansas City, Missouri
Died	July 15, 2021(2021-07-15) (aged 93) Vancouver, Washington
Occupation	Writer
Genre	Science fiction magical realism fantasy literary western horror
Years active	1952–2021
Notable works	Logan's Run Trilogy of Terror Burnt Offerings (film) Helltracks
Notable awards	MWA Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee (1×) IHG Living Legend in Dark Fantasy Winner, 2002 SFWA Author Emeritus, 2006 HWA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, 2010 World Fantasy Convention Award, 2013 World Horror Society Grand Master 2015
Website
Official website

William Francis Nolan (March 6, 1928 – July 15, 2021) was an American author who was active in thescience fiction,fantasy,horror, andcrime fiction genres.^[1][2][3]

Nolan became involved in science fictionfandom in the 1950s, and published severalfanzines, includingRay Bradbury Review.^[2] During this time, Nolan befriended several science fiction and fantasy writers, including Ray Bradbury,Robert Bloch,Richard Matheson,Charles Beaumont, andRay Russell.^[2] Nolan became a professional author in 1956.^[2] Nolan is perhaps best known for coauthoring the novelLogan's Run, withGeorge Clayton Johnson,^[4] but wrote hundreds of pieces, frompoetry tononfiction, to prose, for many publications, such asSports Illustrated,Rogue,Playboy,Dark Discoveries,Nameless Digest, and others.^[1] Nolan wrote several mystery novels, including the "Challis" series.^[3] He also had a long career in themovie industry, primarily working forDan Curtis, and co-wrote the screenplay for the 1976 horror filmBurnt Offerings which starredKaren Black andBette Davis.^[1]

Nolan was also a prolificeditor of collections (by others), andanthologies, most recently co-editing two anthologies with friend, filmmaker, and writerJason V Brock:The Bleeding Edge (2009), with stories from fellow writersRay Bradbury,Richard Matheson,George Clayton Johnson,John Shirley,Dan O'Bannon, and several others, andThe Devil's Coattails (2012), which featured offerings fromRamsey Campbell,S. T. Joshi,Richard Selzer,Earl Hamner Jr., and more, both from Cycatrix Press. Nolan teamed up withBluewater Productions for acomic book series,Logan's Run: Last Day, released in 2010. In addition, he developed comics based on one other property of his for Bluewater:Tales from William F. Nolan's Dark Universe (featuring stories adapted by Nolan and Brock and published in 2013).

Nolan was nominated once for theEdgar Allan Poe Award from theMystery Writers of America.^[1] He was voted a Living Legend in Dark Fantasy by theInternational Horror Guild in 2002, and in 2006 was bestowed the honorary title ofAuthor Emeritus by theScience Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. In 2010, he received the Lifetime AchievementBram Stoker Award from theHorror Writers Association (HWA).^[5] In 2013 he was a recipient, along withBrian W. Aldiss, of theWorld Fantasy Convention Award in Brighton, England by theWorld Fantasy Convention.^[6] In May 2014, Nolan was presented with another Bram Stoker Award, for Superior Achievement in Nonfiction; this was for his collection about his late friend Ray Bradbury, calledNolan on Bradbury: Sixty Years of Writing about the Master of Science Fiction.^[7] In 2015, Nolan was named a World Horror SocietyGrand Master; the award was presented at the World Horror Convention inAtlanta in May of that year.^[8]

Nolan was born inKansas City, Missouri, the son of Bernadette Mariana Kelly, a stenographer, and Michael Cahill Nolan, an adventurer, and sportsman.^[9] His family wasIrish Catholic.^[1] He briefly attended theKansas City Art Institute. Later, he worked forHallmark Cards, Inc. writing verses and illustratinggreeting cards before moving to California with his parents.

After a few years working in offices, he metCharles Beaumont, who would remain a close friend until Beaumont's untimely death at age thirty-eight.^[1] Beaumont was instrumental in Nolan becoming an author.

Nolan was a close friend to radio writerNorman Corwin as well as speculative writer Ray Bradbury. He was also a member of the influentialSouthern California School of Writers in the 1950s–1960s (known informally as "The Group"), many of whom wrote forAlfred Hitchcock Presents,The Twilight Zone,Star Trek, and other popular series of the day. Nolan was an ethicalvegetarian and loved animals. In later life, he still wrote new material and was active in various literary projects, and conventions (he was Guest of Honor atKiller Con and Portland'sOrycon, as well as a special guest at theWorld Horror Convention,World Fantasy Convention, and many others), and promotional opportunities.

Though estranged for more than ten years, he had been married since 1970. He resided in Vancouver, Washington.^[10][11] With regard to his work, he said: "I get excited about something, and I want to write about it."^[12]

Nolan died from complications of an infection in July 2021 at the age of 93.^[13][14]

• The Intruder (1962) as villain "Bart Carey"
• Charles Beaumont: The Life of Twilight Zone’s Magic Man (JaSunni Productions, LLC; 2010) as himself
• The AckerMonster Chronicles! (JaSunni Productions, LLC; 2012) as himself

• Logan's Run (1967) – Novel (with George Clayton Johnson)
• Logan's World (1977) – Second novel in the original "Logan Trilogy"
• Logan's Search (1980) – Third novel in the "Logan Trilogy"
• Logan's Return (2001) – Novella, released as ane-book

• The Black Mask Murders (1994) – Novel
• The Marble Orchard (1996) – Novel
• Sharks Never Sleep (1998) – Novel

• Space for Hire (1971) – Novel
• Look Out for Space (1985) – Novel
• 3 For Space (1992) – Collection
• Far Out (2004) – Collection
• Seven for Space (2008) – Collection

• Death Is For Losers (1968) – Novel
• The White Cad Cross-Up (1969) – Novel
• Helle on Wheels (1992) – Novella
• The Brothers Challis (1996) – Collection

• Pirate's Moon (1987) – Novella
• Broxa (1991) - Novella
• The Winchester Horror (1998) – Novella
• Demon! [Reprint of Broxa] (2005) – Novella
• Kincaid: A Paranormal Casebook (2011) – Collection

• Max Brand's Best Western Stories (1981) – Brand Collection
• Max Brand's Best Western Stories II (1985) – Brand Collection
• Max Brand: Western Giant (1986) – Anthology/Bibliography
• Max Brand's Best Western Stories III (1987) – Brand Collection
• Tales of the Wild West (1997) – Brand Collection
• More Tales of the Wild West (1999) – Brand Collection
• Masquerade (2005) – Brand Collection
• King of the Pulps (forthcoming) – Biography

• Dashiell Hammett: A Casebook (1969) – Critical study
• Hammett: A Life at the Edge (1983) – Biography
• Dash (2004) – Stage Play
• A Man Called Dash: The Life and Times of Samuel Dashiell Hammett^[15] (Alfred A. Knopf) – Definitive biography. (unpublished as of August 2025^[update])

• Ray Bradbury Review (1952) – Anthology
• The Ray Bradbury Index (1953) – Pamphlet
• The Ray Bradbury Companion (1975) – Biography/bibliography
• The Dandelion Chronicles (1984) – Pamphlet
• The Bradbury Chronicles (1991) – Anthology (withMartin H. Greenberg)
• Nolan On Bradbury: Sixty Years of Writing about the Master of Science Fiction (2013;Hippocampus Press) – Collected nonfiction book (Edited byS. T. Joshi)

• Adventure on Wheels (1959) –John Fitch autobiography
• Barney Oldfield (1961) – Biography
• Phil Hill: Yankee Champion (1962) – Biography
• John Huston: King Rebel (1965) - Biography
• Sinners and Supermen (1965) – Nonfiction collection
• Steve McQueen: Star on Wheels (1972) – Biography
• Hemingway: Last Days of the Lion (1974) – Biographical chapbook
• McQueen (1984) - Biography
• The Black Mask Boys (1985) – Biography/Anthology
• How to Write Horror Fiction (1990) – Reference
• Let's Get Creative: Writing Fiction That Sells! (2006) - Reference

• The Work ofCharles Beaumont (1986)
• The Work of William F. Nolan (1988)

• The Fiend in You (1962) – Anthology (with Charles Beaumont; Nolan is uncredited)
• The Pseudo-People (1965)
• Man Against Tomorrow (1965)
• Il Meglio Della Fantascienza (1967)
• 3 To the Highest Power (1968)
• A Wilderness of Stars (1969)
• A Sea of Space (1970)
• The Edge of Forever (1971) – Collection ofChad Oliver stories
• The Future is Now (1971)
• The Human Equation: Four Science Fiction Novels of Tomorrow (1971)
• Science Fiction Origins (1980) - Anthology (with Martin H. Greenberg)
• Urban Horrors (1990) – Anthology (with Martin H. Greenberg)
• California Sorcery, Edited by Nolan andWilliam Schafer (1998)
• Offbeat (2002) – Collection ofRichard Matheson stories
• The Bleeding Edge (2009) – Anthology (with Jason V Brock)
• The Devil's Coattails (2012) – Anthology (with Jason V Brock)

• The Mounties (1979) – Broadside
• Dark Encounters (1986) – Collection
• Have You Seen the Wind? (2003) – Collection, with prose
• Ill Met by Moonlight (2004) – Collection, with prose and artwork
• Soul Trips (2015) – Collection

• Omnibus of Speed (1958) – Anthology (with Charles Beaumont)
• Men of Thunder (1964) – Collection
• When Engines Roar (1964) – Anthology (with Charles Beaumont)
• Carnival of Speed (1973) – Collection

• Things Beyond Midnight (1984) – Collection
• Blood Sky (1991) – Chapbook
• Helltracks (1991) – Novel
• Night Shapes (1995) – Collection
• William F. Nolan's Dark Universe (2001) – Career retrospective
• Nightworlds (2004) – Collection

• A Cross Section of Art in Science-Fantasy (1952) – Chapbook
• Image Power (1988) – Pamphlet
• Rio Renegades (1989) – Western novel
• Simply An Ending (2002) – Pamphlet
• With Marlowe in L.A. (2003) – Pamphlet

• Impact-20 (1963) – Short stories
• Alien Horizons (1974)
• Wonderworlds (1977)
• Down the Long Night (2000)
• Ships in the Night: And Other Stories (2003) – Collection of sci-fi, Western, etc.
• Wild Galaxy: Selected Science Fiction Stories (2005)
• Like a Dead Man Walking and Other Shadow Tales (edited by Jason V Brock; a mix of science fiction, horror, poetry, and literary stories;Centipede Press, 2014)

• Burnt Offerings (1976)
• Who Goes There? (a.k.a.The Thing) Screen treatment (1978), written for Universal Studios (not produced), published byRocket Ride Books in "Who Goes There?: The Novella That Formed The Basis of THE THING" (2009)

• ”Brain Wave” (1959) –One Step Beyond
• ”Mental Lapse” (1959) –Wanted: Dead or Alive
• ”Black Belt” (1960) –Wanted: Dead or Alive
• ”The Joy of Living” (1971) –Norman Corwin Presents
• The Norliss Tapes (1973) – NBC Movie of the Week
• The Turn of the Screw (1974) – ABC Movie of the Week
• Trilogy of Terror (Millicent and Therese; Julie) (1975) – ABC Movie of the Week
• Melvin Purvis: G-Man (1975)
• Sky Heist (1975) – NBC Movie of the Week
• The Kansas City Massacre (1975) – ABC Movie of the Week
• Logan's Run (1977) – Pilot for CBS series
• ”First Loss” (1981) –240-Robert
• ”The Partnership” (1981) –Darkroom
• Bridge Across Time, a.k.a.Terror at London Bridge (1985) – NBC Movie of the Week
• Trilogy of Terror II (The Graveyard Rats; He Who Kills) (1996) – USA Movie of the Week

• Official website
• Works by William F. Nolan atProject Gutenberg
• Works by or about William F. Nolan at theInternet Archive
• Works by William F. Nolan atLibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• William F. Nolan atIMDb
• 2009 interview with Nolan about theLogan's Run: Last Day comicsArchived February 3, 2013, atarchive.today fromBluewater Productions
• William F. Nolan at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database

• 1928 births
• 2021 deaths
• 20th-century American male writers
• 20th-century American novelists
• 20th-century American short story writers
• American horror writers
• American male novelists
• American male short story writers
• American mystery writers
• American science fiction writers
• American chapbook writers
• Kansas City Art Institute alumni
• Novelists from Missouri
• Novelists from Washington (state)
• World Fantasy Award–winning writers
• Writers from Kansas City, Missouri
• Writers from Vancouver, Washington

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