William F. Nolan (born March 6, 1928 in Kansas City, MO) writes mostly in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres. Though best known for coauthoring the acclaimed dystopian science fiction novel Logan’s Run with George Clayton Johnson, Nolan is the author of more than 2000 pieces (fiction, nonfiction, articles, and books), and has edited twenty-six anthologies in his sixty-plus year career.
Adept at poetry and screenwriting as well as fiction (with more than twenty produced scripts to his credit), he was co-writer (with filmmaker Dan Curtis) of the screenplay for the 1976 horror classic Burnt Offerings, and co-wrote Trilogy of Terror with another departed friend, the outstanding author and screenwriter Richard Matheson, both for Dan Curtis Productions.
An artist, Nolan worked at Hallmark Cards, Inc. and in comic books before becoming an author. In the 1950s, Nolan was an integral part of the writing ensemble known as “The Group.” The Group (also called “The Southern California Writing School” by former Los Angeles Times critic Robert Kirsch) included numerous veteran and soon-to-be well-known genre writers, such as Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, John Tomerlin, Matheson, and Johnson, many of whom wrote for Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. Nolan is also considered a leading expert on Dashiell Hammett and pulps such as Black Mask and Western Story, and is the world authority on the works of prolific scribe Max Brand.
Of his numerous awards, there are a few of which he is most proud: being voted a Living Legend in Dark Fantasy by the International Horror Guild in 2002; twice winning the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America; being awarded the honorary title of Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. in 2006; receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers Association in 2010; and as recipient of the 2013 World Fantasy Convention Award along with Brian W. Aldiss. Nolan won another Bram Stoker Award—for Superior Achievement in Nonfiction—in May 2014 for his book about Bradbury, Nolan on Bradbury. He was named a World Horror Society Grand Master in 2015.
A vegetarian, Nolan resides in Vancouver, WA. Visit him on Facebook and Twitter (@WilliamFNolan).