Jay Williams (writer)

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Jay Williams (born May 31, 1914 in Buffalo , New York , † July 12, 1978 ) was an American author of science fiction (often books for young people), fantasy, historical novels, non-fiction and plays.

Life

Williams was born in Buffalo , New York . His parents were Max and Lillian Jacobson. He cited his experience of growing up as the son of a vaudeville show producer as crucial to getting interested in an acting career while in college.

He attended both the University of Pennsylvania (1932-33) and Columbia University (1934), where he worked on amateur theatrical productions.

Williams and his wife Barbara Girdansky were married on June 3, 1941. Their children are a son, Christopher ("Chris") and a daughter, Victoria.

Jay Williams died of a heart attack on July 12, 1978 while traveling to London at the age of 64 .

Career

Early career

At the end of the Great Depression , he left school and initially worked as a comedian in New York's Borscht Belt holiday resorts. From 1936 to 1941 Jay Williams was a press agent for Dwight Deere Winman, Jed Harris, and the Hollywood Theater Alliance. Williams even played a leading role in the 1953 film Little Fugitive , which won the Cannes Film Awards.

Williams served in the Army during World War II and received a Purple Heart . While on duty, he published his first book, The Stolen Oracle , in 1943 . After his discharge from the military in 1945, he devoted himself to writing full-time.

plant

In total, Williams published over 79 books, including 11 picture books, 39 children's books, 7 detective novels, 4 non-fiction books, 8 historical novels and a play. Best known in the English-speaking world is his Danny Dunn series of science fiction and fantasy novels for young people, which he wrote with Raymond Abrashkin . Although Abrashkin died in 1960, Williams insisted that Abrashkin continue to be named as the co-author of all 15 books in the series, which continued from 1956 to 1977. Williams is said to have personally responded to more than 1,000 fan letters from his teenage readers each year.

Williams wrote numerous thrillers for young readers, such as his first novel The Stolen Oracle , as well as The Counterfeit African (1945) and The Roman Moon Mystery . He also wrote under the pseudonym Michael Delving crime novels for adults, the name possibly being a reference to The Lord of the Rings . One of his series revolves around the American Dave Cannon, a collector of rare books and manuscripts. It is set in the UK.

Jay Williams also wrote a number of successful historical novels for adults, including The Witches , a look at the extermination of healing women in Scotland, Solomon and Sheba , The Siege , a story of the 13th century wars by the Pope against the Cathars were initiated, morning fire (1964) that during the third crusade plays and the Rogue from Padua , one in the Renaissance of resettled novel.

In his numerous speculative science fiction stories, Williams was interested in the future. Often these were published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction . Eight of these stories appeared under the title Unearthly Beasts . His novel Uniad shows a world in which individuality has almost disappeared. His novel The Forger deals with commercialization and the art world, as well as the relationship between art and real life. In The octopus living in a Nordic embossed medieval world is described. The book ends with a criticism of today's environmental degradation.

Williams also wrote non-fiction books: The Middle Ages , Knights of the Crusades , The Spanish Armada, and Joan of Arc , as well as his major youth work on World War II , The Battle for the North Atlantic . He was known for his extensive research, both for fictional works and non-fiction.

He wrote about the environment in Fall of the Sparrow , which describes the extinction of numerous animal and bird species, often caused by humans. He also wrote a travel book, A Change of Climate , in which he documents a trip to Europe with his son Chris.

Works

  • Leonardo da Vinci: Adventure of the Spirit . Ensslin et al. Laiblin, Reutlingen 1966.
  • Break in by day . Maier, Ravensburg 1980, ISBN 3-473-39590-0 .
  • The octopus . Maier, Ravensburg 1981, ISBN 3-473-38675-8 .
  • Philbert the Scary . Reading and Leisure Publishing, Ravensburg 1984, ISBN 3-88884-106-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Daniel C. Arnsan: 79-815: Danny Dunn on a Desert Iceland . In: Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review , p. 163. Retrieved October 19, 2017. 
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h George, Jr. Goodman: Children's author Jay Williams at 64; Prolific Writer Was Best Known For Danny Dunn Books, Had Been an Actor . In: The New York Times , June 16, 1978, p. 28. Retrieved November 15, 2010. 
  3. ↑ a b c d e Danny Dunn: About the author . Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  4. ↑ Mystery / Detective Authors: . Magic Dragon Multimedia. Retrieved October 19, 2017.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Williams, Jay
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Delving, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer of science fiction, fantasy, historical novels, non-fiction, and plays
DATE OF BIRTH May 31, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Buffalo , New York , USA
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 1978