William Milligan Sloane III (August 15, 1906 – September 25, 1974
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Sept. 26, 1974, p. 32.) was an American writer of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama. ...

and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

literature, and a publisher. Sloane is known best for his novel ''To Walk the Night''.Robert Bloch, "Robert Bloch's Ten Favorite Horror-Fantasy Novels" in ''The Book of Lists: horror''. Amy Wallace, Scott Bradley, and Del Howison, New York: Harper, 2008. . p. 253. From 1955 until his death in

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, Sloane was the director of the

Rutgers University Press Rutgers University Press (RUP) is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in New Brunswick, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University. History Rutgers University Press, a nonprofit academic publishing house operating in New B ...

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. Before then, he had spent more than 25 years working for several other publishers. He formed his own publishing company, William Sloane Associates, in 1946.Biography of William M. Sloane

Princeton University Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...

Manuscripts Division. William Sloane Associates was sold to

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in 1952.

Early life

Sloane was born in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...

, attended

The Hill School The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...

and graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

in 1929.

Personal life

Sloane married Julia Margaret Hawkins in 1929. They had three children: William Curtis Sloane (born 1932), Jessie Miranda Sloane (born 1935), and Julie Ann Sloane (born 1945).

Critical reception

Groff Conklin Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904 – July 19, 1968) was an American science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories (co-edited with physician Noah Fabricant), wrote books on home improvemen ...

described ''To Walk The Night'' as "a subtle, moving story of mood and character, written in the great tradition of British fantasy, even though the author is an American."

Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dr ...

praised the same novel for its "rich warm character-drawing, disturbing subtlety, ndsplendid sense of vast beauty in the midst of terror."

P. Schuyler Miller Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic. Life Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...

ranked it as "one of the great classics of modern science fiction." ''

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'' reviewer George W. Earley praised it as "a wondrous blending of science and occultism guaranteed to unnerve the most blasé of readers." Author

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...

included ''To Walk the Night'' on his list of favourite horror novels. ''To Walk the Night'' and the ''Edge of Running Water'' were published together as ''The Rim of Morning'' in 1964, and reissued during 2015 with an introduction by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

. King wrote, "They are good stories and can be read simply for pleasure, but what makes them fascinating and takes them to a higher level is their complete (and rather blithe) disregard of genre boundaries."

Works

* ''Back Home'' (1931), a ghost play in one act * ''Runner in the Snow'' (1931), a play of the supernatural in one act * ''Crystal Clear'' (1932), a fantasy play * ''Ballots for Bill'' (1933), co-authored by William Ellis Jones * ''The Silence of God'' (1933), a play for Christmas in one act * ''Art for Art's Sake'' (1934) * ''The Invisible Clue'' (1934), written under the name William Milligan * ''Gold Stars for Glory'' (1935) * ''To Walk the Night'' (1937), a science fiction novel with horror elements * ''The Edge of Running Water'' (1939), a science fiction novel with horror elements; adapted as the motion picture ''

The Devil Commands ''The Devil Commands'' is a 1941 American horror film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Boris Karloff. The working title of the film was ''The Devil Said No''.Young, 2000, p. 154 In it, a man obsessed with contacting his dead wife falls i ...

'' * ''Space, Space, Space: Stories About the Time When Men Will Be Adventuring to the Stars'' (1953), a collection edited by Sloane * ''Stories for Tomorrow: An Anthology of Modern Science Fiction'' (1954), a collection edited by Sloane * ''The Craft of Writing'' (1979), edited by Julia H. Sloane

References

External links