NOLAN, William F(rancis)

(1928-)

   US writer and editor who trained and for a time practised as a commercial artist; he also raced cars, publishing several books on the subject. He became a full-time writer in 1956. Of his 55 books since then, at least 30 have related directly to sf or fantasy. WFN first became active in sf as a fan, cofounding the San Diego Science Fantasy Society, editing a fanzine, the Rhodomagnetic Digest, publishing The Ray Bradbury Review, and serving as managing editor of \#1-\#3 of GAMMA (1963-4). Hepublished his first sf story, "The Joy of Living", in If in 1954, subsequently writing some short stories and criticism as by Frank Anmar and F.E. Edwards. His first sf book, Impact 20 (coll 1963), assembles some of his early work. His second, for which he remains best known, Logan's Run (1967) with George Clayton JOHNSON, begins the Logan sequence, whichcontinued with Logan's World (1977) and Logan's Search (1980), both by WN alone; all 3 are assembled as Logan: A Trilogy (omni 1986). The premise of the books is melodramatic: after a strange act of nuclear terrorism a youth culture takes over, instituting the rule that all those over 21 must be killed to combat OVERPOPULATION; the protagonist, first an enforcer and then posing as a fugitive, escapes Earth with a genuine female rebel, returning (now authentically rebellious) in the later volumes to confront the COMPUTER controlling Earth. The first volume was unsuccessfully filmed as LOGAN'S RUN (1976) and adapted as a short-lived tv series. Written in part as an homage to Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade (WFN's Hammett: A Life on the Edge (1983) is an effective biography), the Sam Space sequence, about an sf detective, comprises Space for Hire (1971), Look Out for Space (1985) and3 for Space (coll 1992). WFN's later short fiction, some of itof high quality, was assembled in Alien Horizons (coll 1974), Wonderworlds (coll 1977 UK) and Things Beyond Midnight (coll 1984).WFN has also beenactive as an anthologist, mostly of reprinted material, though The Future is Now (anth 1970) assembles original stories. He also compiled a detailed bibliography of Ray BRADBURY, with copious annotations: The Ray Bradbury Companion (1975).

   JC/PN

   Other works: The Work of Charles Beaumont (1985 chap; rev 1991 chap); How to Write Horror Fiction (1990); Helltracks (1991), a horror novel; Blood Sky (1991 chap); Helle on Wheels (1993).AsEditor: The Fiend in You (anth 1962) with Charles BEAUMONT, WFN anon; Man Against Tomorrow (anth 1965); The Pseudo-People (anth 1965; vt Almost Human 1966 UK); 3 to the Highest Power (anth 1968); A Wilderness of Stars (anth 1969); A Sea of Space (anth 1970), no connection to the Sam Space books; The Human Equation (anth 1971); Science Fiction Origins (anth 1980) with Martin H. GREENBERG; Urban Horrors (anth 1990) with Greenberg; The Bradbury Chronicles (anth 1991) with Greenberg.

   About the author: The Workof William F. Nolan: An Annotated Bibliography \& Guide (1988) by Boden Clarke (R. REGINALD) and James Hopkins (WFN himself).

   See also: ANDROIDS.