William Harrison (author)
Encyclopedia
William Neal Harrison is an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter perhaps best known for writing the short story
Roller Ball Murder which was made into the movie Rollerball
in 1975.
Two of his works, Rollerball and Mountains of the Moon (1991), became films. Five of his novels were set in Africa and his three volumes of short stories contain most of his 50 published stories. Many of his stories that appeared in Esquire and the novel Africana were experimental in tone. His fiction is distinguished by the exotic and sometimes hostile settings in which he places his characters.
Early in his career, John Leonard wrote in The New York Times
, "He is that rare young novelist who writes equally well about action and ideas." A reviewer for The Nation wrote, "Burton and Speke…has a quality that is even rarer than excellence: it is a likable book, one of those uncommon novels you will carry with you in your imagination long after turning the final page."
Harrison attended Texas Christian University, where he became editor of the campus newspaper, The Skiff, and began to write. He later attended Vanderbilt University
where he studied to teach comparative religion
at the Divinity School, but once again he began to write and made lifelong friends in the Department of English. After a year teaching in North Carolina at Atlantic Christian College he moved his young family to Iowa where he studied in the creative writing program for ten months. At Iowa he sold his first short story to Esquire and published reviews in The Saturday Review.
In 1964, Harrison moved with his family to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he published his first novels and in 1966 became the founder and co-director of the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Arkansas with his colleague Jim Whitehead. Many American and European writers and poets came as visitors to their program and their students went on to publish hundreds of books of poetry and fiction in major New York and university publishing houses.
Harrison also served on the original board of directors (1970-75) for the Associated Writing Programs during the great growth period of creative writing in American literary education. He was also on the board of advisors for the Natural and Cultural Heritage Commission for the State of Arkansas (1976-81).
Harrison received a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in Fiction (1974), a National Endowment in the Arts Grant for Fiction (1977), the Christopher Award for Television (1970) and a Columbia School of Journalism Prize with Esquire Magazine (1971). He has been represented in Who’s Who in America since 1975. His stories have been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories (1968), Southern Writing in the Sixties (1967), All Our Secrets Are the Same: New Fiction from Esquire (1977), The Literature of Sport (1980), The Best American Mystery Stories (2006), New Stories from the South (2006), Fifty Years of Descant (2008) and numerous textbooks.
Merlee is Harrison's wife of more than fifty years and his children are Laurie, Sean and Quentin. He still lives in Fayetteville although he has traveled widely in Africa, China, the Middle East and Europe. He is a longtime baseball fan and Chicago Cubs addict. He has been an active fly fisherman and has played tennis and golf.
His heroes are Anton Chekhov
, Joseph Conrad
, Scott Fitzgerald
, Ernest Hemingway
and John Cheever
, but he has taught hundreds of fine authors in his classes and has offered seminars on James Joyce
, Vladimir Nabokov
, Federico Fellini
and others.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
Roller Ball Murder which was made into the movie Rollerball
Rollerball (1975 film)
Rollerball is a 1975 American dystopian fiction film directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by William Harrison, who adapted his own short story "Roller Ball Murder", which first appeared in 1973 in Esquire magazine.-The Game:...
in 1975.
Two of his works, Rollerball and Mountains of the Moon (1991), became films. Five of his novels were set in Africa and his three volumes of short stories contain most of his 50 published stories. Many of his stories that appeared in Esquire and the novel Africana were experimental in tone. His fiction is distinguished by the exotic and sometimes hostile settings in which he places his characters.
Early in his career, John Leonard wrote in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, "He is that rare young novelist who writes equally well about action and ideas." A reviewer for The Nation wrote, "Burton and Speke…has a quality that is even rarer than excellence: it is a likable book, one of those uncommon novels you will carry with you in your imagination long after turning the final page."
Personal background
Harrison was the adopted son of Samuel Scott and Mary Harrison and grew up in Dallas, Texas, attending public schools. His mother read widely, kept elaborate scrapbooks featuring both family members and celebrities, and wrote devotional poetry.Harrison attended Texas Christian University, where he became editor of the campus newspaper, The Skiff, and began to write. He later attended Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
where he studied to teach comparative religion
Comparative religion
Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
at the Divinity School, but once again he began to write and made lifelong friends in the Department of English. After a year teaching in North Carolina at Atlantic Christian College he moved his young family to Iowa where he studied in the creative writing program for ten months. At Iowa he sold his first short story to Esquire and published reviews in The Saturday Review.
In 1964, Harrison moved with his family to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he published his first novels and in 1966 became the founder and co-director of the Master of Fine Arts program at the University of Arkansas with his colleague Jim Whitehead. Many American and European writers and poets came as visitors to their program and their students went on to publish hundreds of books of poetry and fiction in major New York and university publishing houses.
Harrison also served on the original board of directors (1970-75) for the Associated Writing Programs during the great growth period of creative writing in American literary education. He was also on the board of advisors for the Natural and Cultural Heritage Commission for the State of Arkansas (1976-81).
Harrison received a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in Fiction (1974), a National Endowment in the Arts Grant for Fiction (1977), the Christopher Award for Television (1970) and a Columbia School of Journalism Prize with Esquire Magazine (1971). He has been represented in Who’s Who in America since 1975. His stories have been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories (1968), Southern Writing in the Sixties (1967), All Our Secrets Are the Same: New Fiction from Esquire (1977), The Literature of Sport (1980), The Best American Mystery Stories (2006), New Stories from the South (2006), Fifty Years of Descant (2008) and numerous textbooks.
Merlee is Harrison's wife of more than fifty years and his children are Laurie, Sean and Quentin. He still lives in Fayetteville although he has traveled widely in Africa, China, the Middle East and Europe. He is a longtime baseball fan and Chicago Cubs addict. He has been an active fly fisherman and has played tennis and golf.
His heroes are Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
, Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
, Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald may refer to:*F. Scott Fitzgerald , American author*Scott L. Fitzgerald , member of the Wisconsin State Senate*Scott Fitzgerald , former Wimbledon defender, former manager of Brentford...
, Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
and John Cheever
John Cheever
John William Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs." His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Westchester suburbs, old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy,...
, but he has taught hundreds of fine authors in his classes and has offered seminars on James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
, Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
and others.
Novels
- The Theologian (1965)
- In a Wild Sanctuary (1969)
- Lessons in Paradise (1971)
- Africana (1976)
- Savannah Blue (1979)
- Burton and Speke (1982)
- Three Hunters (1989)
- The Blood Latitudes (2000)
Short Story Collections
- Roller Ball Murder and Other Stories (1975)
- The Buddha in Malibu: Stories (1998)
- Texas Heat and Other Stories (2005)
Screenplays
- Rollerball (1975) directed by Norman JewisonNorman JewisonNorman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
for United Artists - Mountains of the Moon (1990) directed by Bob RafelsonBob RafelsonRobert "Bob" Rafelson is an Emmy Award winning American film director, writer and producer. He was an early member of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s and is most famous for directing and co-writing the film Five Easy Pieces, starring Jack Nicholson, as well as being one of the creators of...
for Carolco/Tri-Star