August Derleth

Born in Sauk City, Wisconsin, on February 24, 1909, August Derleth became an unusually prolific American author, editor, and anthologist. He sold work while still young and went on to write in many forms, including supernatural fiction, detective stories, regional tales, poetry, and historical writing.

He is especially remembered as the co-founder of Arkham House, the publishing house he launched with Donald Wandrei in 1939 to bring H. P. Lovecraft’s work into durable book form. That effort made him an important figure in the history of modern horror and weird fiction, and he also contributed his own stories to the Cthulhu Mythos.

Derleth never lost his connection to Wisconsin, and many readers value him not only for eerie tales but also for his vivid writing about the landscapes and rhythms of the Midwest. He died in Sauk City on July 4, 1971, leaving behind a body of work that spans genres and continues to influence horror readers and small-press publishing alike.