Clarence Budington Kelland

Born in Portland, Michigan, in 1881, Clarence Budington Kelland became one of the most prolific American popular writers of his era. He wrote for major magazines, especially The Saturday Evening Post, and built a reputation for fast-moving, accessible stories that appealed to a wide readership.

Kelland worked across short fiction, novels, screenwriting, and serialized storytelling. Several of his works were adapted for film, and he remained a recognizable literary name for decades. He is also remembered for his dry self-description as "the best second-rate writer in America," a line that captures both his humor and his plainspoken confidence.

Later in life, he was closely connected with Arizona, where he lived and remained active in public and civic life before his death in Scottsdale in 1964. Though he is less widely read today, he was once a major presence in American popular fiction and magazine culture.