author
Nick B. (Nick Boddie) Williams
1906–1992
Best remembered as the longtime editor who helped transform the Los Angeles Times, he also wrote science fiction and adventure stories with a newspaperman’s eye for pace and detail. His career bridged daily journalism and popular fiction in a way that still feels unusual and appealing.
1 Audiobook
The atom curtain
by Nick B. (Nick Boddie) Williams
About the author
Born in Onancock, Virginia, in 1906, he studied government at the University of Texas and went on to work in journalism before joining the Los Angeles Times in 1931. Over the decades he rose through the paper’s ranks and served as editor from 1958 to 1971, a period often associated with the paper’s growth into a more nationally respected publication.
Alongside his newspaper career, he wrote fiction under the name Nick B. Williams. His work included science-fiction stories and novels, showing a second side to a writer whose professional life was rooted in reporting, editing, and the fast demands of the newsroom.
He died in South Laguna Beach, California, in 1992. Today he stands out as a figure who moved comfortably between journalism and imaginative writing, leaving a legacy in both fields.