Willard E. Hawkins

Born in Fairplay, Colorado, on September 27, 1887, Willard E. Hawkins was an American author, editor, publisher, and public speaker. He is closely associated with Colorado’s literary scene and with the long-running writers’ magazine The Author & Journalist, which he founded in 1916 and edited for many years. He died in Craig, Colorado, on April 17, 1970.

Hawkins wrote across several popular genres, including adventure, weird fiction, detective fiction, and science fiction. His short fiction appeared in magazines such as Weird Tales, Amazing Stories, Astounding Science-Fiction, and Imagination. He is especially remembered today for speculative work like Castaways of Plenty, an early satirical future tale, and for stories such as The Man Who Was Millions and Look to the Stars.

Alongside his fiction, Hawkins was deeply involved in the practical side of writing and publishing. He ran World Press in Denver and produced books and magazines as well as stories of his own. That mix of working editor and imaginative storyteller gives his career a distinctive feel: he was not only writing for the pulp and small-press world, but actively helping build it.