William L. Hamling

Born in 1921, he began his career as a writer in the pulp and science fiction world before moving into publishing. He was active in fandom early on and wrote fiction himself, including work that appeared in genre magazines, before becoming better known for running paperback and magazine businesses.

Based in Chicago, he built a publishing operation that included imprints such as Nightstand Books and other adult-oriented lines. He became especially well known for his role in major obscenity and censorship battles of the 1960s and 1970s, making him an important figure in the history of American paperback publishing.

He died in 2017. Today he is remembered less as a conventional literary author than as a bold, controversial publisher whose work sits at the crossroads of pulp fiction, free-expression debates, and postwar popular culture.