author
William Sambrot
1920–2007
A prolific American writer of science fiction, suspense, and horror, he published more than 200 short stories and became especially known for tales that mixed everyday settings with a sudden jolt of the uncanny. His work appeared in major magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, and was later gathered in the paperback collection Island of Fear and Other Science Fiction Stories.
1 Audiobook
Grounded
by William Sambrot
About the author
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on December 17, 1920, William Sambrot went on to build a long career as a short-story writer. Reference works on speculative fiction credit him with more than 200 stories overall, with around fifty of them in science fiction.
His first published story was the non-science-fiction tale "The Saboteur" in 1951, and his science-fiction work began with "Report to the People" in 1953. Much of his fiction appeared in popular magazines rather than specialist genre pulps, especially The Saturday Evening Post, which helped give his stories a polished, accessible feel.
Sambrot is best remembered today for brisk, idea-driven stories of suspense, strange creatures, hidden dangers, and twist endings. His best-known book is Island of Fear and Other Science Fiction Stories (1963), a collection that captures the entertaining, mid-century magazine style that runs through much of his work. He died in Napa, California, in 2007.