August Derleth, February 24, 1909 - June 6, 1971 August Derleth was born on February 24, 1909 in Sauk City, Wisconsin, to William Julius and Rose Louise Derleth. He attended St Aloysius' parochial school, and sold his first story to Weird Tales at the age of 16. He earned his Bachelor's of Arts degree from the University if Wisconsin. While Derleth was in college, he wrote the beginnings of the Solar Pons stories, which was not published in book form until 1945. After college, Derleth went to work for Fawcett Publications as an editor for Mystic Magazine. In 1932, the first of Derleth's "Sac Prairie" stories was published in various local papers such as, "The Midland," "This Quarter" and… "Prairie Schooner." Derleth decided to write the "Sac Prairie" saga over the course of fifty books, combining novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, journal extracts and miscellaneous prose. In 1933, he wrote his first Judge Peck mystery novel, "Murder Stalks the Wakely Family" in ten days for a new publishing company. Derleth got a contract with Lourig and Mussey and began writing more and more. Derleth achieved Roll of Honor Status in Edward O'Brien's best short story anthologies. In 1935, his first book was published, a collection of related novellas entitled "Place of Hawks." He then got a contract with Charles Scribner's and Sons and in 1937, Derleth's first "Sac Prairie" novel was published, "Still is the Summer Night." He was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 1938 to help him continue the "SAc Prairie" saga. He went on to lecture in American Regional Literature at the University of Wisconsin. In 1939, Derleth founded Arkham House, which consisted of publishers devoted to the works of H.P. Lovecraft, Lord Dunsary Algernon Blackwood, A. E. Coppard and others. He also became editor of The Capitol Times of Madison, Wisconsin, a position from which he later resigned in 1960. Derleth began lecturing at Los Angeles State College in 1953, as well as Visiting Lecturer in English at the University of Wisconsin. In 1960, he began editing and publishing a small magazine of poems called "Hawk and Whipoorwill." August Derleth has had upwards of 3,000 works published in over 350 magazines. He has written in several different genres and done well in each. On June 6, 1971, August Derleth died.