William Johnston (novelist)

Johnston was born on January 11, 1924, in Lincoln, Illinois. He was the son of John and Lucille (Shoup) Johnston, and he attended high school in Springfield, Illinois. Susan, Peter, Thomas, and Kelly. Johnston and his family resided in Massapequa, New York. ==Writing career==

After World War II, Johnston worked as a disc jockey at radio station WTAX in Springfield, Illinois. and comic books. on Johnston wrote novels based on popular television series such as The Munsters, Bewitched, Many of Johnston's television tie-in novels were related to sitcoms, but he worked in other genres—except for science fiction. This distance made it difficult for novelists and editors to get information from the television production companies on characters, plots, locations, and other aspects of the television programs themselves. Johnston was represented by the Scott Meredith Literary Agency, Inc. Unlike other authors who desired fame, Johnston preferred obscurity. In his article announcing Johnston as the recipient of the Faust Award, David Spencer described Johnston as, "legendary and until now somewhat elusive..." Johnston occasionally used pseudonyms Given the controversies related to the movie and given Johnston's association with tie-in novels and younger audiences, Spencer feels that the Johnston chose to use a pseudonym to avoid attracting younger readers to the book. ==Critical appraisal==

Johnston's novels have attracted little critical attention, although they are well documented in bibliographies by Larson, Peer, and in Contemporary Authors. generally do not attract serious criticism and scholarship. Indeed, they are often dismissed as literature. During his career, Johnston's novels were infrequently reviewed. For example, Johnston wrote the novelization of a 1978 made-for-TV movie about Martin Luther King Jr., and it received a brief review in Library Journal. The review was generally negative. Johnston's novels have attracted attention from blog writers who deal with popular culture. For example Morgan wrote about Johnston's Nanny and the Professor, but he felt that Johnston's books had little to do with the spirit and content of the original television series, whereas Caputo felt that Johnston's Fantastic Four novel was consistent with the style in the Marvel comic books. Johnston's peers have praised Johnston's work as a tie-in novelist, but they seem equally impressed by the sheer number of tie-in novels he produced. ==Retirement and death==

Johnston retired from writing and, while living in Long Island, went to a school for bartending. Johnston died in San Jose on October 15, 2010. ==Awards==

Best First Novel—Edgar Award (1960) -- Mystery Writers of America (awarded for The Marriage Cage (Lyle Stuart, reissued in paperback by Dell)). Grand Master Scribe Award -- Faust Award (2010) -- International Association of Media Tie-in Writers. ==References==