William Johnston

William Joseph Johnston (January 11, 1924 – October 15, 2010) was an American novelist, primarily known for authoring tie-in novels, although he also wrote non-fiction books and novels unrelated to specific motion pictures or television series.

Biography 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. 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 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,

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.