William L. Sullivan

William Lawrence Sullivan (born 9 April 1953) is an American author of outdoor guide books, histories, and fiction. He has written over twenty books, almost all of them related in some way to his home state of Oregon. Before he began his writing career, he attended several colleges, earning degrees from Cornell University and the University of Oregon. His "100 hikes" guide book series is especially popular with people who enjoy backpacking in Oregon's wilderness areas. In 2005, the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission selected one of his books, Listening for Coyote, as one of the 100 most significant books in Oregon history.

Biography Sullivan is a fifth-generation Oregonian. He was born on 9 April 1953 in Salem, Oregon. His father, J. Wesley Sullivan, was the editor of the Statesman Journal newspapers. His father was also a life-long advocate of wilderness conservation, which helped nurture his son's interest in the outdoors. Sullivan grew up in Salem and attended South Salem High School.

When he was 17 years old, Sullivan won a scholarship to study at Deep Springs College in a remote desert area of Inyo County, California. He went on to Cornell University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Sullivan then attended Heidelberg University, where he studied linguistics for two years. When he returned from Heidelberg, Sullivan enrolled in the University of Oregon and received a Master of Arts degree in German literature in 1979.

Today, Sullivan lives in Eugene, Oregon with his wife, Janell Sorensen. They spend their summers in a log cabin they built in an isolated area along the Siletz River in the Oregon Coast Range. Sullivan does much of his writing at the cabin. He hikes and travels for enjoyment as well as for book research. His other hobbies include cross-country skiing and reading foreign language novels. He also plays the pipe organ and harpsichord.

Sullivan is an advocate for libraries. He served as president of the Lane (County) Library League and helped the Eugene Public Library Foundation raise $18 million for a new library which opened in 2002. He was also a member of the Oregon State Library Board from 2000 to 2008. As a member of that state board, he helped oversee the Oregon State Library system. He has also been a member of the Round Table Club of Eugene since 2005, serving as president of the organization in 2010.

In 2014, the University of Oregon presented Sullivan with its Outstanding Service to Oregon Award. The award recognized Sullivan's contributions to the quality of life in Oregon. The university highlighted his well-known hiking guide books and other writings along with his civic leadership, support of libraries and literacy, and environmental advocacy in his award citation.

Over the years, Sullivan has hiked the full length of most public trail in Oregon. He used his outdoor experiences as the basis for his numerous hiking guides including his five-book "100 hikes" series. Today, he continues to travel throughout Oregon to keep his guide books current. During his frequent wilderness trips, he updates trail and destination information for new editions of his books.

As a dedicated outdoorsman, Sullivan is an active member of Oregon Wild, an Oregon conservation group formerly known as the Oregon Natural Resources Council. He also served as a member of that organization's board of directors.

Books

As of 2016, Sullivan has written over twenty books along with numerous articles about Oregon. His articles include a feature column called "Oregon Trails" that is published in two newspapers, Eugene's Register-Guard and Salem's Statesman-Journal.

Sullivan's first notable book, Listening for Coyote, was initially published in 1988. It tells the story of Sullivan's hiking adventure through Oregon's wilderness backcountry. The book was an Oregon Book Award creative non-fiction finalist in 1989. In 2005, the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission selected the book as one of the 100 most significant books in Oregon's history.

Exploring Oregon's Wild Areas was published in 1994. However, Sullivan had problems with the publishing companies. As a result, he founded his own publishing company, Navillus Press.

In 2011, Sullivan published The Ship in the Hill. The book is a work of fiction about Vikings. A year later, he wrote a fictional account of the D.B. Cooper aircraft hijacking. Sullivan's most recent book was published in 2014. It is a collection of short stories, entitled Oregon Variations: Stories. The book includes at least one story from every county in Oregon.

Most of his books were published by Navillus Press, a publishing company owed by Sullivan. Here is a list of his published books as of 2016:

Build your own carts & wagons: 15 plans & projects, Tab Books (1983), Listening for Coyote: A walk across Oregon's wilderness, William Morrow and Company (1988), Exploring Oregon's Wild Areas, Mountaineers Books (1994), Hiking Oregon's History: The stories behind historic places you can walk to see, Navillus Press (1999), A Deeper Wild, Navillus Press (2000), Oregon Road Map & Travel Guide, Navillus Press (2003), Oregon Trips and Trails, Navillus Press (2003), 100 Hikes in Southern Oregon, Navillus Press (2003), Cabin Fever: Notes from a part-time pioneer, Navillus Press (2004), 100 Hikes in the Central Oregon Cascades, Navillus Press (2005), 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington, Navillus Press (2006), The Case of Einstein's Violin, Navillus Press (2007), Oregon's Greatest Natural Disasters, Navillus Press (2008), Oregon: Pacific Coast to Wallowa Mountains, USA, Imus Geographics (2008), 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Eastern Oregon, Navillus Press (2008), Atlas of Oregon Wilderness, Navillus Press (2009), 100 Hikes/Travel Guide: Oregon Coast and Coast Range, Navillus Press (2009), Trails of Crater Lake National Park & Oregon Caves National Monument, Navillus Press (2010), The Ship in the Hill, Navillus Press (2011), Oregon Favorites: Trails and Tales, Navillus Press (2011), The Case of D.B. Cooper's Parachute, Navillus Press (2012), Oregon Variations: Stories, Navillus Press (2014),