August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the cosmic horror genre, as well as his founding of the publisher Arkham House (which did much to bring supernatural fiction into print in hardcover in the US that had only been readily available in the UK), Derleth was a leading American regional writer of his day, as well as prolific in several other genres, including historical fiction, poetry, detective fiction, science fiction, and biography. A 1938 Guggenheim Fellow, Derleth considered his most serious work to be the ambitious Sac Prairie Saga, a series of fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction naturalist works designed to memorialize life in the Wisconsin he knew. Derleth can also be considered a pioneering naturalist and conservationist in his writing. Life The son of William Julius Derleth and Rose Louise Volk, Derleth grew up in Sauk City, Wisconsin. He was educated in local parochial and public high school. Derleth wrote his first fiction at age 13. He was interested most in reading, and he made three trips to the library a week. He would save his money to buy books (his personal library exceeded 12,000 volumes later on in life). Some of his biggest influences were Ralph Waldo Emerson's essays, Walt Whitman, H. L. Mencken's The American Mercury, Samuel Johnson's The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, Alexandre Dumas, Edgar Allan Poe, Walter Scott, and Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Forty rejected stories and three years later, according to anthologist Jim Stephens, he sold his first story, "Bat's Belfry", to Weird Tales magazine. Derleth wrote throughout his four years at the University of Wisconsin, where he received a B.A. in 1930. During this time he also served briefly as associate editor of Minneapolis-based Fawcett Publications Mystic Magazine. Returning to Sauk City in the summer of 1931, Derleth worked in a local canning factory and collaborated with childhood friend Mark Schorer (later Chairman of the University of California, Berkeley English Department). They rented a cabin, writing Gothic and other horror stories and selling them to Weird Tales magazine. Derleth won a place on the O'Brien Roll of Honor for Five Alone, published in Place of Hawks, but was first found in Pagany magazine. As a result
{
        'QUESTION: Who was August William Derleth?',
        'ANSWER: August William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist.',
        'SEPARATOR',
        'QUESTION: What is he best known for?',
        'ANSWER: He is best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and the cosmic horror genre.',
        'SEPARATOR',
        'QUESTION: Where did he grow up?',
        'ANSWER: He grew up in Sauk City, Wisconsin.',
        'SEPARATOR',
        'QUESTION: Which university did he attend?',
        'ANSWER: He attended the University of Wisconsin.',
        'SEPARATOR',
        'QUESTION: When did he receive his Bachelor\'s degree?',
        'ANSWER: He received his Bachelor\'s degree in 1930.',
        'SEPARATOR',
        'QUESTION: What was one of his major literary projects?',
        'ANSWER: His most serious work was the Sac Prairie Saga, which included fiction, historical fiction, poetry, and non-fiction naturalist works.',
        'SEPARATOR',
        'QUESTION: How many books did he have in his personal library?',
        'ANSWER: His personal library exceeded 12,000 volumes.',
        'SEPARATOR',
        'QUESTION: Who influenced him greatly during his early career?',
        'ANSWER: Some of his biggest influences were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, H.L. Mencken, Samuel Johnson, Alexandre Dumas, Edgar Allan Poe, Walter Scott, and Henry David Thoreau.',
        'SEPARATOR',
        'QUESTION: What awards did he win?',
        'ANSWER: He won a place on the O'Brien Roll of Honor for Five Alone, published in Place of Hawks.',
        'SEPARATOR',
        'QUESTION: Did he ever serve as an editor?',
        'ANSWER: Yes, during his time at the University of Wisconsin, he served briefly as an associate editor of Minneapolis-based Fawcett Publications Mystic Magazine.'
    }