William Peter Blatty ( January 7 , 1928 – January 12 , 2017 ) was an American writer and filmmaker best known for his 1971 novel '' The Exorcist '' and for the Academy Award-winning screenplay of its film adaptation . He also wrote and directed the sequel '' The Exorcist III '' . After the success of '' The Exorcist '' , Blatty reworked '' Twinkle , Twinkle , " Killer " Kane ! '' ( 1960 ) into a new novel titled '' The Ninth Configuration '' , published in 1978 . Two years later , Blatty adapted the novel into a film of the same title and won Best Screenplay at the 38th Golden Globe Awards . Some of his other notable works are the novels '' Elsewhere '' ( 2009 ) , '' Dimiter '' ( 2010 ) and '' Crazy '' ( 2010 )
38th Golden Globe Awards
38th Golden Globe Awards
William Peter Blatty