Born in Angola where his father was a medical officer, Wellman was brought to America as a young child. He was educated at Wichita State University where he graduated with a BA in 1926. He then studied law at Columbia Law School and received a BA in law. Already interested in becoming a writer (his brother Paul was also a writer), he published his first story, The Lion Roared in Thrilling Tales in 1927. Wellman worked as a reviewer for the Wichita Beacon and was also a court reporter for The Wichita Eagle. In 1934, he moved to New York City where he became director of the WPA's New York Folklore Project. In 1939, he moved to New Jersey and served there as a first lieutenant during the war. He contributed hundreds of stories to Weird Tales, Astounding Stories and others during the 1930s and 1940s. He also wrote for some comic books, but returned to novels during the 1940s. In 1946, he won the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Award, beating out William Faulkner. Throughout this period, Wellman supplemented his earnings with a variety of odd jobs, including cowboy and harvest hand. In 1951, he moved to Pine Bluff North Carolina where he became an expert on the Civil War and the people of the South. Later that year, he moved to Chapel Hill, which would remain his home until his death. In addition to his many stories of SF, westerns and crime, Wellman also produced many excellent works of non-fiction. He continued writing and winning awards. In 1985, he suffered a fall which left him an invalid and he died a year later. His works include The Invading Asteroid (1929), Battle in the Dawn (1939), The Devil's Asteroid (1941), Island in the Sky (1941), The Mystery of Lost Valley (1948), Giant in Gray (1949), Fort Sun Dance (1955), Giants From Eternity (1959), Harper's Ferry, Prize of War (1960), Jamestown Adventure (1967), The Beyonders (1977), After Dark (1980) and Cahena (1986). |
