William Charles Oursler (July 12, 1913 – January 7, 1985) was an American author, lecturer and radio commentator, and the son of noted novelist and playwright

Fulton Oursler Charles Fulton Oursler (January 22, 1893 – May 24, 1952) was an American journalist, playwright, editor and writer. Writing as Anthony Abbot, he was an author of mysteries and detective fiction. His son was the journalist and author Will Ou ...

. He frequently wrote and spoke on religious and inspirational subjects. Born in Baltimore, his family soon moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where Will grew up and attended school. After a brief stint at art school (Oursler attended the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

), he decided to complete college and graduated cum laude from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1937. After graduation, Oursler worked on the staffs of various

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

newspapers and began writing in earnest. His first book, ''The Trial of Vincent Doon,'' was published in 1941, followed by ''Folio on Florence White'' in 1942. Oursler served as a war correspondent for

Fawcett Publications Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885–1940). It kicked off with the publication of the bawdy humor magazine ''Captain Billy's Whiz B ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, he began contributing numerous articles and short stories to well known magazines such as ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

'' and ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

''. Oursler also wrote non-fiction as well as novels and mysteries; non-fiction titles include ''Father Flanagan of Boys' Town'' about

Father Edward J. Flanagan Edward Joseph Flanagan (13 July 1886 – 15 May 1948) was an Irish-born priest of the Catholic Church in the United States, who served for decades in Nebraska. After serving as a parish priest in the Catholic Diocese of Omaha, he founded the ...

's work with young men (in collaboration with his father), '' The Boy Scout Story'', ''The Murderers'' (with

Harry Anslinger Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

), and ''The Road to Faith''. ''N.Y. N.Y.'' is perhaps Oursler's best known novel. Over the course of his career Oursler wrote more than 45 books including 12

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a reas ...

s. He was vice-president of the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

, a founding commodore of the

Overseas Yacht Club Overseas may refer to: * ''Overseas'' (album), a 1957 album by pianist Tommy Flanagan and his trio *Overseas (band), an American indie rock band * "Overseas" (song), a 2018 song by American rappers Desiigner and Lil Pump * "Overseas" (Tee Grizzley ...

, and president of the

Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...

from 1970 to 1972. His autobiography, ''Family Story'', was published in 1963. Oursler also wrote under the names Gale Gallagher and Nick Marino. He also co-wrote "My Life with Edgar Cayce by David E. Kahn, as told to Will Oursler", Doubleday ed., 1970.

External links

Will Oursler Papers
at Syracuse University

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oursler, Will 1913 births 1985 deaths Harvard University alumni 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers Novelists from Maryland 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers