Sam Weller is an American journalist, and author of fiction and nonfiction, best known for being writer
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...
's authorized biographer. Weller's 2005 book, ''The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury'' (
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...
) is a full-biography and winner of the Society of Midland Author's Award in the "Biography" category. Weller’s 2010, ''Listen to the Echoes, The Ray Bradbury Interviews'' (
Melville House Publishing
Melville House Publishing is an American independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 and is run by the husband-and-wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey. ...
) is a collection of interviews, photos, mementos, and artifacts. Weller's 2014 ''Ray Bradbury: The Last Interview: And Other Conversations'' (Melville House Publishing) features his last interview with Bradbury, and recounts Bradbury's influences, creative processes, and love for writing and reading.
Biography
Weller was born in
Lake Forest, Illinois
Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest ...
. His ''The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury'' was a ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' best-seller, winner of the 2005
Society of Midland Authors
The Society of Midland Authors is an association of published authors from twelve American states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
According to its constit ...
Award for Best Biography, and a
Bram Stoker Award
The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing.
History
The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...
finalist. The companion book, ''Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews'', was published by Melville House/Stop Smiling Books in 2010 and was also a
Bram Stoker Award
The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing.
History
The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...
finalist. With
Mort Castle, Weller co-edited the anthology ''Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury,'' winner of the 2013
Bram Stoker Award for Best Anthology The Bram Stoker Award for Best Anthology is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to pro ...
. The anthology was also a Shirley Jackson Award nominee.
In 2014, Weller edited ''Ray Bradbury: The Last Interview'' (Melville House), his final conversations with the writer. The book also included several previously unpublished rough draft essays by Bradbury, dictated to Weller. Also in 2014, IDW Comics released a five-issue ''Shadow Show'' comic book series curated and largely scripted by Weller and Mort Castle. The graphic novel compendium of this series was the recipient of the
Bram Stoker Award for Best Graphic Novel The Bram Stoker Award for Best Graphic Novel is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for graphic novels.
Criteria
Awards are given in each calendar year and books originally publis ...
in 2015.
Weller is the former Midwest correspondent for ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' magazine. He has written for ''
The Paris Review
''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Phi ...
'', ''Playboy, All Things Considered'', ''
Slate Magazine
''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former ''New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. In 20 ...
'', ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'',
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from othe ...
and ''
The Los Angeles Review of Books
The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...
''.
Weller's short fiction has appeared in books, literary journals and magazines, including the ''
Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...
'', ''Printers Row Journal'', and ''Rosebud''. His pop-cultural essays have appeared in ''Post Road'', ''Huffington Post'' ''Annalemma'', and ''PopMatters'', among many other publications. Weller is a former associate professor in the Department of Creative Writing at
Columbia College Columbia College may refer to one of several institutions of higher education in North America:
Canada
* Columbia College (Alberta), in Calgary
* Columbia College (British Columbia), a two-year liberal arts institution in Vancouver
* Columbia In ...
Chicago.
In September 2020, Weller's collection of short stories, ''Dark Black'', was published by Hat & Beard Press. ''Newcity'' said: "With this collection, Weller is making an argument that he’s more than Bradbury’s chronicler. Weller is arguing he’s Bradbury’s literary heir. By sheer story quality alone, Weller makes a good damn argument."
Weller was an associate professor at
Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is a private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduat ...
in their English and Creative Writing department from 2005-2022.
Journalist
Danny Fenster was one of his creative writing students in 2009.
On July 8, 2022, the college terminated Weller for violating its sexual harassment policies after investigating allegations by a faculty colleague.
Bibliography
*''Secret Chicago: The Unique Guidebook to Chicago's Hidden Sites, Sounds & Tastes'' (2000)
*''The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury'' (2005)
*''Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews'' (2010)
*''Shadow Show: All New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury'' (2012, editor with
Mort Castle)
*"Roadside Cross" (Short Story, 2014)
*''Ray Bradbury: The Last Interview: And Other Conversations'' (2014)
*"''Shadow Show'' Comic #3" (2015)
*"''Shadow Show'' Comic #4" (2015)
*"''Shadow Show'' Comic #5" (2015)
*"''Shadow Show: Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury''" Graphic Novel (2015)
*''Dark Black'' (2020)
References
External links
*200
Interview with Bookslut*201
Interview with ''The Paris Review''*201
Interview with Carl Alves
*202
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weller, Sam
1967 births
Living people
American male journalists
Columbia College Chicago faculty
Writers from Chicago
People from Lake Forest, Illinois
Journalists from Illinois
20th-century American journalists