William Andrew Johnston

William Andrew Johnston (1871–1929) was an American journalist, writer, and co-founder, with George T. Delacorte Jr., of Dell Publishing.^[1]

William Andrew Johnston in 1924

Personal

Johnston was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 26, 1871, the son of William Andrew and Agnes (Parry) Johnston. He graduated with a Litt.D from Western University of Pennsylvania (now the University of Pittsburgh) in 1891, where he was valedictorian.^[2] Soon after graduation, he moved to New York City and took a job at the New York World newspaper, where he worked for 27 years.^[1]

In 1921 he co-founded Dell Publishing. In 1927 he moved to Chicago, becoming vice-president of public relations for Celotex Corporation.^[1]

Johnston was married twice, first in 1896, to Hazel Minnette Williams of Hampshire, England,^[3] and second, in 1910, to Hattie Belle McCollum (1883-1963). of Lockport, New York^[4] He had a son, George E. Johnston.^[5]

He died in Chicago on February 16, 1929, at age 58.^[1]

Publications

According to The New York Times', "most of Mr. Johnston's books were written from his experience as a reporter."^[1] He is best known for his books Limpy, the Boy Who Felt Neglected (1917), based on his own disability, and The Fun of Being a Fat Man (1922), again based on his life experience, in reaction to a book by Henri Beraud called The Tragedy of Being Fat (Le Martyre de l'obèse).^[2] He wrote a series of articles for Collier's from 1925-26, on the theme "if I were a...", such as "If I Were a Business Man",^[6] "If I Were a Clergyman", "If I Were a Doctor", "If I Were a Lawyer", "If I Were a Rich Man", "If I Were Out of a Job". He also wrote a number of detective stories, and non-fiction.

Fiction

• The Innocent Murders (1910)
• Solomon Sloan's Advice on how to Run the Universe^[4]
• The Yellow Letter (1911) free eBook
• Limpy, the Boy Who Felt Neglected (1917) free eBook
• The House of Whispers (1918) free eBook
• The Apartment Next Door (1919) free eBook
• The Mystery in the Ritsmore (1920) free eBook
• The Fun of Being a Fat Man (1922)
• The Tragedy at the Beach Club (1922)
• The Waddington Cipher (1923)
• These Women (1923)
• The Accidental Accomplice (1928)

Non-fiction

• History up to date (1899), History of the Spanish-American War
• My Own Main Street (1921) free eBook at The Hathi Trust
• Webster's Bridge (1924) - with H. T. Webster