William Sleator facts for kids

William Warner Sleator III (born February 13, 1945 – died August 3, 2011), known as William Sleator, was an American author. He wrote many science fiction books for young adults and also for younger children. His stories often feature teenagers who discover strange scientific events. They then have to figure out how to handle these unusual situations.

William Sleator's books often mix exciting science fiction plots with themes about family. He especially focused on relationships between brothers and sisters. Some people compare his suspenseful and sometimes spooky writing to R. L. Stine, who writes young-adult horror. Others say his dream-like style is like the author Franz Kafka. This style is very clear in House of Stairs, one of his most popular books.

About William Sleator's Life

Growing Up and Learning

William Sleator was the oldest of four children. He was born in Havre de Grace, Maryland. His father, William Warner Sleator Jr., was a professor who studied how bodies work. His mother, Esther Kaplan Sleator, was a doctor who did important research on attention deficit disorder (ADD).

When Billy, as his family called him, was three, his family moved to University City, near St. Louis, Missouri. He had three younger siblings: Vicky, Tycho, and Daniel. Tycho became a physics professor, and Daniel became a computer science professor.

William Sleator went to University City High School. He was known there for writing music for school plays and the orchestra. He finished high school in 1963. Later, in 1967, he graduated from Harvard University with a degree in English.

William Sleator's Writing Career

After college, William Sleator moved to England. He earned money by playing music for ballet schools. Eventually, he came back to the United States to start writing his first novel. This book, Blackbriar, was published in 1972. It was based on things that happened in his own life.

His very first published book was a children's story called The Angry Moon, which came out in 1970. This book won a special award called a Caldecott Honor citation.

People describe William Sleator's writing style as clear and easy to read. His main characters are often reluctant teenage heroes. He sometimes even included his younger siblings and friends in his stories. You can see this in his collection of stories called Oddballs.

Unlike older science fiction that often showed bright, perfect futures, Sleator's books sometimes looked at the past in a dark way. He also created worlds where things had gone wrong. For example, in The Green Futures of Tycho, parts of the story happen in the past. In House of Stairs, the world outside is hinted to be a difficult place to live. And Interstellar Pig uses ideas from a long-dead prisoner.

Sometimes, elements of Thai culture also appeared in his stories. His short story "Lep" from 2009 is in the book How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity. This story is told from the point of view of a young Thai man.

Later Life

William Sleator divided his time between his homes in Boston, Massachusetts, and a small village in rural Thailand. He passed away on August 3, 2011, in Bua Chet, Thailand.

William Sleator's Books