DONALD WANDREI (1908 – 1987) - was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and began writing while still at the University of Minnesota. He published his first book, ECSTASY, a collection of poetry, in 1928. During the 1930’s, he spent much of his time in New York City, pursuing a career in fiction. He published stories in Weird Tales, Astouding Stories, Clues and Black Mask.

In 1939, Don and August Derleth founded Arkham House Publishers, to preserve the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. Military service overseas during WWII interrupted his writing career and his help with Arkham House. After the War, he wrote for comics, collaborated on screenplays and even tried song writing in California. He resumed his involvement with Arkham House; assisting Derleth in the editing of Lovecraft’s letters and the fiction of Frank Belknap Long and Clark Ashton Smith.