William Sullivan grew up in Salem Oregon an is the he author of eight novels and more than a dozen nonfiction books. He completed his B.A. degree in English at Cornell University under Alison Lurie, studied linguistics at Germany’s Heidelberg University, and earned an M.A. in German at the University of Oregon. He reads in nine languages, including Danish and Norwegian. He undertook ten voyages to Scandinavia while researching Norse sagas and Viking history for The Ship in the Hill, The Ship in the Sand, The Ship in the Woods, and The Ship in the Ice.

Sullivan’s journal of a thousand-mile hike across Oregon’s wilderness, Listening for Coyote, was chosen by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission as one of Oregon’s “100 Books,” the most significant books in Oregon history.  Summers he writes at the log cabin that he and his wife Janell Sorensen built by hand in the wilds of Oregon’s Coast Range, more than a mile from roads, electricity, and telephones. The rest of the year they live in Eugene, Oregon, where he volunteers to promote libraries and literature.

A list of Sullivan’s books, speaking engagements, audio books, and favorite adventures is at oregonhiking.com.