William L. Sullivan

The author of eight novels and eighteen nonfiction books, Sullivan 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 speaks German, Danish, and English, reads in eight languages, plays the pipe organ, and enjoys backcountry ski expeditions. Sullivan spent sixteen years researching a series of historical novels about the Viking Age, matching archeological sites in Scandinavia with recorded sagas. The books alternate chapters between excavations and the people who used the artifacts a thousand years ago, weaving a story that follows the Viking Age from its inception in Norway to the Danes who conquered England, the Swedes who founded Russia, and the Icelanders who explored America. In the American West, Sullivan is widely known as the author who backpacked more than a thousand miles across Oregon's wilderness in 1985. His journal of that adventure, "Listening for Coyote," was chosen one of Oregon's "100 Books," the most significant books in state history. In summer 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. More information about Sullivan's books, speaking engagements, and favorite adventures is at OregonHiking com .