Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Paper finding aid with additional information is available in Special Collections & University Archives.
William O. Turner (1914- ) was born in Tacoma, Washington and educated at Knox College. He became a free-lance fiction writer who specialized in westerns.
The collection (1963-1973) contains manuscripts, published books, and correspondence including letters exchanged with officers of Western Writers of America.
The initial donation of 1969 contains manuscripts and correspondence.
Manuscripts are available for the titles Blood Dance, A Man Called Jeff, Mayberly's Kill, and Ride the Vengeance Trail. Material may include drafts and rewrites, printer's and published copies, page proofs and notes.
Incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically (1963-1967) and the outgoing correspondence is arranged chronologically (1964-1965). The paper finding aid does not explain which correspondents are with the Western Writers of America organization.
The addendum for 1974 contains manuscript material for the titles Call the Beast Thy Brother, A Man Called Jeff, Place of the Trap, and Thief Hunt. Material may include original and revised drafts, early versions, printer's copies with rewrites, and notes and research.
This addendum also contains a program from the alumni association of Turner's alma mater.
The 1975 addendum contains a typed draft of Medicine Creek.