Harry Willson

Harry Willson (23 July 1932 – 9 March 2010[1]) was a writer of fiction, satire, social commentary, and philosophy,[2] and co-founder of Amador Publishers in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Willson was born in Montoursville, Pennsylvania.[3] He attended Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, and received a B.A. in chemistry and mathematics.[2] He received a master's of divinity at Princeton Theological Seminary[2] and studied Spanish at University of Madrid.[3] He moved to New Mexico in 1958 with his wife and three children, and he served as Spanish-speaking Presbyterian missionary for eight years.[3] Willson's views toward the church slowly changed, and he left the ministry in 1966.[4] He became a teacher of history, English, and philosophy[4] at Albuquerque Academy from 1966–1973[3] and at Sandia Prep from 1973–1976.[3]

For the next ten years, Willson wrote books and worked different jobs, including owning a worm ranch, selling produce from an organic garden, selling fireplace heater-inserts, and helping his wife open a drapery business.[5] In 1986, he founded Amador Publishers [6] with his wife, Adela Amador,[2] and in 2006, Willson and Amador changed Amador Publishers to Amador Publishers, LLC, with Zelda Gordon as co-owner and managing editor.[7] Amador Publishers, LLC, has published more than thirty titles from more than fifteen authors,[8] including Gene H. Bell-Villada, Donald Gutierrez, and Eva Krutein.[9] Willson believed his authors emphasized themes he valued, peace, ecology, harmony, and feminism.[4]

  1. ^ Gatuskin, Zelda. "Farewell to Harry Willson, Author, Publisher, Philosopher, Peace Activist" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d "'Prolific Writer' Co-Founded Local Publishing Firm". Albuquerque Journal. 2010-03-19.
  3. ^ a b c d e Reed, Ollie (1990-09-18). "Own Sermons Inspired Author-Publisher to Write". The Albuquerque Tribune.
  4. ^ a b c Hunsberger, Brent (1993-07-23). "Publisher Celebrates Writing Life". The Albuquerque Tribune.
  5. ^ Steinberg, David (1995-04-16). "Small Is Big at Amador Publishers". The Albuquerque Journal.
  6. ^ Reed, Ollie (2006-12-08). "Amador Touts 20 Years of Publishing Diversity". The Albuquerque Tribune. Archived from the original on 2013-07-13.
  7. ^ Siemers, Erik (2006-07-31). "10 Things to Know". The Albuquerque Tribune.
  8. ^ "Who Are We?". Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  9. ^ "The Amador Authors". Retrieved 9 July 2013.