William Hjortsberg

William "Gatz" Hjortsberg was an American novelist and screenwriter known for writing the screenplay of the film Legend. His novel Falling Angel was the basis for the film Angel Heart (1987). He wrote short fiction, non-fiction and reviews for Playboy, Esquire, Oui, Penthouse, Look, Sports Illustrated, Rocky Mountain Magazine, Cornell Review, The Realist, House & Garden, San Francisco Focus, Big Sky Journal, Fishing Update No. 1 (The Hunting & Fishing Library,) New York Times Book Review, San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, Men's Journal, Catholic World and The Last Supplement To The Whole Earth Catalog. He won the following awards Wallage Stegner Creative Writing Fellowship, (Stanford, 1967), National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, 1976, Playboy Editorial Award, (Best New Contributor, 1971; Best Major Work, 1978.). Falling Angel was nominated for Best First Mystery Novel by the Mystery Writers of America in 1978.