About
Bio
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The Backstory
Sidney Williams is the author of numerous traditionally published books, and he is currently published by Crossroad Press, which has brought out many of his original novels in new editions. Crossroad has also published new works via Macabre Ink and Gordian Knot imprints. All of Sidney’s Kindle titles are here.
Sidney’s first novel, Azarius, was published while he worked as a newspaper reporter, a job he held for eleven years. In the early days as a general assignment reporter, his shift was 1 p.m. to 10 p.m., so he wrote fiction in the early morning hours, completing most of his work in those dark hours from midnight until 2 a.m. Sidney’s first published fiction was the Southern gothic tale “Daoma” in the literary magazine The Scribbler in 1988.
Newspaper work
While working as a reporter, Sidney covered the crime beat at night and went on to write feature articles, religion news, and he conducted hundreds of celebrity interviews. He has interviewed television stars such as Matt Leblanc, Jennifer Anniston, Gates McFadden and Raven Symone. He also interviewed figures including Alex Haley, Shirley Chisholm and many others. He covered speakers and attended press conferences with figures as diverse as Mother Teresa, Robert Ballard, Julian Bond and Wendy Wasserstein.
Other jobs
In addition to fiction and non-fiction writing, Sidney has worked as a librarian and web content editor and corporate marketing copywriter. His work has included award-winning print ads, news releases, public service announcements, and he worked as the clientside producer on a number of television commercials.
In 2010, Sidney earned an MFA from Goddard College. He had wanted to pursue an MFA for a number of years and first considered it in the 1980s but opted to see if he could get published on my own. A few short stories and the sale of Azarius tabled MFA plans for a while.
It was while he was at a book festival called Wordstock in Portland, OR, that he learned of Goddard College’s MFA program. Shortly after earning his MFA from Goddard College, Sidney left corporate marketing for a 14-hospital system in Texas and began teaching a college level course in horror, mystery and suspense in Orlando, FL. Sidney moved to Williamsburg, VA, in 2019 for his wife to pursue a career opportunity. He has continued to teach MFA courses online.
Besides books and short stories Sidney has written audio dramas including a full-cast adaptation of War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, comic books and graphic novels and other scripted fiction to his credit. He has also had books published young adult work under the name Michael August.
Sidney is currently a contributor to Wicked Horror and a former contributing editor to The Big Thrill.
Why Sid is Alive?
The title for this website comes from a piece of anonymous graffiti that Sidney’s longtime friend, Chicago author Wayne Allen Sallee, photographed in the course of his journeys in the 1990s. It always seemed like the perfect name for Sid’s ongoing activities.
The Sid is Alive message was scrawled on one of the front columns of Waverly Hills Sanitorum in Louisville, KY. Possibly a message from a fan of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols, it seemed perfect for a writer struggling as Faulkner once put it to “say no to death.”
Today Waverly Hills is considered one of the most haunted attractions in America and one of the scariest places on earth.
Tours are currently available thanks to the Waverly Hills Historic Society.
Sid is Alive 