William Demby was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 25, 1922. After serving in WWII he graduated at Fisk University in Nashville, in 1947. Then he emigrated in Italy, in Rome. Demby, who was fluent in Italian, worked for many important Italian film directors, among them Federico Fellini, to translate in English screenplays and subtitles for films. There he wrote his first novel, Beetlecreek, and his second novel, The Catacombs. Beginning in 1969 Demby taught English at College of the Staten Island of the City of New York, till the late 1980s. However he often spent time in Italy, in a villa near Florence. His other novels included, Love Story Black and Blueboy. In 2006 Demby won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for lifetime achievement. His last novel, King Comus, on the relations between Jews and blacks, was finished in 2008, but remains unpublished. William Demby died in Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York, on May 23, 2013.