Maxwell, William (1908-2000) | Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

William Keepers Maxwell was born on August 16, 1908 in Lincoln, IL, the first of three sons by Blossom Blinn (1881-1919) and William Keepers Maxwell Sr. (1878-1959), an insurance adjuster. After the death of his mother, his father married Grace M. McGrath (1889-1972) and moved the family to Chicago.

Maxwell received a BA from the University of Illinois in 1930 and an MA from Harvard University in 1931. From 1931-1933, Maxwell worked as a professor in the University of Illinois English Department; he would later be awarded an honorary doctorate from the University in 1973.

Maxwell began his career at The New Yorker in 1936—first in the art department and then as a fiction editor—and worked there for 40 years. During this time, he served as editor for several celebrated authors, including J.D. Salinger, John Cheever, John O'Hara, John Updike, and Harold Brodkey. He also served as president of the National Institute of Arts and Letters from 1969-1972.

Maxwell married Emily Gilman Noyes (1921-2000) in 1945 and the couple shared two daughters. He died in New York on July 31, 2000, and is buried in River View Cemetery in Portland, OR.

Center for the Book. "William Maxwell." Illinois Authors. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.illinoisauthors.org/php/getSpecificAuthor.php?uid=7505.

Find a Grave. "William Keepers Maxwell Jr." Accessed June 18, 2026. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/100203404/william-keepers-maxwell.