Grant Martin Overton was an American writer, literary critic, and editor active during the early twentieth century. Born in Patchogue, New York, to Ardelia Jarvis Skidmore and Floyd Alward Overton, he pursued his higher education at Princeton University, which he attended from 1904 to 1906. Over the course of his career, Overton established himself as a versatile voice in American letters, contributing both creative fiction and critical commentary to the literary landscape of his era.
Overton is perhaps best remembered for his influential role as a fiction editor at Collier's magazine, a position he held from 1924 until his death in 1930. In this capacity, he helped shape the popular reading tastes of the American public during the interwar period, selecting and refining short stories and serialized fiction for one of the country's most widely read periodicals. His work as a critic also allowed him to engage deeply with the contemporary literary movements of his day.
Though his life was cut relatively short when he passed away in his hometown of Patchogue at the age of forty-two, Overton left behind a legacy of dedicated service to American publishing. His dual perspective as both a creative writer and an editor provided him with a unique understanding of the mechanics of storytelling, making him a respected figure among his peers in the literary community of the 1920s.
