Bill Patterson, a fan and scholar living in Phoenix and San Francisco, was particularly known for his work on Robert A. Heinlein. The first volume, published in 2010 was Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century, Volume 1 (1907-1948): Learning Curve which was nominated for the 2011 Best Related Work Hugo. The second volume, Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century Volume 2 (1948-1988): The Man Who Learned Better was published in 2014.
While a fan in Phoenix, he participated in Organized SF Fans of Arizona, a failed Westercon bid and on the successful Phoenix in '78 Worldcon bid which resulted in Iguanacon. Patterson wrote about the failed Westercon bid and Phoenix fanhistory in a one-shot called The Little Fandom That Could
He moved to San Francisco in the 80s, founded the Heinlein Journal in 1997 and co-founded the Heinlein Society with Virginia Heinlein in 1998. He also helped organize the Heinlein Centennial which took place in Kansas City in 2007. He published the fanzine Quodlibet.