L. RUST HILLS, an editor who brought many of the nation?s most well-known fiction writers to Esquire magazine, died Aug. 12, 2008, at age 83. He received a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and served in the Merchant Marine during World War II. After the war he received a bachelor’s degree with distinction in English and a master’s degree, both from Wesleyan. He was a member of Alpha Delta Phi. After teaching English at Columbia University and Carleton College, he joined the staff of Esquire, where he edited such authors as Dorothy Parker, Arthur Miller, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, Philip Roth, William Styron, Ann Beattie, Raymond Carver, Bernard Malamud, Don DeLillo, and Annie Proulx. He was the author of Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular, as well as three off–beat books of essays. Survivors include his wife of 34 years, Joy Williams, a daughter from his second marriage, and a grandson.