Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a life-long interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as an amateur archaeologist and a member of the New York State Archaeological Association.
He received his M.S. in chemistry from Union College in Schenectady. He subsequently worked as a technical writer for General Electric in the 1940s, and for the Fisher Scientific Company in Pittsburgh from 1952 until his death.
Miller died October 13, 1974 in Blennerhassett Island, West Virginia. He was on an archaeological tour to the 'Fort Ancient Civilization' site west of Parkersburg at the time.
Miller wrote pulp science fiction beginning in the 1930s, and is considered one of the more popular authors of the period. His work appeared in such magazines as Amazing Stories, Astounding, Comet, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Marvel Tales, Science Fiction Digest, Super Science Stories, Unknown, Weird Tales, and Wonder Stories, among others.
An active fan of others' work as well as an author, he is also known as an early bibliographer of Robert E. Howard's "Conan" stories in the 1930s, together with his friend John D. Clark.
Miller gradually shifted into book reviewing beginning in 1945, initially for Astounding Science Fiction and later for its successor, Analog. He began a regularly monthly review column in the former in October, 1951. As a critic he was notable for his enthusiasm for a wide coverage of the science fiction field. He was awarded a special Hugo Award for book reviews in 1963.
His extensive collection of papers, maps, books and periodicals, accumulated largely as a result of his review work, was donated to the Carnegie Museum after his death by his sister Mary E. Drake. They now form the basis of the P. Schuyler Miller Memorial Library at the Edward O'Neill Research Center in Pittsburgh.
