David William Wilson (born 1985) is a Canadian author. He has published a short story collection and a novel. He won the

BBC National Short Story Award The BBC National Short Story Award (known as the National Short Story Award in 2006 and 2007) has been described as "one of the most prestigious wardsfor a single short story" and the richest prize in the world for a single short story. It is an ...

in 2011.

Life

Wilson was born in 1985 in

Cranbrook, British Columbia Cranbrook ( ) is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 10 km southwest of the confluence of the Kootenay River and the St. Mary River (British Columbia), St. Mary's River. It is the largest urban centre in the region ...

. He studied creative writing at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

(MA 2010; PhD 2013).

Writing career

Wilson won the

in 2011 with his story "The Dead Roads", later included in his debut collection. The story follows three friends on a fraught road trip through Canada. Wilson's debut short story collection, ''Once You Break a Knuckle'', was published in 2012 by

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

in Canada and

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

in the UK. It had positive press from Canadian and UK media sources including

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. It was shortlisted for the 2012

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...

, awarded to authors under the age of 40. His debut full-length novel, ''Ballistics'', was published in spring 2013. Wilson won the Manchester Fiction Prize in 2016 for his story "All This Concrete Beneath Your Feet", which tells of a man and his young son driving down the Alaskan Highway.

Awards and honors

*2011

, "The Dead Roads" from ''Once You Break A Knuckle'' *2012

, shortlist, ''Once You Break a Knuckle'' *2013 Waterstones 11, ''Ballistics'' *2016 Manchester Fiction Prize, "All This Concrete Beneath Your Feet"

Works

* ''Once You Break a Knuckle'', Bloomsbury, 2012, ISBN 978-1408830284 * ''Ballistics'', Bloomsbury, 2013, ISBN 978-1408833766

References

People from Cranbrook, British Columbia Canadian children's writers Living people Alumni of the University of East Anglia 1985 births Canadian male short story writers Canadian male novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Novelists from British Columbia {{Canada-writer-stub