Craig McDonald is an American novelist, journalist, communications specialist, and the author of the Hector Lassiter series, the Zana O'Savin Series, the novel ''El Gavilan'', and two collections of interviews with fiction writers, ''Art in the Blood'' (2006) and ''Rogue Males'' (2009). He also edited the anthology, ''Borderland Noir'' (2015). Born in Columbus, Ohio, he grew up in

Grove City, Ohio Grove City is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1852, it is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 41,252 at the 2020 census. History Until the mid-19th century, the area that is now Grove City was a wil ...

, a fictionalized version of which serves as the setting for his 2011 work of fiction, ''El Gavilan''. McDonald's debut novel, ''Head Games'' (2007), was nominated for the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

, the

Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Categori ...

and the Gumshoe Award in the U.S. for best first novel, as well as the 2011 Sélection du prix polar Saint-Maur en Poche in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Writing

In 2006, Craig McDonald published a collection of interviews with crime and thriller writers, ''Art In the Blood'', featuring Q&A-style conversations with genre novelists discussing the craft of writing. A sequel interview collection, ''Rogue Males'', followed in 2009, from Bleak House Books. That collection was a finalist for a Macavity Award for nonfiction. In 2007, McDonald published his debut novel, ''Head Games''. The novel received American and European awards attention, including

and

nominations for Best First Novel by an American Author in 2008. ''Head Games'' features fictional novelist/screenwriter Hector Lassiter, a character McDonald introduced in a 2005 short story (''The Last Interview'') that was selected for an online Mississippi Review anthology of “High Pulp.” The novel launched a series of further books featuring the Lassiter character. The Lassiter novels have been translated into German, Italian, French, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, Mongolian and Korean, among other languages. A graphic novel adaptation of ''Head Games'' scripted by McDonald was published by

First Second Books First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint (trade name), imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck, Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual e ...

Writing style/major themes

McDonald's Lassiter series uses historical crimes and personages, including several appearances by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

and

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

. The voice and style of the Lassiter novels have drawn comparisons to James Crumley and

James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, ...

, both of whom McDonald interviewed as a journalist and whom he has confirmed in interviews and essays as significant influences. McDonald's works have also been compared to those of James Carlos Blake and

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

, among others. In 2010, crime fiction critic and scholar Woody Haut described McDonald as "one of the few writers who can move comfortably within a post-Ellroy framework of crime fiction." In her study, ''The Noir Thriller'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), in a chapter examining "Literary Noir in the Twenty-First Century," Lee Horsley identified McDonald as one of several "neo-noir" authors who embody "a recurrent motif of men in pursuit of a lost, treacherously illusive notion of masculinity …" Picking up a similar theme, Woody Haut, critiquing McDonald's second-published novel, Toros & Torsos, commented, "(McDonald) critiques the effect of masculine values on the culture, and examines the relationship between reality and fiction." Hector Lassiter, known to readers and critics as the man who writes what he lives and lives what he writes, eventually comes to use himself as a character in his own novels as the series unfolds.

Works

The Hector Lassiter series

# ''One True Sentence'' (Minotaur 2011; Betimes Books 2014) # ''Forever's Just Pretend'' (Betimes Books 2014) # ''Toros & Torsos'' (Bleak House 2008; Betimes Books 2014) # ''The Great Pretender'' (Betimes Books 2014) # ''Roll the Credits'' (Betimes Books 2014) # ''The Running Kind'' (Betimes Books 2014) # ''Head Games'' (Bleak House 2007; Betimes Books 2015) # ''Print the Legend'' (Minotaur 2010; Betimes Books 2015) # ''Death In the Face'' (Betimes Books 2015) # ''Three Chords & The Truth'' (Betimes Books 2016) # ''Write From Wrong'' (Betimes Books 2021)

Other Hector Lassiter books

* ''Head Games: The Graphic Novel'' (First Second Books 2017) * ''Once A World'' (Down & Out Books, 2019)

The Zana O'Savin series

* ''The Blood Ogre'' (Night Town Books 2022) * ''The Mothman Menace'' (Night Town Books 2023) * ''The Death Killers'' (Night Town Books 2024)

The Chris Lyon series

# ''Parts Unknown'' (Night Town Books 2012) # ''Carnival Noir'' (Night Town Books 2013) # ''Cabal'' (Night Town Books 2013) # ''Angels of Darkness'' (Night Town Books 2013)

Nonfiction

* ''Art in the Blood: Crime Novelists Discuss their Craft'' (Point Blank 2006): A collection of interviews with a range of notable crime fiction authors. Novelists interviewed include

Dan Brown Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his Thriller (genre), thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon (book series), Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), '' ...

, Ken Bruen,

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of Detective fiction, detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and cr ...

Liza Cody Liza Cody (born 11 April 1944, in London) is an English crime fiction writer. Career Before she began writing, Cody worked mostly in the visual arts, including as a graphic designer, but she also made furniture and was employed by Madame Tuss ...

George Pelecanos George P. Pelecanos (born February 18, 1957) is an American author, producer and television writer. Many of his 20 books are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. On television, he frequently co ...

Walter Mosley Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private in ...

, Dennis Lehane,

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...

, Karin Slaughter,

Lee Child James Dover Grant (born 29 October 1954), primarily known by his pen name Lee Child, is a British author who writes Thriller (genre), thriller novels, and is best known for his ''Jack Reacher (book series), Jack Reacher'' novel series. The boo ...

, Steve Hamilton, J.A. Jance,

Peter Lovesey Peter Harmer Lovesey (10 September 1936 – 10 April 2025), also known by his pen name Peter Lear, was a British writer of Historical mystery, historical and Detective fiction, contemporary detective novels and short stories. His best-known ser ...

, Peter Straub,

Ridley Pearson Ridley Pearson (born March 13, 1953, in Glen Cove, New York) is an American author of suspense, thriller and adventure books. Several of his books have appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. Literary career Pearson became the fir ...

, Tami Hoag, Tim Dorsey, David Corbett and Charlie Stella. * ''Rogue Males: Conversations & Confrontations about the Writing Life'' (Bleak House 2009): A follow-up to the 2006 ''Art in the Blood, Rogue Males'' is a collection of sixteen interviews with male authors and songwriters. ''Rogue Males'' includes conversations with

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest no ...

and James Crumley (in two of their last interviews),

James Sallis James Sallis (born December 21, 1944) is an American crime writer who wrote a series of novels featuring the detective character Lew Griffin set in New Orleans, and the 2005 novel '' Drive'', which was adapted into a 2011 film of the same nam ...

, Daniel Woodrell,

, Ken Bruen,

and

Randy Wayne White Randy Wayne White (born 1950) is an American writer of crime fiction and non-fiction adventure tales. He has written New York Times best-selling novels and has received awards for his fiction and a television documentary. He is best known for his ...

. The book was a Finalist for a 2010

Macavity Award The Macavity Awards, established in 1987, are a group of literary awards presented annually to mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the "Macavity, mystery cat ...

for “Best Mystery Nonfiction” category.

Other

* ''Borderland Noir'', Editor (Betimes Books 2015): Featured short stories and essays by a range of writers on U.S. and Mexico border tensions, including Tom Russell, Ken Bruen,

, Manuel Ramos and Martín Solares. * ''El Gavilan'' (Tyrus Books 2011): Received a starred review from

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

. The standalone novel is set in New Austin, Ohio—a fictionalized version of Grove City, Ohio—and deals with the impact of illegal immigration from Mexico into the United States on the smalltown Midwest. The novel also ties into the Chris Lyon series, featuring Chris' cousin, Tell.

Nominations and awards

References

External links

*
Craig McDonald's interview in Shotsmag
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Craig Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers Writers from Columbus, Ohio Journalists from Ohio American male journalists American male short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Ohio People from Grove City, Ohio 21st-century American non-fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people)