Craig Davidson (born 1975) is a Canadian author of short stories and novels, who has published work under both his name and the
pen name
A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
s Patrick Lestewka and Nick Cutter.
Early life
Born in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, he was raised in
Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
and
St. Catharines
St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...
.
["Craig Davidson: The fighter returns"]
''National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only. '', September 13, 2013. Davidson earned a B.A. in classical literature at
Trent University
Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Founded in 1964, the university is known for its Oxbridge college system, sma ...
, an M.A. in English and creative writing at the
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...
., an M.F.A. at the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. in creative writing at the University of Birmingham, UK.
Career
His first short story collection, ''
Rust and Bone
''Rust and Bone'' () is a 2012 romantic drama film directed by Jacques Audiard, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts, based on Craig Davidson's short story collection '' Rust and Bone''. It tells the story of a nightclub bounce ...
'', was later published in September 2005 by
Penguin Books Canada, and was a finalist for the 2006
Danuta Gleed Literary Award. Stories in ''Rust and Bone'' have also been adapted into a play by Australian playwright
Caleb Lewis
Caleb Lewis is an Australian playwright and game designer, born on 16 April 1978. He is known for his play '' Dogfall'', first produced in 2007 in Adelaide, South Australia.
Early life and education
Lewis' father was a diver, whose job at one ...
and
a Golden Globe-nominated film by French director
Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard (; born 30 April 1952) is a French film director, producer, and screenwriter. One of the most awarded French filmmakers in history, his international accolades include an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, and three ...
.
Davidson also released a novel in 2007 named ''The Fighter''. During the course of his research of the novel, Davidson went on a 16-week steroid cycle. To promote the release of the novel, Davidson participated in a fully sanctioned boxing match against Toronto poet Michael Knox at Florida Jack's Boxing Gym;
for the novel's subsequent release in the United States, his publisher organized a similar promotional boxing match against
Jonathan Ames.
Davidson lost both matches.
His 2013 novel ''
Cataract City'' was named as a shortlisted nominee for the 2013
Scotiabank Giller Prize
The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...
.
In addition to his literary fiction, Davidson has also published several works of
horror literature using the pseudonyms Patrick Lestewka and Nick Cutter. In 2014, he released the thriller novel ''The Troop'', with ''The Deep'' following in 2015.
In 2018, his memoir ''Precious Cargo'', about a year spent driving a bus for disabled children in Calgary, was a finalist for
Canada Reads
''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...
.
His 2018 novel ''The Saturday Night Ghost Club'' was a shortlisted finalist for the
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...
and was an
American Booksellers Association
The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and to ...
Indie Next Great Reads selection in July 2019. This novel tells the story of a young boy who is coming-of-age while spending Saturdays catching ghosts with his eccentric Uncle Calvin. It explores themes of
grief
Grief is the response to the loss of something deemed important, particularly to the death of a person to whom or animal to which a Human bonding, bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, ...
,
depression, family, friendship, and growing into adulthood.
Davidson's work has received acclaim from notable authors such as
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
,
Scott Smith, and
Jonathan Maberry.
Bibliography
*''
Rust and Bone
''Rust and Bone'' () is a 2012 romantic drama film directed by Jacques Audiard, starring Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts, based on Craig Davidson's short story collection '' Rust and Bone''. It tells the story of a nightclub bounce ...
'' (2005)
*''The Fighter'' (2008)
*''Sarah Court'' (2010)
*''
Cataract City'' (2013) (shortlisted for the 2013
Scotiabank Giller Prize
The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...
)
*''Precious Cargo'' (2016)
*''The Saturday Night Ghost Club'' (2018)
*''Cascade'' (2020)
as Patrick Lestewka
*''Mother Bitchfight'' (2003)
*''The Preserve'' (2004)
*''Imprint'' (2011)
*''The Coliseum'' (2011)
*''Vehicles'' (2012)
as Nick Cutter
*''
The Troop
''The Troop'' is an action-comedy children's television series centered around a trio of teenagers who fight monsters that invade the fictional town of Lakewood. Created and executive produced by Max Burnett, Greg Coolidge and Chris Morgan (wr ...
'' (2014)
*''The Deep'' (2015)
*''The Acolyte'' (2015)
*''Little Heaven'' (2017)
*''The Breach'' (2020)
*''The Handyman Method'' (with Andrew F. Sullivan) (2023)
*''The Queen'' (2024)
References
External links
Craig Davidson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Craig
1976 births
Canadian male novelists
Living people
Canadian male short story writers
Novelists from Toronto
Trent University alumni
University of New Brunswick alumni
21st-century Canadian short story writers
21st-century Canadian male writers
21st-century Canadian novelists