Craig Shaw Gardner

Craig Shaw Gardner was born and raised in Rochester, New York, home of the Eastman Kodak Company, the Rochester Red Wings, red hots and white hots, and a whole bunch of snow (see Entry on Ancient Greece). He came to Boston to attend Boston University in 1967, and he's been here ever since. Eventually, he graduated from B.U. with a B.S. degree (appropriately enough) in Broadcasting and Film. On the strength of this degree and the recession of 1971, he immediately got a job as a shipper/receiver for a men's suit manufacturer. Other jobs Craig has held include working in hospital public relations, running a stat camera, and managing a pair of bookstores in Harvard Square: The Million Year Picnic and the late, lamented Science Fantasy Bookstore. Craig sold his first short story in 1977, and began writing full time in 1987. While most of his early novels are humorous fantasy, the majority of his short stories have been sold to original horror anthologies such as SHADOWS, MIDNIGHT, DOOM CITY and other cheerful names. His novelization of BATMAN spent something like 13 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, changing his name on book covers to "New York Times Best-selling Author Craig Shaw Gardner" forevermore. His last few books have wandered over into the "epic fantasy" realm; the last three have been written under the pseudonym "Peter Garrison," which will show up right next to Craig Shaw Gardner on those bookshelves. Among his many other activities, Craig was both president and trustee of the Horror Writers Association; is the continuing co-host of the Kirk Polland Memorial Bad Prose Competition, held more or less annually at Readercon; and is one of the Secret Masters of Camp Necon, which is not so much a convention as a way of life.