Victor LaValle

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Victor LaValle
Portrait photoshoot at Worldcon 75, Helsinki, before the Hugo Awards - Victor LaValle.jpg
Born (1972-02-03) February 3, 1972 (age 54)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationAuthor
Education Cornell University (BA)
Columbia University (MFA)
Period1999–present
Genre Speculative fiction
Horror
Notable works
Notable awards
Spouse Emily Raboteau
Children2
Website
www.victorlavalle.com

Victor LaValle (born February 3, 1972) is an American author. He is the author of a short-story collection, Slapboxing with Jesus, and five novels, The Ecstatic,Big Machine,The Devil in Silver, The Changeling , and Lone Women. His fantasy-horror novella The Ballad of Black Tom won the 2016 Shirley Jackson Award for best novella. [1] LaValle writes primarily fiction, though he has also written essays and book reviews for GQ ,[ citation needed ] Essence ,[ citation needed ] The Fader ,[ citation needed ] and The Washington Post. [2]

Contents

Early life

Victor LaValle was born on February 3, 1972, and raised in the Flushing and Rosedale neighborhoods of Queens, New York, by a single mother who had emigrated from Uganda in her twenties. He attended Woodmere Academy and received a degree in English from Cornell University and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University. [3]

Career

Slapboxing with Jesus was published in 1999 by Vintage Books. The eleven interconnected stories deal mostly with the lives of young Black and Latino men living in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. The collection received wide critical praise. [4] It won a PEN Open Book Award [5] and LaValle received a key to Jamaica, Queens. [6]

The Ecstatic was published in 2002 by Crown Publishing Group. The novel continues the story of Anthony James, a character from Slapboxing with Jesus. Anthony is an unhealthy college dropout who is experiencing the first signs of schizophrenia. The novel follows him and his family, who are trying their best to save Anthony, but who have their own issues. The book also received wide critical acclaim, [7] earning comparisons to the work of Ken Kesey,[ citation needed ] Chester Himes, [8] and John Kennedy Toole.[ citation needed ] In 2003, the novel was a finalist for both the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. [9] [10] It is a favorite novel of rapper Mos Def, who later titled his 2009 studio album after it. [11]

Big Machine was published in 2009 by Spiegel & Grau. The novel tells the story of Ricky Rice, a recovering drug addict and survivor of a suicide cult who receives a mysterious letter summoning him to a remote compound in Vermont. The novel was widely praised upon its release, [12] making several national top ten lists. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] It also won the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel in 2009, [18] as well as the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and an American Book Award in 2010. [19] [20]

The Devil in Silver, published by Spiegel & Grau in 2012, is the story of Pepper, a mentally well man sent for observation to a psychiatric hospital. There he encounters a monster known as the Devil roaming the halls at night. He teams up with other patients to fight the staff and the monster. [21] It was named as a best book of the year by several outlets. [22] [23] [24] It has been adapted into the third season of the TV anthology series The Terror, set to premiere in 2026. [25] [26]

The Ballad of Black Tom , a novella, was published by Tor Books on February 16, 2016. It is a retelling of the H. P. Lovecraft story "The Horror at Red Hook" from the point of view of a young Black man living in Harlem. [27]

The Changeling was published in 2017 by Spiegel & Grau and received critical acclaim. [28] It was selected as one of 2017's ten best books by New York Public Library [29] and won the 2018 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, [30] the 2018 Locus Award for Horror Novel, [31] [32] and the 2018 British Fantasy Award for Horror Novel. [33] It was adapted into a TV series of the same name on Apple TV in 2023. [34]

Destroyer , a graphic novel published in 2017 by Boom! Studios, is a modern retelling of Frankenstein (1818). The story follows an African-American descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, her only son who was killed in a police encounter, and the monster from the original novel. [35]

Lone Women, a novel published in 2023 by One World, is a fantasy horror western set in 1915. [36] [37] The story follows protagonist Adelaide Henry, a single woman who leaves her family farm in California to establish a homestead in Montana. [38] [39]

LaValle is an associate professor at the Columbia University School of the Arts. [40]

Personal life

He lives in New York with his wife, novelist Emily Raboteau, and their son and daughter. [41]

Awards and nominations

Literature awards

YearNomineeAwardCategoryResultRef
2002Slapboxing with Jesus PEN/Open Book Award —Won (co-winner) [5]
2003The Ecstatic PEN/Faulkner Award —Shortlisted [42] [43]
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award FictionShortlisted [44]
2009Big Machine Shirley Jackson Award NovelWon [45]
2010 American Book Awards —Won (co-winner) [19]
Ernest J. Gaines Award —Won [46]
2013The Devil in Silver Shirley Jackson Award NovelShortlisted [45]
2016 The Ballad of Black Tom Bram Stoker Award Long Fiction Shortlisted [45]
Shirley Jackson Award NovellaWon [45]
2017 British Fantasy Award Novella Won [45]
Hugo Award Novella Shortlisted [45] [47]
Locus Award Novella Nominated—3rd [45]
Nebula Award Novella Shortlisted [45] [48]
Theodore Sturgeon Award —Shortlisted [45]
World Fantasy Award Novella Shortlisted [45]
The Changeling Dragon Awards Horror NovelWon [45]
Shirley Jackson Award NovelShortlisted [45]
2018 British Fantasy Award Horror Novel Won [45]
Locus Award Horror Novel Won (1st) [45]
Mythopoeic Awards Adult NovelShortlisted [45]
World Fantasy Award Novel Won (tie) [45]
2019Victor LaValle's Destroyer Bram Stoker Award Graphic Novel Won [45]
2020A People's Future of the United States Ignyte Awards Anthology/CollectionShortlisted [45]
Locus Award AnthologyNominated—3rd [45]
"Up from Slavery" Bram Stoker Award Short Fiction Won [45]

Honors

Works

Books

As editor

Essays

Comics

Notes

  1. ↑ "2016 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". The Shirley Jackson Awards. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  2. ↑ LaValle, Victor (October 3, 2004). "Moving Targets". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  3. ↑ O'Neal Parker, Lonnae (December 3, 2002). "From Fat To Phat: An Author's Happy Ending". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  4. ↑ Rose, Andrew (February 6, 2000). "Bronx Personality With a Powerful Punch / Sights, sounds and desperations of the city pulse through New Yorker's short stories". SFGate. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "PEN Open Book Award Winners". PEN America. April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  6. ↑ Hendrick, Daniel (July 27, 2000). "Jamaica JAMS Kicks Off With Reception Honoring Leaders". Queens Chronicle . Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  7. ↑ Widner, Cindy (October 10, 2003). "Readings". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  8. ↑ "The Ecstatic". Penguin Random House Higher Education. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  9. ↑ "The PEN/Faulkner Award". The PEN/Faulkner Foundation. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Legacy Awards". Hurston/Wright Foundation. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  11. ↑ Gundersen, Edna (June 7, 2009). "Mos Def is most thoughtful as he focuses on myriad projects". USATODAY.com. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  12. ↑ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (July 25, 2009). "Victor LaValle's Big Machine Draws Comparisons to Thomas Pynchon". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Best Books 2009". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Our favorite fiction of 2009". Printers Row. Chicago Tribune. December 4, 2009. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Los Angeles Times Favorite Science Fiction of 2009 in English". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  16. ↑ Nichols, John (December 22, 2009). "MVPs of 2009". ISSN   0027-8378 . Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Holiday Guide 2009: Best Books". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  18. ↑ "2009 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners". The Shirley Jackson Awards. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "The American Book Awards / Before Columbus Foundation". American Booksellers Association. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Previous Winners". The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  21. ↑ Carty, Pat (January 17, 2025). "The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle: Shadows of classic title in sprawling story". The Irish Times. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  22. ↑ "100 Notable Books of 2012". The New York Times. November 27, 2012. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Best Books of 2012". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  24. ↑ "50 notable works of fiction". The Washington Post. November 16, 2012. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  25. ↑ "The 16 Most Anticipated TV Shows of 2026". ScreenCrush. January 9, 2026. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  26. ↑ Mitovich, Matt Webb (February 6, 2024). "AMC's The Terror Renewed For Season 3, Based On Victor LaValle's The Devil In Silver". TVLine. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  27. ↑ Cohen, Adam (February 19, 2016). "REVIEW: A Fantastic Novel of a Black Hustler in 1920's Harlem". The National Book Review. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  28. ↑ "100 Notable Books of 2017". The New York Times. November 22, 2017. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  29. ↑ Lobash, Lynn (December 6, 2017). "NYPL's 10 Best Books of 2017". New York Public Library. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  30. ↑ "World Fantasy Awards℠ 2018". World Fantasy Convention. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  31. ↑ "2018 Locus Awards Winners". Locus Magazine . June 23, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  32. ↑ Schaub, Michael (June 26, 2018). "Locus Award winners include N.K. Jemisin, Victor LaValle and John Scalzi". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  33. ↑ "BFA Winners". The British Fantasy Society. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  34. ↑ Khosla, Proma (September 8, 2023). "'The Changeling' Review: Apple's Chilling Fantasy Horror Series Will Keep You Riveted". IndieWire. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  35. ↑ Carroll, Tobias (May 25, 2017). "Victor LaValle Resurrects Frankenstein in Socially Conscious New Comic, Destroyer". Paste Magazine. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  36. ↑ Armstrong, Vanessa (March 29, 2023). "Victor LaValle's Lone Women Has Been Optioned for TV Adaptation, LaValle to Pen Script". Reactor. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  37. ↑ Khatib, Joumana (March 1, 2023). "14 Books Coming in March". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Victor LaValle Talks About Horror and 'Lone Women'". The New York Times. March 31, 2023. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  39. ↑ Elison, Meg (July 4, 2023). "Author Victor LaValle: The Man and the Myths". Black Girl Nerds. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  40. ↑ "This Is Who We Are: Victor LaValle". School of the Arts. Columbia University. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  41. ↑ Lavalle, Victor (October 2013). "Here's To The Weird". Specter Magazine (Interview). Interviewed by Mensah Demary. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  42. ↑ "The Ecstatic by Victor LaValle". Fantastic Fiction. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  43. ↑ Weeks, Linton (April 9, 2003). "Sabina Murray's Stories Win PEN/Faulkner Prize". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  44. ↑ "Zora Awards". LibraryThing. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "Victor LaValle Awards". sfadb. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  46. ↑ Crowder, Courtney (November 17, 2010). "LaValle's "Big Machine" wins Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  47. ↑ "2017 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards. World Science Fiction Society. December 31, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  48. ↑ "SFWA Announces 2016 Nebula, Norton, and Bradbury Award Nominees!". The Nebula Awards. February 20, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  49. ↑ Wyatt, Edward (October 29, 2004). "Writers Win Whiting Awards". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  50. ↑ "Victor LaValle". United States Artists. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  51. ↑ "2010 Guggenheim Fellows Announced". Artforum. April 17, 2010. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  52. ↑ "Programs - Letterenfonds". www.letterenfonds.nl. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  53. ↑ Greenidge, Kaitlyn (May 1, 2011). "An Interview with Victor LaValle". Believer Magazine. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
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