Daniel Allen Cox (born February 3, 1976) is a Canadian author. Cox's novels ''Shuck and Krakow Melt'' were both finalists for the

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

and the

ReLit Award The ReLit Awards are Canadian literary prizes awarded annually to book-length works in the novel, short-story and poetry categories."Three indie writers honoured by ReLit Awards". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 19, 2007. Founded in 2000 by Newfoundla ...

Life and career

Cox was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, where he was raised a

Jehovah's Witness Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

. His novella ''Tattoo This Madness In'', about a young Jehovah’s Witness who uses

Smurf ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and int ...

tattoos to rebel against his faith, was nominated for an Expozine Alternative Press Award. ''Shuck'', his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

about a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

hustler, was a Lambda Literary Award and a ReLit Award finalist. Cox’s second novel ''Krakow Melt'' was excerpted in '' The Advocate'', nominated for the

Ferro-Grumley Award The Ferro-Grumley Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle and the Ferro-Grumley Foundation to a book deemed the year's best work of LGBT fiction. The award is presented in memory of writers Robert Ferro and Michael Grum ...

, and named to the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

’s Over the Rainbow List. The novel formed the basis of three essays in the debut issue of ''The Word Hoard'', academic journal of the Department of English and Writing Studies at Western University. The author’s third and fourth novels, ''Basement of Wolves'' and ''Mouthquake'', were also published by

Arsenal Pulp Press Arsenal Pulp Press is a Canadian independent book publishing company, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company publishes a broad range of titles in both fiction and non-fiction, focusing primarily on underrepresented genres such as un ...

. An excerpt of ''Mouthquake'' was translated for ''Nova Istra'' literary journal as the first queer text to be published in the

Chakavian Chakavian or Čakavian (, , , sh-Latn, čakavski proper name: or own name: ''čokovski, čakavski, čekavski'') is a South Slavic regiolect or language spoken primarily by Croats along the Adriatic coast, in the historical regions of Dalmat ...

dialect of Croatian, as well as the first text to introduce the personage of Antonio Barichievich, Croatian-Canadian strongman, to a Croatian literary audience. Cox read the entire novel out loud at a durational performance, the last event held at RATS9 gallery in Montreal. Cox has appeared at Ottawa International Writers Festival, Blue Metropolis Montréal International Literary Festival,

Winnipeg International Writers Festival The Winnipeg International Writers Festival is a Winnipeg, Manitoba based organization that puts together an annual literary festival known as THIN AIR. The festival program runs for a week each fall, and there are also several off-season events reg ...

, GritLit Festival,

Westfest Westfest is a free arts festival in Ottawa, Ontario, taking place the second weekend of June, at Tom Brown Arena and Park, in the Hintonburg area of Ottawa. The festival brings in over 300 artists, 150 volunteers and 40 staff over the weekend and ...

, and the Atlanta Queer Literary Festival, as well as on

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...

and Airelibre TV. He co-wrote the screenplay for the

Bruce LaBruce Bruce LaBruce (born January 3, 1964) is a Canadian artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and underground director based in Toronto. Life and career LaBruce was born in Tiverton, Ontario. He has claimed both Justin Stewart and Bryan Bruce as ...

film ''

Gerontophilia Gerontophilia is the primary sexual attraction to the elderly. A person with such a sexual preference is a gerontophile or gerontosexual. The word ''gerontophilia'' was coined in 1901 by psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing. It derives from Gree ...

,'' and is a former columnist for ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former ...

'' and former president of the

Quebec Writers' Federation The Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF) is a not-for-profit registered charitable organization representing and serving the English-language literary community in the province of Quebec, Canada. QWF is a literary arts presenter, provides professio ...

. His essays and short stories have been published in several anthologies and literary journals, including ''

Electric Literature ''Electric Literature'' is an independent publisher founded by Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum in 2009 as a quarterly journal. It launched the first fiction magazine on the iPhone and iPad. The print version of the journal is produced via print ...

'', ''

Literary Hub Literary Hub is a daily literary website that launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and Electric Literature founder Andy Hunter. Conte ...

'', ''Catapult'', '' The Florida Review'', ''

The Rumpus ''The Rumpus'' is an online literary magazine launched on January 20, 2009. The site features interviews, book reviews, essays, comics, and critiques of creative culture as well as original fiction and poetry. The site runs two subscription-base ...

'', ''Fourth Genre'', ''Maisonneuve,'' ''Open Book Toronto'', and ''filling Station''. His essay "The Glow of Electrum", published in

The Malahat Review ''The Malahat Review'' is a Canadian quarterly literary magazine established in 1967. It features contemporary Canadian and international works of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction as well as reviews of recently published Canadian litera ...

, was named Notable in

Best American Essays ''The Best American Essays'' is a yearly anthology of magazine articles published in the United States.Robert Atwan (ed.), Adam Gopnick (guest ed.). ''The Best American Essays 2008'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. It was started in 1986 and is ...

2021 and was a finalist for a Canadian National Magazine Award in Personal Journalism. Cox was a juror for the 2021

Dayne Ogilvie Prize The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging Canadian writer who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community. Origina ...

presented by

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada (french: La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada) is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laure ...

. Cox's memoir-in-essays ''I Felt the End Before It Came: Memoirs of a Queer Ex-Jehovah's Witness'' was published in May 2023.

Bibliography

*''Tattoo This Madness In'' (novella, Dusty Owl Press, 2006) *''Shuck'' (novel, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2008) *''Krakow Melt'' (novel, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2010) *''Basement of Wolves'' (novel, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2012) *''Mouthquake'' (novel, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2015) *''I Felt the End Before It Came: Memoirs of a Queer Ex-Jehovah's Witness'' (essays, Penguin Random House Canada, forthcoming 2023)

References

External links

danielallencox.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Daniel Allen 1976 births Canadian male novelists Canadian gay writers Living people Writers from Montreal Canadian LGBT screenwriters Former Jehovah's Witnesses 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian LGBT novelists Canadian male screenwriters 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian screenwriters 21st-century Canadian LGBT people Gay screenwriters Gay novelists