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Amanda Davis (writer)

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This article is about the writer. For other uses, see Amanda Davis (disambiguation).

Amanda Davis
Born(1971-02-28)February 28, 1971
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedMarch 14, 2003(2003-03-14) (aged 32)
McDowell County, North Carolina, U.S.
EducationWesleyan University (BA)
Brooklyn College (MFA)
Years active1999–2003
Notable worksCircling the Drain (1999)
Wonder When You'll Miss Me (2003)

Amanda Davis (February 28, 1971 – March 14, 2003) was an American writer and teacher who died in a plane accident.

Early life

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Amanda Davis was born on February 28, 1971, in Durham, North Carolina.[1] Davis graduated from Charles E. Jordan High School[2] and received a B.A. in theatre at Wesleyan University as well as a M.F.A. in fiction at Brooklyn College.[3]

Career

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In 1999, Davis published a series of short stories called Circling the Drain. The collection was reviewed in various newspapers including The New York Times[4] and Los Angeles Times[5] as well as the website Salon.[6] In the Los Angeles Times, critic Mark Rozzo wrote, "At their best, Davis' stories are potent miniatures about the weird demands that uncertainty and inevitability place upon people, mostly young women linked to men or situations seemingly beyond their control."[7]

Davis' short story, "Louisiana Loses Its Cricket Hum", was featured in the 2001 edition of Best New American Voices.[2] Four days prior to her death, Davis interviewed with Dawn Dreyer of Indy Week regarding her life and career.[2] Furthermore, according to Michael Chabon, Davis planned to write a second novel, either a historical novel about "early Jewish immigrants to the South" or a "creepy modern gothic".[8]

Outside of writing, Davis taught undergraduate and graduate fiction at Mills College.[2][3][9]

Personal life

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Davis was Jewish. She had one brother, Adam, and one sister, Joanna.[10]

Death

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On March 14, 2003, while touring for her first novel, Wonder When You′ll Miss Me, Davis was in a Cessna 177 Cardinal being piloted by her father, James Davis. 18 miles from the Asheville Regional Airport, the plane crashed on Old Fort Mountain in McDowell County, North Carolina, killing Davis and her parents.[3][11] After her death, several writers paid respects for her, including Heidi Julavits for Poets & Writers Magazine[12] and others on McSweeney's, the same site where Davis' work previously appeared.[11]

Legacy

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In honor of Davis' life, McSweeney's introduced an award called the "Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award" in 2004, which awarded women writers 32 years old or younger who embodied "Amanda’s personal strengths—warmth, generosity, a passion for community—and who needs some time to finish a book in progress".[13]

References

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  1. ^ Lara, Adair (March 19, 2003). "Writing community mourns the loss of young author / Amanda Davis, 32, had only just begun". SFGate. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Dreyer, Dawn (March 19, 2003). "Missing Amanda Davis". Indy Week. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Amanda Davis, 32, Novelist, Short-Story Writer and Teacher". The New York Times. March 18, 2003. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  4. ^ Williams, Mary Elizabeth (June 20, 1999). "Books in Brief: Fiction". The New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  5. ^ Rozzo, Mark (August 1, 1999). "First Fiction". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  6. ^ Morrice, Polly (June 7, 1999). "Circling the Drain". Salon. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  7. ^ "First Fiction". Los Angeles Times. August 1999.
  8. ^ Chabon, Michael (December 28, 2003). "The Lives They Lived; Books Left Unwritten". The New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  9. ^ "Amanda Davis, 32, Professor, Popular Writer". Los Angeles Times. March 25, 2003. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  10. ^ Rakoff, Joanna Smith (March 30, 2003). "She Made New York Hers". The New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Luther, Claudia (March 24, 2003). "Amanda Davis, 32; 1st-Time Novelist". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  12. ^ Julavits, Heidi (May–June 2003). "Remembering Amanda Davis". Poets and Writers. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  13. ^ "The Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award. - McSweeney's Internet Tendency". McSweeney's. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
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