Mark Dawidziak

Mark Dawidziak

Mark Dawidziak (Mark Daniel Dawidziak) was born on September 7th, 1956 and is currently 69 years old. Mark Dawidziak was born in Huntington, NY, USA. Dawidziak attended George Washington University where he received a journalism degree.

Mark Dawidziak is best known as a critic, journalist, and author from the United States who has worked extensively in horror literature, television criticism, and studies on Mark Twain.

In 1979, he began working as a journalist and worked for the likes of the Associated Press and Knight-Ridder Newspapers. When he moved to the Kingsport Times-News and the Bristol Herald-Courier, he primarily worked as an entertainment and arts editor.

In 1983, he moved to the Akron Beacon Journal, where he was the TV critic. He would then move to Cleveland, Ohio, where he got a job as a TV critic with The Plain Dealer.

As an editor and author, he has worked on more than two dozen novels in addition to several comic book scripts and short stories. He is also one of the foremost experts on Mark Twain and has penned at least five books on the author.

He has also worked in theater when he portrayed Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. In 2002, he teamed up with his wife, Sara Showman, who is also an actress, to co-found the Largely Literary Theater Company.

Working in academia, Mark Dawidziak has taught several courses at Kent State University.

He makes his home in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, where he lives with his family.

Mark Dawidziak’s debut work was The Barter Theatre Love Story. The work tells the story of the theatre, which was founded in 1933 by Robert Porterfield.

It was a place that provided entertainment and a much-needed escape for the residents of the small town of Abingdon. Over the years, it would be made into the State Theatre of Virginia and was the place where the likes of Hume Cronyn, Gregory Peck, and Ned Beatty, among many others, launched their careers.

In 2023, Mark Dawidziak published the work A Mystery of Mysteries, in which he looks into the life and times of Edgar Allan Poe.

He alternates between the major moments of his life as an author and his death in 1849. He portrays the man as a versatile, athletic, and witty writer as opposed to the drunken and dark recluse most people know him to be.

The author also looks into what might have killed Poe as he explores everything from tuberculosis to rabies and alcoholism.

Mark Dawidziak: Awards & Accolades

Mark Dawidziak books have been nominated for multiple awards, A Mystery of Mysteries was nominated for the Agatha Award, Best Non-fiction, in 2023 as well as the Edgar Award - Best Critical Biographical in 2024, Anthony Award - Best Non-Fiction Book in 2024, Macavity Award - Best Mystery Critical/Biographical in 2024.

Related Authors

Fans of Mark Dawidziak also enjoy these authors:

1. James Patterson, author of the Alex Cross Series.
2. Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
3. Stephen King, author of The Dark Tower Series.
4. Colleen Hoover, author of: Verity.
5. Emily Henry, author of: Book Lovers.

Mark Dawidziak: F.A.Q