Mark Leslie (author)

{{short description|Canadian writer}} '''Mark Leslie''' (born 1969) is a Canadian author of horror and speculative fiction.<ref>[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Mark_Leslie Mark Leslie listing at Internet Speculative Fiction database]</ref> He is the author of the short story collection ''One Hand Screaming'' (2004),<ref>[http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/One_Hand_Screaming/0973568801/ One Hand Screaming entry at Bookfinder.com]</ref> a collection of short stories and poetry, mostly in the horror genre, the horror novel ''I, Death'', (2014)<ref>[http://www.atomicfez.com/ideath I Death Catalog Listing at Atomic Fez]</ref> the thriller ''Evasion'' (2014)<ref>[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22560233-evasion Evasion listing at Goodreads]</ref> and the editor of the science fiction anthology ''North of Infinity II'' (2006)<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071121155456/http://www.canadiansf.com/wiki/2006_Publications Canadian SF Works, 2006 publications]}}</ref> and horror anthology ''Campus Chills'' (2009).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5pPNUGJQqF4C Google Books Bibliographic Information]</ref> Leslie is also the author of ''Haunted Hamilton: The Ghosts of Dundurn Castle & Other Steeltown Shivers'' (2012), ''Spooky Sudbury: True Tales of the Eerie & Unexplained'' (2013)(co-authored with Jenny Jelen)<ref>[http://www.dundurn.com/authors/mark_leslie Mark Leslie's Author Page at Dundurn] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511033235/http://dundurn.com/authors/mark_leslie |date=2013-05-11 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.dundurn.com/books/spooky_sudbury Dundurn Page for Spooky Sudbury]</ref><ref>[http://www.thesudburystar.com/2013/03/23/levack-born-authors-book-digs-into-area-hauntings "Levack-born author digs into area hauntings"]. ''Sudbury Star'', March 23, 2013.</ref> and ''Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores and Libraries'' (2014)<ref>[http://www.dundurn.com/books/tomes_terror Tomes of Terror listing in Dundurn's Catalog]</ref>

Leslie, whose full name is Mark Leslie Lefebvre, jokes that he decided to write under the name ''Mark Leslie'' because it would be easier for people to spell and pronounce. Because he has been known in the book industry as Mark Lefebvre (former President of the Canadian Booksellers Association<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/afterword/culture-club-the-end-of-bookstores|title=Culture Club: The end of bookstores? {{!}} National Post|last=Afterword|date=2011-06-02|language=en-CA|access-date=2020-01-11}}</ref> and Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations for Rakuten Kobo, Inc<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://teleread.com/kobo-tells-sell-e-books/|title=Kobo tells writers how to sell more e-books: Who says Amazon is the champ everywhere?|last=Rothman|first=David|date=2016-03-28|website=TeleRead News: E-books, publishing, tech and beyond|language=en|access-date=2020-01-11}}</ref>) he released both his podcast and a series of books about writing, bookselling, and publishing, under his full name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2018/12/23/long-term-publishing-success-with-mark-leslie-lefebvre/|title=Tips For Long-Term Publishing Success With Mark Leslie Lefebvre|date=2018-12-23|website=The Creative Penn|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.talenawinters.com/wintersdayin/2019/11/26/mark-leslie-lefebvre-finds-his-voice|title=Mark Leslie Lefebvre Finds His Voice|website=Talena Winters|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-11}}</ref>

In 2020, Leslie, Sean Costello and Scott Overton published ''Strange Sudbury Stories'', an anthology of horror stories set in Sudbury.<ref>[https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/authors-team-up-for-six-spooky-sudbury-themed-stories "Authors team up for six spooky, Sudbury-themed stories"]. ''Sudbury Star'', October 25, 2020.</ref>

In 2021, Leslie won the 2021 Kobo Writing Life Indie Cover Contest for ''Fear and Longing in Los Angeles,'' which was designed by Juan Padron. In a 2021 interview, Leslie shared that the novel includes a special cameo appearance by Alicia Witt, whose music, empathy, and kindness to the novel's main character, Michael Andrews, helps him reach a pivotal moment in his life. Because Witt is an indie musician and owns access to most of her recorded work, she allowed Leslie use of the song lyrics in the book, as well as audio clips from her songs ''Already Gone,'' and ''Friend'' in the audiobook version of the novel.<ref>{{cite web |title=TalkCast 478 – There Wolf! (with apologies to Marty Feldman) |url=http://scifisaturdaynight.com/?p=9936 |website=Sci Fi Saturday Night | date=14 April 2021 |publisher=Talk Cast |access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref>

Born and raised in Onaping Falls,<ref>[http://www.thesudburystar.com/2012/10/04/sudbury-authors-have-big-imaginations "Sudbury authors have big imaginations"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530150414/http://www.thesudburystar.com/2012/10/04/sudbury-authors-have-big-imaginations |date=2013-05-30 }}. ''Sudbury Star'', October 4, 2012.</ref> Leslie lived in Hamilton, Ontario<ref>[http://www.hamiltonwriters.8m.com/hw.htm#L Hamilton Writer's Index]</ref> for twenty years, then moved to Waterloo, Ontario in January 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://danapharant.com/ep77/|title=Episode #77: Mark Leslie: Transition Time Can Be Fun|last=Pharant|first=Dana|date=2017-12-19|website=Dana Pharant|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-11}}</ref>

==Books==

===Fiction=== * ''One Hand Screaming'' (2004, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-9735688-0-6}}) * ''North of Infinity II (Editor)'' (2006, Mosaic Press, {{ISBN|978-0-88962-864-9}}) * ''Campus Chills (Editor)'' (2009, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-9735688-1-3}}) * ''Tesseracts Sixteen: Parnassus Unbound (Editor)'' (2012, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-894063-92-0}}) * ''I, Death'' (2014, Atomic Fez, {{ISBN|978-1-927609-03-3}}), (2016, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-77053122-2}}) * ''Evasion'' (2015, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-9735688-5-1}}) * ''Fiction River: Editor's Choice (Editor)'' (2017, WMG Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-56146-786-0}}) * ''Fiction River: Feel the Fear (Editor)'' (2017, WMG Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-56146-788-4}}) *''Active Reader: And Other Cautionary Tales from the Book World'' (2018, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-386-54402-9}}) *''Bumps in the Night: Creepy Campfire Tales'' (2018, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-540-10235-5}}) *''Fiction River: Feel the Love (Editor)'' (2019, WMG Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-56146-074-8}}) *''Fiction River: Superstitious (Editor)'' (2019, WMG Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1561461295}}) *''Snowman Shivers: Two Short Humor Tales About Snowmen'' (2019, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989-35104-8}})

'''Fiction Series: ''Canadian Werewolf'''''<ref>{{cite web |title=Canadian Werewolf Series |url=https://www.goodreads.com/series/196778-canadian-werewolf |website=Goodreads |access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Canadian Werewolf Series Page |url=https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YNXC62D |website=Amazon |access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref> * Book 0.5 - ''This Time Around: A Canadian Werewolf Short Story'' (2020, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-18-5}}, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-21-5}}) * Book 1 - ''A Canadian Werewolf in New York'' (2017 & 2020, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-0-9735688-7-5}}, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-16-1}}) * Book 2 - ''Stowe Away'' (2020, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-12-3}}, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-13-0}}) * Book 3 - ''Fear and Longing in Los Angeles'' (2021, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-23-9}}, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-22-2}}) * Book 4 - ''Fright Nights, Big City'' (2021, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-50-5}}, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-51-2}}) * Book 5 - ''Lover's Moon'' [co-authored with Julie Strauss] (2022, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-69-7}}, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-70-3}}) * Book 6 - ''Hex and the City'' (2023, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-77-2}}, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-78-9}})

===Non-Fiction=== * ''Haunted Hamilton: The Ghosts of Dundurn Castle & Other Steeltown Shivers'' (2012, Dundurn, {{ISBN|978-14597-0401-5}}) * ''Spooky Sudbury: True Tales of the Eerie & Unexplained (co-author Jenny Jelen)'' (2013, Dundurn, {{ISBN|978-1-4597-1923-1}}) * ''Tomes of Terror: Haunted Bookstores & Libraries'' (2014, Dundurn, {{ISBN|978-1-4597-2860-8}}) * ''Creepy Capital: Ghost Stories of Ottawa and the National Capital Region'' (2016, Dundurn, {{ISBN|978-1-4597-3345-9}}) * ''Haunted Hospitals: Eerie Tales About Hospitals, Sanatoriums, and Other Institutions (co-author Rhonda Parrish)'' (2017, Dundurn, {{ISBN|978-1-4597-3786-0}}) * ''Macabre Montreal: Ghostly Tales, Ghastly Events, and Gruesome True Stories (co-author Shayna Krishnasamy)'' (2018, Dundurn, {{ISBN|978-1-4597-4258-1}})

=== Non-Fiction under Mark Leslie Lefebvre ===

*''The 7 P's of Publishing Success'' (2018, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-775-14781-7}}) *''Killing It on Kobo'' (2018, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-775-14784-8}}) *''An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores'' (2019, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-06-2}}) *''Wide for the Win'' (2021, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-26-0}}) *''The Relaxed Author'' [co-authored with Joanna Penn] (2021, Curl Up Press, {{ISBN|978-1-913321-71-0}}, {{ISBN|978-1-913321-72-7}}) *''Publishing Pitfalls for Authors'' (2021, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-54-3}}) *''Accounting for Authors'' [co-authored with D.F. Hart, MBA] (2022, Stark Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1-989351-67-3}})

===Awards=== * ''Fear and Longing in Los Angeles'' won the ''2021 KWL (Kobo Writing Life) Best Indie Book Cover 2021'' Award. The cover was created by designer Juan Padron.<ref>{{cite web |title=2021 KWL Indie Cover Contest: And the Winner is… |url=https://kobowritinglife.com/2022/01/10/2021-kwl-indie-cover-contest-and-the-winner-is/ |website=Kobo Writing Life Blog |date=10 January 2022 |publisher=Kobo |access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2021 KWL Indie Cover Contest: And the Winner is… |url=https://kobowritinglife.com/2022/01/10/2021-kwl-indie-cover-contest-and-the-winner-is/ |website=Kobo Writing Life |date=10 January 2022 |publisher=Kobo |access-date=7 June 2022}}</ref> * Short story "Erratic Cycles" (Parsec Magazine Winter 1998-1999) was nominated in category of ''Best short-form work in English 2000''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfadb.com/db/Mark_Leslie|website=Science Fiction Awards Database|accessdate=7 August 2017|title=Sfadb : Mark Leslie Awards}}</ref> * ''Haunted Hamilton'' was short-listed in Non-Fiction for the ''Hamilton Arts Council Literary Awards 2013''<ref>{{cite web|title=Hamilton Arts Council Blog|url=https://hamiltonartscouncil.ca/blog/20th-hamilton-literary-awards-non-fiction-shortlist|website=Hamilton Arts Council}}</ref>

==Notes== <references/>

==External links== *{{official website|http://www.markleslie.ca}} *{{ISFDB name|id=Mark_Leslie|name=Mark Leslie}} *{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070613131805/http://www.canadiansf.com/ Canadian SF Works Database]}} * [http://www.dundurn.com/authors/mark_leslie Dundurn Publishing Author page for Mark Leslie]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Mark}} Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian horror writers Category:Writers from Greater Sudbury Category:Writers from Hamilton, Ontario Category:Canadian male novelists Category:21st-century Canadian novelists Category:Canadian non-fiction writers Category:21st-century Canadian male writers Category:Canadian male non-fiction writers Category:Novelists from Ontario