Craig Faris

Email: craigfaris@comporium.net

Craig Faris is a twenty-one-time award-winning author of short fiction and plays, including four Best of Issue awards in the 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003 editions of the South Carolina Writers Workshop anthology. Six of his short stories have won the South Carolina Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Fiction, and his novel, The Spectrum Conspiracy won Best First Chapter in 2010. It was a finalist in the William Faulkner 2010 for novel in progress and the complete manuscript was a semi-finalist in the William Faulkner/ Pirate Alley 2011 writing competition.
Craig's short story, House of Ruth won 4th place in genre short story category in the 80th annual Writers Digest writing competition in 2011 and was awarded an Honorable Mention (28th place out of 19,000 total entries) in the 76th Annual Writers Digest Writing Competition in 2007.
He served on the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Writers Workshop from 2000 until 2006 and served as co-chair for the 16th annual SCWW Writers Conference. Craig also served as Vice-President of the southeast chapter of the Mystery Writers of America from 1999 until 2005. He works professionally as an advertising and marketing consultant, a graphic designer and has won national and regional design awards, the printing industry's PICA award, and the Scholastic Arts Gold Key Award.
Craig's writing career began in 1998 when he completed his first novel trilogy, at 226,000-words, which taught him how to type and finish a major work. His second novel, a thriller, entitled, The Spectrum Conspiracy, is complete at 120,500 words and available for representation.

Craig lives in Rock Hill, SC with his wife, Deena, and their two children, Katie, 19, and Charlie, 16.

Published credits:

Echoes from the Ether, Best of Issue, 1999 Horizons, Anthology Collection, (juried regional competition)
Dawn�s Last Gleaming, Best of Issue, 2000 Horizons, Anthology Collection
Last Run to Broad River, Honorable Mention, 2001 Horizons, Anthology Collection
Chaney�s Gold, Best of Issue, 2002 Horizons, Anthology Collection
Through a Perilous Plight, Honorable Mention, 2002 Horizons, Anthology Collection
Broken Anvil, Best of Issue/Plays, 2003 Catfish Stew, Anthology Collection (juried regional competition)
Cinders in the Attic, Honorable Mention, 2003 Catfish Stew, Anthology Collection
Guatemala, Third Place, 2004 Catfish Stew, Anthology Collection
A Catfish Stew, Third Place/Plays, 2004 Catfish Stew, Anthology Collection
Drowning the Agent, Article, April 2002, The Quill, Published by the South Carolina Writers Workshop
Reprinted June 2002, The Scarlett Letter, Mystery Writers of America
Reprinted Oct. 2003, The Midwest Chapter, Mystery Writers of America
The First Book, Article, June 2003, The Quill, Published by the South Carolina Writers Workshop
The Wrong Way to Get Published, Article, April 2003, The Scarlett Letter, Mystery Writers of America
Silent Assault, 2005 Catfish Stew, Anthology Collection
Big Daze, 2005 Catfish Stew, Anthology Collection

Additional Literary Awards:

Silent Assault, 1999 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Fiction (State-wide juried competition)
Souls of the Abyss, 2000 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Fiction
A Pretty Good Year, 2000 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Nonfiction/Essay
Chaney�s Gold, 2001 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Fiction
House of Ruth, 2005 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best Short Fiction
2011 4th place, genre short story, 80th Annual Writers Digest
Honorable Mention, (28th place out of 19,000 entries) 76th Writers Digest
Writing Competition 2007
The Spectrum Conspiracy, 2010 Carrie McCray Literary Award for Best First Chapter in a Novel;
The Spectrum Conspiracy, 2010 Finalist William Faulkner William, William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition for Novel in Progress category
The Spectrum Conspiracy, 2011 Semi-Finalist William Faulkner William, William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition for Completed Novel category

Interests: Writing, Teaching Graphic Design, Advertising & Marketing, Woodworking, Attending my children\'s choral concerts. My daughter was ranked 1st in state in the All State Competition) and won the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) regional com

Published writer: Yes

Freelance: No