亚色视频

The Ward M. Canaday Center

for Special Collections

兔子先生传媒文化作品

Finding Aid

Craig Holden Papers

MSS-235

Size: 9 lin. ft.

Provenance: Gift of Craig Holden, 2010. 

Collection Summary: This collection documents Craig Holden鈥檚 development as a writer and his career as a successful author of best-selling fiction.  The first three series present works from his early, mid-career, and recent periods while the rest of the collection contain correspondence, photographs, degrees, awards, and miscellaneous materials.

Subject: Literature

Access: Open

Related Collections: Herbert W. Martin Papers, Robert Flanagan Papers

Processing Note:  Some of Holden鈥檚 early writings exist as fragments.  Attempts have been made to file these fragments with the full-length manuscript of that particular piece of writing.  Some fragments could not be matched to a manuscript, and are filed as miscellaneous, undated fragments.  

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection remain with the donor, or with their heirs or assigns.  Researchers bear full legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code.  The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections may reserve the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Completed by: Desiree Swicegood, Brandi Sharlow, and Barbara Floyd, completed November 2012

Biographical Sketch

            Craig Holden was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1959.  He attended the University of Toledo for his undergraduate studies, graduating in 1983 with a B.A. degree with honors in a combined major in psychology, biology, and philosophy.  Holden planned to attend medical school, and he began down that path by taking a job at St. Vincent鈥檚 Medical Center , working nights drawing blood from patients.  Eventually Holden became restless with pursing a medical career and decided to go back to school.  Since he had been spending his free time writing, he decided to apply for a MFA degree in creative writing even though he did not believe writing could be taught.  He was accepted into the University of Montana鈥檚 program in 1984 and moved to Missoula, Montana.  While in graduate school, Holden received a teaching assistantship and found that he learned much more about writing than he had expected.  The program formed the basis for his influential writing career.  Holden also worked for Cutbank literary magazine as an editor as well.  The editing job furthered his continuing interest in editing and publishing, so he went to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to attend a publishing course at Radcliffe College. 
            Shortly after completing his publishing study work, Holden moved to New York City in search of a publishing/editing career.  Unable to find work at the time, Holden returned home to Ohio where he taught part-time for the Department of English at the University of Toledo.  While there, he became engaged to Lisa Dilworth, a legal assistant.  In 1988, Holden and his wife moved back to New York City to give another try at a career in publishing.  This time he was successful and landed a job with a literary agent and eventually a film rights agent himself.  In 1989, the Holdens found themselves short on funds and Craig, on a whim, decided to write a quick novel for some easy money.  This resulted in four years of work that played upon his time as a medical lab assistant.  He wrote a detective thriller about a doctor in a difficult situation, entitled The River Sorrow.
Holden鈥檚 first novel was an instant hit and allowed him to pursue a long-term writing career of thrillers and detective novels.  Among these are his bestsellers:  The Last Sanctuary (about a Persian Gulf veteran who attempts to aid his substance-abusing brother but becomes entangled in murder and a high profile FBI investigation); and Four Corners of Night, for which Holden won the Great Lakes Book Award.   Four Corners of Night is a detective novel involving two police officers and lifelong friends who develop their relationship through a kidnapping case of an Ohio girl in their hometown that resembles the kidnapping of one of the officers鈥 own daughter.  Holden followed this with The Jazz Bird, a novel based on the true life 1920s George Remus murder trial in Cincinnati, Ohio, in which Holden emphasizes the era of bootlegging, legal manipulation, and the infamous jazz age of American culture, music, and society.  Other books by Holden include The Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter (Simon and Schuster, 2005), and Matala (Simon and Schuster, 2007), which is currently in film development.

            Craig Holden currently lives and writes   in Las Cruces, New Mexico. 

 

Scope and Content Note

            The Craig Holden Papers are arranged in seven series which document his development as a writer and his career as a successful author of best-selling fiction. 
Series I, Early Writings, documents Holden鈥檚 development as a budding author.  The series is arranged chronologically and then alphabetically.  Included are junior high and high school homework and other assignments during the 1974-1979 time period.  The series also documents Holden鈥檚 undergraduate career, and spans from roughly 1979 through 1983.  In this time period the collection includes undergraduate papers on numerous subjects including biology, philosophy, and sociology.  The end of the early career materials series contains graduate work from Holden鈥檚 time at the University of Montana in the masters鈥 program in creative writing.  This material includes numerous short stories (with multiple drafts), plays, and other writing.  Several folders of writing fragments are included.  These are likely to be drafts or portions of drafts of other writings of this time, but the title of the pieces could not be determined.  At the end of the series are folders documenting Holden鈥檚 work as a part-time instructor in the University of Toledo Department of English.
            Series II, Mid-Career Writings, contains works spanning 1989-1998 that document his first successes at publishing his fiction.  This series consists mostly of short stories and the early published works of Holden鈥檚 career, including The River Sorrow, The Last Sanctuary, and Noel, Noel.   Series II also includes numerous notes, research materials, and articles Holden used in the process of writing these early books.  At the end of each story, chronologically arranged, are undated folders documenting book tours and signings and also include articles, book reviews, and book covers for each book.
            Series III, Recent Writings, covers the time period from 1999- 2009 and documents Holden鈥檚 full development as an accomplished and successful author of fiction.  The first published work of the third series is Four Corners of Night.  Even though the collection begins in 1999, the first folders in series include rough drafts and unedited manuscripts of this work dated 1998.  Included also are his notes, research materials, and book tour and signing details.  The other major work in this series is The Jazz Bird.  There are numerous drafts and versions of The Jazz Bird arranged chronologically.  Following these are research files on the 1920s trial of George Remus from both The Cincinnati Enquirer and the St. Louis Dispatch, which formed the basis for the book.  Also included are numerous books Holden used in his research on The Jazz Bird, arranged alphabetically according to book title.
            In addition to the paper files, computer files documenting drafts of many of Holden鈥檚 work are included on two CDs with the collection.  These files have been converted from DOS and MAC documents into text files.  These files include drafts of early works and essays, and also of specific later writings, including:  鈥淐hurch of the City,鈥 The River Sorrow, The Last Sanctuary, Four Corners of Night, The Jazz Bird, The Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter, and Matala.  Most of the drafts of works are dated or numbered as to which draft the file contains.  These electronic files will be useful for understanding how Holden鈥檚 works progressed and developed.  Researchers wishing to use these computer files must do so in person in the Ward M. Canaday Center.
            The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh series of the collection include a wide range of material arranged by series and then, if possible, chronologically and alphabetically.  Series IV, Correspondence, contains Holden鈥檚 professional correspondence dating from 1977-2004, and then his personal correspondence dating from 1974-1998.  Series V, Photographs, includes photographs of Holden ranging in time period from his childhood through adulthood, as well as photographs of his family.  Series VI, Degrees and Awards, includes those he attained in junior high and high school as well as numerous academic awards throughout his college and writing careers.  Finally, Series VII, Miscellaneous, ranges from personal memorabilia and publishing/editing materials to questionnaires and biographies of Craig Holden.         
Copies of most of the printed works of Holden have been added to the rare book collection of the Ward M. Canaday Center.  These include audio and foreign language editions of the works.  These books can be found by searching the on-line library catalog.

Folder List

Box

Folder

Item

   

Series I.  Early Writings

1

1

Early Writings, 鈥淭he Hunt,鈥 1977

1

2

Early Writings, plays untitled, n.d.

1

3

Early Writings, poetry, n.d.

1

4

Early Writings, reports, 1974-1977

1

5

Early Writings, most titles unknown, n.d.

1

6

U.T. school homework and notes, n.d.

1

7

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淭he Fast Life,鈥 n.d.

1

8

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淔ine Little Details,鈥 n.d.

1

9

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淕yros,鈥 n.d.

1

10

U.T. undergraduate writing, miscellaneous, 1977-1983

1

11

U.T. undergraduate writing, notebook, 1980-1981

1

12

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淩ecess,鈥 1981

1

13

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淩ock and Roll Fairytale,鈥 n.d.

1

14

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淪earch for the Ultimate Pub,鈥 notes, 1982-1983

1

15

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淪earch for the Ultimate Pub,鈥 2nd draft, 1982-1983

1

16

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淪earch for the Ultimate Pub,鈥 3rd draft, 1982-1983

1

17

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淪earch of the Ultimate Pub,鈥 additional materials, 1982-1983

1

18

U.T. undergraduate writing, 鈥淰isitor,鈥 or 鈥淭he Thinker鈥檚 Notebook,鈥 n.d.

1

19

University of Montana, forms and miscellaneous papers, 1985-1988

1

20

University of Montana, miscellaneous materials, 1985-1988

1

21

University of Montana, student evaluations, 1986

1

22

University of Montana, student evaluations, 1986

1

23

University of Montana, teaching assistantship, 1985

1

24

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淎fter the Late, Late Show,鈥 n.d.

1

25

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淏ridges,鈥 a.k.a. 鈥淭he Bridge Group,鈥 1984-1985

1

26

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淭he Bridge Group,鈥 critiques by other students, 1984

1

27

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淎 Church in the City,鈥 notes and incomplete drafts, n.d.

     

2

1

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淭he Church in the City,鈥 first and third person drafts, n.d.

2

2

University of Montana, writings, class assignments, 1985

2

3

University of Montana, writings, class assignments, 1986

2

4

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淔ive Very Short Stories,鈥 1985

2

5

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淔lashback,鈥 1986

2

6

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淔lashback,鈥 1rst, 2nd, 3rd drafts, 1986

2

7

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淔lashback,鈥 4th draft, 1986

2

8

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淔lashback,鈥 notes, 1986

2

9

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淎 Great Place,鈥 a.k.a., 鈥淥ne Time in Venice,鈥 1983-1984

2

10

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淗ow Long It Takes,鈥 n.d.

2

11

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淗istory and Leaving/Flora and Fauna,鈥 n.d.

2

12

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淭he Idea of Jack,鈥 n.d.

2

13

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淚ndispensable,鈥 first and third person drafts, 1985

2

14

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淚ndispensable,鈥 critiques by other students, 1985

2

15

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淚ndispensable,鈥 critiques by other students, 1985

2

16

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淭he Indispensable Blues,鈥 1985

2

17

University of Montana, writings, 鈥極rder, Order,鈥 n.d.

2

18

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淥ut of Darkness,鈥 1984

2

19

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淭he Real Wild West Show,鈥 first and second person drafts, n.d.

2

20

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淭he Quiet,鈥 n.d.

2

21

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淪ally Star:  A Life,鈥 n.d.

2

22

University of Montana, 鈥淪cary Monsters,鈥 1985

2

23

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淪cary Monsters,鈥 notes, first person and third person drafts, 1985

     

3

1

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淪cary Monsters,鈥 critiques by other students, 1985

3

2

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淪ombreros,鈥 n.d.

3

3

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淪ome Mornings,鈥 1984

3

4

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淪ome Mornings,鈥 critiques by other students, 1984

3

5

University of Montana, writings, untitled, n.d.

3

6

University of Montana, writings, 鈥淲ait,鈥 n.d.

3

7

University of Montana, writings, miscellaneous writing fragments, 1984-1988

3

8

University of Montana, writings, miscellaneous writing fragments, 1984-1988

3

9

University of Montana, writings, miscellaneous writing fragments, 1984-1988

3

10

University of Montana, writings, miscellaneous writing fragments, 1984-1988

3

11

University of Montana, writings, miscellaneous writing fragments, 1984-1988

3

12

University of Montana, writings, miscellaneous writing fragments, 1984-1988

3

13

鈥淐utbank 25,鈥 Fall/Winter, 1986

3

14

Radcliff publishing course assignments, 1987

3

15

Untitled short stories, 1987

3

16

鈥淒istances,鈥 1988

3

17

U.T. application, 1988

3

18

U.T., Composition II materials, 1988

3

19

U.T., Composition II materials, 1988

3

20

U.T., Teaching materials, 1988

3

21

U.T., Teaching materials for Writing Skills course, 1988

     
   

Series II.  Mid-Career Writings

3

22

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 draft of part one, n.d.

3

 

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 notes, ca. 1992

3

25

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 manuscript, chapters 1-12, 1993

3

26

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 manuscript, chapters 13-22, 1993

4

1

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 manuscript, chapters 23-33, 1993

4

2

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 manuscripts, chapters 34-38, 1993

4

3

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 uncorrected galley proof, 1994

4

4

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 book reviews, signing events, book tours, 1993-1996

4

5

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 book reviews, signing events, book tours, 1993-1996

4

6

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 miscellaneous, 1994-1996

10

9

鈥淭he River Sorrow,鈥 advance copy

4

7

鈥淎 Kin to No One,鈥 notes and research, 1994-1995

4

8

鈥淭he Cold Open Way鈥 (鈥淭he Last Sanctuary鈥), chapters 1-8

4

9

鈥淭he Cold Open Way,鈥 chapters 9-18

4

10

鈥淭he Cold Open Way,鈥 chapter 19-28

4

11

鈥淭he Cold Open Way鈥 chapters 29-42

10

6

鈥淭he Cold Open Way,鈥 Draft, Final Text Part 1

10

7

鈥淭he Cold Open Way,鈥 Draft, Final Text Part 2

10

8

鈥淭he Cold Open Way,鈥 Draft, Final Text Part 3

4

12

鈥淭he Last Sanctuary,鈥 original manuscript, chapters 1-5, 1996

4

13

鈥淭he Last Sanctuary,鈥 original manuscript, chapters 6-10

4

14

鈥淭he Last Sanctuary,鈥 original manuscript, chapters 11-19

4

15

鈥淭he Last Sanctuary,鈥 original manuscripts, chapters 20-28

4

16

鈥淭he Last Sanctuary,鈥 original manuscript, chapters 29-42

4

17

鈥淭he Last Sanctuary,鈥 miscellaneous edits to galley proof, 1995

4

18

鈥淭he Last Sanctuary,鈥 book reviews, 1996

5

1

鈥淣oel Noel,鈥 first draft, 1998

5

2

鈥淣oel Noel,鈥 partial draft, n.d.

     
   

Series III.  Recent Writings

5

3

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 draft part 1 (missing pgs. 1- 12), 1999

5

4

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 draft part 2, 1999

5

5

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 draft part 3, 1999

5

6

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 draft part 4, 1999

5

7

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 draft part 5, 1999

5

8

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 draft part 6, 1999

5

9

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 draft part 7, 1999

5

10

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 final draft part 1, 1999

5

11

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 final draft part 2, 1999

5

12

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 final draft part 3, 1999

5

13

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 final draft part 4, 1999

5

14

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 final draft part 5, 1999

5

15

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 final draft part 6, 1999

5

16

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 notes, 1995

5

17

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 notes and research materials, n.d.

5

18

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 notes and research materials, n.d.

5

19

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 uncorrected galley proofs, 1999

5

20

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 uncorrected galley proofs, 1999

5

21

鈥淔our Corners of Night,鈥 reviews, articles, covers, 1999

5

22

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 copy edited manuscript, part 1, 2000

5

23

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 copy edited manuscript, part 2, 2000

5

24

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 copy edited manuscript, part 3, 2000

     

6

1

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 copy edited manuscript part 4, 2001

6

2

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 draft, part 1

6

3

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 draft, part 2

6

4

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 draft, part 3

6

5

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 draft, part 4

6

6

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 draft, part 5

6

7

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 rough draft, part 1

6

8

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 rough draft, part 2

6

9

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 rough draft, part 3

6

10

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 final draft, part 1, 2001

6

11

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 final draft, part 2

6

12

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 final draft, part 3

6

13

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 final draft, part 4

6

14

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 final draft, part 5

6

15

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 final draft, part 6

6

16

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 editing, n.d.

6

18

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 book reviews

6

19

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 notes and research

6

20

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 research on Remus trial (St. Louis newspaper)

6

21

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 research on Remus career (St. Louis newspaper)

     

7

1

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 research on George Remus murder trial (Cincinnati Enquirer)

7

2

鈥淭he Jazz Bird,鈥 research on George Remus murder trial,  part 2

7

3

Research Book- The American Gladiators: Taft versus Remus

7

4

Research Book- The Cincinnati Crime Book

7

5

Research Book- Cincinnati: Days in History

7

6

Research Book- The City of Rivers and Hills

7

7

Research Book- Franklin Simon Fashion Catalog for 1923

7

8

Research Book- Going to Cincinnati

7

9

Research Book- Jazz Masters of the 20s

7

10

Research Book- The Jazz Revolution

7

11

Research Book- The Long Thirst- Prohibition in America: 1920- 1933

7

12

Research Book- The Ohio Gang

7

13

Research Book- Prohibition- Thirteen Years that Changed America

7

14

Research Book- Then and Now- Cincinnati Northern Kentucky

7

15

Research Book- Toledo Piston Service

     

8

1

Research Book- Rumrunning and the Roaring Twenties

8

2

Research Book- The Twenties: An Intimate Portrait of the Jazz Age

8

3

Research Book- The Year the World Went Mad

8

4

Research Book- The P & G Ivory Cut- Whiskey Massacre

8

5

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 part 1, 2004

8

6

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 part 2, 2004

8

7

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 part 3, 2004

8

8

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥 Daughter,鈥 part 4, 2004

8

9

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 draft, book 1, 2004

8

10

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 draft, book 2, 2004

8

11

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 draft, book 3, 2004

8

12

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 draft, book 4, 2004

8

13

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥 Daughter,鈥 draft, book 5, 2004

8

14

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 proofs, part 1, 2004

8

15

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 proofs, part 2, 2004

8

16

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 proofs, part 3, 2004

8

17

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 proofs, part 4, 2004

10

3

鈥淭he Narcissist鈥檚 Daughter,鈥 Advanced Copy

8

18

鈥淢atala,鈥 proofs, 2007

10

4

鈥淢atala,鈥 Draft, Final Text Part 1

10

5

鈥淢atala,鈥 Draft, Final Text Part 2

10

2

鈥淢atala,鈥 advance copy

8

19

Recent writings, miscellaneous notes and writing fragments, n.d.

8

20

CD containing computer files of Holden鈥檚 writings and drafts of writings

     
   

Series IV.  Correspondence

8

21

Professional correspondence, partially dated or undated

8

22

Professional correspondence, 1977, 1980, 1984- 1987

8

23

Professional correspondence, 1989-1990

8

24

Professional correspondence, Denise Iorio, 1991

8

25

Professional correspondence, 1992- 1999, 2003-2004

9

1

Personal correspondence, partially or undated

9

2

Personal correspondence, 1974- 1980

9

3

Personal correspondence, 1987-1989

9

4

Personal correspondence, 1991-1998

10

1

Personal correspondence, Tom Barden,  n.d.

     
   

Series V. Photographs

9

5

Photographs, Craig Holden鈥檚 childhood, 1971- 1985

9

6

Photographs, 1986- 1987

9

7

Photographs, Craig Holden (adult)

9

8

Photographs, Lisa Holden (wife)

9

9

Photographs, Holden鈥檚 children

9

10

Photographs, family/wedding

9

11

Photographs, Australian book tour

9

12

Photographs, Book bio photo and test shots

     
   

Series VI.  Awards and Achievements

9

13

Achievements and awards, junior high and high school

9

14

Degrees

9

15

Cutbank Publisher, 1986-1987

9

16

Delacorte Press, contract, 1993

     
   

Series VII.  Miscellaneous

9

17

Miscellaneous, genealogy research

9

18

Miscellaneous, notes, stories, exercises

9

19

Personal memorabilia, invitations, school activities, class photo etc鈥

9

20

Personal, miscellaneous

9

21

Personal scrapbook 1, McTigue and Rogers, 1973-1975

9

22

Personal scrapbook 2, Rogers and U.T., 1975-1978

9

23

Publishing, procedures and guidelines

9

24

Questionnaires and biographies

9

25

Rejection letters (graduate school), Yale Review, and others