Guide to the Daniel Kraus Papers, 1987-2016, SC.2020.01
Arrangement
Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Daniel Kraus Papers
Creator
Kraus, Daniel
Collection Number
SC.2020.01
Extent
3.78 Linear Feet(9 document cases)
Date
1987-2016
Abstract
Daniel Kraus (1975-) is an American author and filmmaker, best known for his young adult horror and science fiction novels and for his collaborations with filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and George A. Romero. Kraus has directed feature films and documentaries, and has published novels and comic books. The Daniel Kraus Papers document his career as a novelist as well as early childhood fiction, with manuscripts of published novels and notebooks of unpublished juvenilia.
Language
English
.
Author
Adam Hart and Ben Rubin.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman) Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Access Restrictions
None
Acqusition Information
Gift of Daniel Kraus on March 18, 2020.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into the following series:
Series I. Juvenilia
Series II. Published Works
Biography
Chicago-based author and filmmaker Daniel Kraus was born on June 7, 1975 in Midland, Michigan. Growing up in Fairfield, Iowa, he attended the University of Iowa before moving to Chicago in 2002 for graduate work at the University of Illinois. As a novelist, Kraus began his career pushing at the boundaries of "Young Adult" literature with grim and darkly humorous stories about teen protagonists in a series of tonally disparate novels, including The Monster Variations (2009), Rotters (2011), Scowler (2013), and the books of the "Zebulon Finch" duology. More recently, he has expanded his palette with projects like The Shape of Water (2018), Blood Sugar (2019), They Threw Us Away (The Teddies Saga, 1) (2020), the ongoing comic book The Autumnal (2020-), and The Living Dead (2020), Kraus' "collaboration" with the late Night of the Living Dead-director George A. Romero, completing his final work, a epic novel revisiting and furthering his zombie narratives.
Kraus' first film, the documentary Jefftowne, was a portrait of Iowa City resident Jeff Towne, a man with Down Syndrome. It was distributed by Troma Entertainment in 1998. Kraus followed that project with the dramatic feature Ball of Wax (2003) and the "Work Series" cycle of documentaries. Inspired by the Studs Terkel and Frederick Wiseman, these films explored the meaning and structure of American jobs. The first of these documentaries, Sheriff (2004), was about Brunswick County, NC sheriff Ronald E. Hewett. It was broadcast as the season premiere of PBS' Independent Lens series in 2006. Musician (2007) profiled legendary avant-garde jazz musician Ken Vandermark. For Professor (2010), Kraus returned to Iowa City to explore the life and work of Rabbi Jay Holstein, one of the University of Iowa's popular instructors. Preacher (2011) the final film in the series, focuses on the Bishop William Nowell and his New Covenant Pentecostal Church in Virginia. During this time, Kraus also worked as a writer and journalist for outlets including Salon, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, and Maxim.
His first novel, The Monster Variations, was published by Delacorte Press in 2009. A dark coming-of-age story, the book follows three small-town boys as they and their community are terrorized by an anonymous motorist. In 2010, it was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of its "100 Best Stuff for the Teen Age."
The Monster Variations was followed by another disturbing coming-of-age novel with a pitch-black sense of humor, the award-winning Rotters. Rotters follows an awkward teenager's relocation to rural Iowa after his mother's sudden death, where his father slowly inducts him into the arcane world of grave robbing. Dubbed a "new horror classic" by Fangoria, the book was a finalist for a the Horror Writer's Association's Bram Stoker Award for "Best Young Adult Novel" and earned enthusiastic plaudits from such revered figures in the horror community as R.L. Stine, who called it "an unforgettable book" and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and his novelist collaborator Chuck Hogan, who declared Rotters to be "uncompromising, dark, and true."
In 2013, Kraus collaborated with Del Toro on the fantasy book Trollhunters, which was adapted into an animated series for Netflix (2016-2018). That same year, he published the intense psychological horror novel Scowler. The book follows an abused teenager's battles with his homicidal father, a character who was declared by science fiction novelist Cory Doctorow to be "one of the great monsters of literature, a figure of immense, credible terror and savagery."
Kraus published The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch: At the Edge of Empire in 2015. His most widely acclaimed work thus far, the book was given an "A" grade by Entertainment Weekly and named as one of its Top 10 Books of the Year. It was followed in 2016 by a second, concluding volume of the saga, The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch: Empire Decayed. An unconventional epic, the sweeping story begins with the murder of its 17-year-old protagonist before mysteriously resurrecting him and following his travels through more than a century of global change and turmoil.
2018 saw the publication of Kraus' second collaboration with Del Toro, The Shape of Water. Birthed from an idea by Kraus and Del Toro, the film and novel were developed simultaneously as independent releases. The film, on which Kraus is credited as an Associate Producer, would be a substantial box office and critical hit, winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, landing on the top ten lists of dozens of film critics, and earning 13 nominations at the 90th Academy Awards. It won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. A New York Times best-seller, the book, co-authored by Kraus and Del Toro, adheres to the major plot points of the film, which explores the romance between a mute woman and an amphibious humanoid creature, while expanding its psychological and historical scope.
In 2019, Kraus published the thriller Blood Sugar as part of Titan Books' Hard Case Crime series, followed in 2020 by the science fiction novel Bent Heavens, They Threw Us Away (the first installment of the ongoing "Teddies" saga), and the comic book series The Autumnal.
Also in 2020, Kraus' completion of George A. Romero's unfinished zombie novel, The Living Dead, was published by Tor. When Romero's death occurred in 2017, he was midway through writing a work that synthesized and expanded the world of his six "Dead" films that began with Night of the Living Dead in 1968. A lifelong fan of Romero's films whose childhood was indelibly marked by an early viewing of Night on television, Kraus's contributions built on Romero's draft-in-progress as well as a thorough study of Romero's life and work.
Kraus maintains a prolific level of publication, with numerous projects in various stages of composition and publication. He is the founder of the annual October tradition of "31 Days, 31 Horror Films," in which horror fans watch a horror movie a day leading up to Halloween, offering pithy reviews online.
In May 2020, just before the publication of The Living Dead, the University of Pittsburgh announced the acquisition of Daniel Kraus' archives for the Horror Studies Collection. Kraus is the first author to be part of the Horror Studies Collection.
Copyright
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.
Preferred Citation
Daniel Kraus Papers, 1987-2016, SC.2020.01, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Adam Hart and Ben Rubin in August, 2020.
Related Material
George A. Romero Archival Collection, 1962-2017, SC.2019.03, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Scope and Content Notes
The Daniel Kraus Papers document his career as a novelist as well as early childhood fiction, with manuscripts of published novels and notebooks of unpublished juvenilia.
Accruals
More content is expected to be donated as projects are completed.
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