Craig Lesley

Born in 1945 in The Dalles, Oregon, Lesley was educated at Whitman College, the University of Kansas, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[3] Prior to his life in academia, Lesley was a river guide, a longshoreman, and a farmworker, nearly losing his life at the age of 15 when his pelvis was crushed in an accident with a mint harvester.[4] Lesley's working-class background informs his writing, and is an integral part of his re-interpretation of the myths of the American West. Lesley is currently Senior Writer in Residence at Portland State University, and a faculty member in the Pacific University low-residency MFA program.[5]

He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Kathryn Stavrakis. He has three adult children; two daughters and a son.[4]

• Burning Fence: A Western Memoir of Fatherhood, New York: Picador, 2005. ISBN 978-0-312-42625-5
• Storm Riders, New York: Picador, 2000. ISBN 0-312-24554-8
• The Sky Fisherman, New York: Picador, 1995. ISBN 0-312-14738-4
• River Song, New York: Picador, 1989. ISBN 0-312-24491-6
• Winterkill, New York: Picador, 1984. ISBN 0-312-15244-2

Lesley has edited two collections of short stories:

• Talking Leaves: Contemporary Native American Short Stories, New York: Random House, 1991. ISBN 0-385-31272-5
• Dreamers and Desperados: Contemporary Fiction of the American West. ISBN 0-440-50517-8

• Official website