Steven Laffoley

Steven Laffoley (born 5 October 1965) is a Canadian author and educator.

Writing

Laffoley's Hunting Halifax was shortlisted for the 2008 Atlantic Independent Booksellers' Choice Award and the 2008 Evelyn Richardson Memorial Non-Fiction Award. Both The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea and Shadowboxing topped the Nova Scotia Bestsellers List, with the former being shortlisted for the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Nonfiction and the latter winning the 2013 Evelyn Richardson Nonfiction Award. Of his novel The Blue Tattoo, Atlantic Books Today wrote "It's a big story that everyone should read ... It deepens one's appreciation for the parts of the city touched by the devastation of December 6, 1917".

Critical response

Critic Thomas Hodd from the Telegraph-Journal wrote that Laffoley injects "first person, post-modern narrative as he recounts his investigative process and offers reflections on the facts as they reveal themselves". Another critic from The Coast praised the way in which he weaves together "the main story" and "contemporaneous scenes" in his books that make for "intriguing context".

When asked about the inspiration behind his book Shadowboxing, Laffoley said he was fascinated with the fact that George Dixon, who seemed so influential in the boxing and wider communities of Canada and the United States, had not yet had a biography written. According to a review by Jenna Conter, Laffoley is the "Stephen King of Halifax" because his unique writing style gives his works a cinematic quality, both vivid and imaginative.

Biography

Born in Taunton, Massachusetts and raised in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Steven attended Saint Mary's University. For nineteen years, Laffoley was the head of Middle School at the Halifax Grammar School, a position he held since establishing the middle school in September 1997. In July 2016, he was appointed the thirteenth Head of School of the Halifax Grammar School. He is of Jèrriais, English, Irish, Scandinavian, and Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

Awards and acknowledgements Winner of the 2013 Evelyn Richardson Memorial Non-Fiction Award (Shadowboxing) Shortlisted Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence 2012 – Best Crime Nonfiction (The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea) Finalist for the 2008 Evelyn Richardson Memorial Non-Fiction Award (Hunting Halifax)