Zack Davisson

“...a modern day Lafcadio Hearn is picking up this ghostly torch. Zack Davisson is the author, translator, and folklorist following in Hearn's footsteps.” - - Tofugu

Zack Davisson is an award-winning writer, translator, and lecturer. He played a significant role in making Japanese folklore, entertainment, and literature accessible to English-speaking audiences.

Respected in both academic and popular culture circles, Davisson is a regular lecturer at universities, museums, and cultural institutes, as well as appearing on documentaries, podcasts, and at comic and anime conventions. He is on faculty at NYU in the Translation and Interpretations department.

Current projects include ULTIMATE X-MEN for Marvel Comics, CAT + CRAZY for Dark Horse, and THE ART OF SHIGERU MIZUKI for Drawn and Quarterly.

Davisson has worked with National Geographic and the Smithsonian, and has been featured on NPR, the BBC, and The New York Times. His original works have been translated into multiple languages.

Zack Davisson giving a lecture on the Japanese artist Hokusai at the Seattle Art Museum
Zack Davisson's book Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan translated into Italian
Zack Davisson stands in front of a poster of himself, advertising a ghost story telling session at Kunokuniya bookstore in Seattle, WA
A selection of Zack Davisson's books and translations lined up neatly on a shelf.
Zack Davisson at Duke University, presenting a comic strip containing both Japanese and English text. Zack Davisson is pointing at the slide, engaging with the audience in a classroom or lecture setting.
Book cover titled "The Ultimate Guide to Japanese Yokai," featuring a stylized illustration of a creature with animal features, surrounded by a surreal checkered hallway. Published by Tuttle.

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Selected Works

Writer

Author Zack Davisson at Third Place Book story signing books after a reading. A crowd around him is holding his book Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan

Zack Davisson got his start as a professional writer in Japan, working for magazines such as JapanZine and Kansai Time-Out. He wrote one of the first English-language articles on Aokigahara, which has since become famous as the Suicide Woods of Mt. Fuji

Davisson published his first book, Yurei: The Japanese Ghost in 2015. Since then he has continued to write, contributing to magazines, online publications, as well as writing original books. He has written for publications such as Smithsonian Magazine, Anime News Network, The Comics Journal, and World Literature Today.

Davisson’s book Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan was selected by St. Petersburg college as their SPC Reads book of 2024, joining such titles as Becoming by Michelle Obama and I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai. His books have been translated into multiple languages.

Davisson is also active in the American comics industry, writing for series such as X-Men, Wayward, Usagi Yojimbo, and Conan, as well as writing flavor text for Magic: The Gathering cards. 

Zack Davisson is represented by Eve White Literary Agency.

Internet banner showing author Zack Davisson's book Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan winning the Book Authority Best Cat Books of All Time award
A Banner advertisement from CBH Live! Saying "Ultimate X-Men's Zack Davisson!"
Two of Zack Davisson's books, Yokai Stories and Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan, are shown on the shelves of a bookstore in Sydney, Australia
The cover of Zack Davisson's book Yurei the Japanese Ghost in Spanish

Lecturer / Panelist

Zack Davisson at a podium at the Japan Society of New York, delivering a lecture on Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan

Zack Davisson is a skilled and entertaining presenter, qualified to give lectures and convention panels on Japanese folklore, manga, Japanese history, and translation theory and practice. He is a popular guest at conventions worldwide as well as lecturing at universities, museums, and cultural centers.

  • Duke University - Translation Symposium

  • UCLA - Humor in the Supernatural

  • AnimeNYC - A History of Manga by Decade

  • Ohio State University - Manga Translation 101

  • Art Gallery of New South Wales - A Brief History of Yokai

  • AnimeBoston - The Legacy of Matsumoto Leiji

  • Heroes Made in Asia: Utrecht - Japan Supernatural

  • Japan Society of New York - Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan

  • Japan Society of Sydney - Masters of Monsters: A History of Horror Manga

  • Museum of International Folklore - Japan Supernatural

  • Världskulturmuseerna, Stokholm - The Life of Mizuki Shigeru

  • AnimeLA - A Brief History of the Edo period

  • Michigan State University - Japanese Popular Culture & Transmedia Translation

  • Emerald City Comic Con - Yokai-Kaiju

  • San Diego Comic Con - Cats! Comics! Cats!

Zack Davisson with manga artist Kore Yamazaki (Ancient Magus Bride) as guests of Heroes Made in Asia, Utrecht, in The Netherlands
Zack Davisson on a panel at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) with Kim Joy and Pornsak Pichetshote
Zack Davisson on a podium on stage at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico delivering a lecture on the history of horror manga
Zack Davisson with voice actress Yuriko Yamaguchi, who voices Nico Robin on the anime One Piece, at a panel they did together for Rose City Comic Con in Portland, OR

Translator

Zack Davisson is an in-demand translator, who's work has earned him two Eisner Awards. He is best known for translating the works of classic manga artists such as Mizuki Shigeru, Matsumoto Leiji, Go Nagai, and Satoshi Kon. While admittedly picky about the assignments he accepts, he still falls in love with new manga artists such as Gou Tanabe and Wataru Nadatani.

Davisson also teaches translation and translation theory at universities and conventions. He is on faculty at NYU in the translation and interpretation department.

Major translations

Media

Zack Davisson is a regular guest on podcasts and documentaries about Japanese folklore and pop culture. He works with Arrow Films to produce documentaries and commentaries for Japanese horror films, and has appeared on television with National Geographic.

  • The Seen and Unseen - A roundtable podcast discussion on yokai, djinni, and Marian apparitions

  • Japan: Lost Souls of Okinawa - Television documentary with National Geographic

  • The Folklore of Hellboy - Documentary on religion and folklore in the world of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy.

  • The Story Blender - A podcast on creativity and storytelling

  • The Charming Woman - Documentary on Kazuo Umezu and the film The Snake Girl and the Silver-Haired Witch

  • Sifu Mimi Chan - A podcast discussing cross-cultural entertainment Sifu Mimi, the model for Mulan from Disney’s Mulan.

  • Supernatural Beings: Yōkai Past & Present - YouTube discussion on the nature of yokai with Zack Davisson and Michael Dylan Foster from The Japan House.

Follow Zack on Social Media

Two people in costumes at a convention, one dressed as a superhero with a lightning bolt logo and white cape, the other in a bee-themed outfit with goggles.
A person smiling with facial piercings, holding a small dog in front of a red wall.
Person holding a sword, wearing a "Dungeon Master" shirt, in a room with shelves and stuffed animals.
Person in mirror wearing a kilt and holding a sword, standing in a room with wooden floors and a chandelier.

Contact Zack

If would like to contact Zack to invite him to your event, or to discuss potential work, to ask him a question, or even just to say that you enjoy his work—please do! Zack would love to hear from you!

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