Zack Davisson

Zack Davisson is an award-winning writer, translator, and lecturer who played a significant role in making Japanese folklore, entertainment, and literature accessible to English-speaking audiences. Respected in both academic and popular circles, He is on faculty at NYU in the Translation and Interpretations department and active in his fields. Davisson has won multiple Eisner awards and the Bram Stoker award.

Davisson is the author of Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan, Yurei: The Japanese Ghost, Yokai Stories, and The Art of Star Wars Visions. He translated globally renowned entertainment properties such as Go Nagai's Devilman and Cutie Honey, Leiji Matsumoto's Space Battleship Yamato and Captain Harlock, and Satoshi Kon's Opus, and modern favorites such as Cat + Gamer. His work also includes Ultimate X-Men from Marvel Comics and Savage Sword of Conan from Titan Comics.

Davisson's book Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan won the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year (2021) and was selected by St. Petersburg college as their SPC Reads book of 2024, joining titles such as Becoming by Michelle Obama and I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai.

He is a regular lecturer at universities, museums, and cultural institutes, as well as appearing on podcasts, on documentaries, and as a guest at comic and anime conventions. He lectured on manga, folklore, and translation at Duke University, Annapolis Naval Academy, UCLA, University Ca' Foscari di Venezia, Michigan State University, and Ohio State University, as well as contributed to exhibitions at The Museum of International Folkart, Wereldmuseum Rotterdan, Världskulturmuseerna, Stokholm, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

He currently lives in Seattle, WA with his wife Miyuki, dog Mochi, cat Shere Khan, and several ghosts.