François Gravel was born in 1951 in Montréal. He studied Economics at the Université du Québec in Montréal and worked as teacher at a college. He originally wrote novels for adults, before making his literary début as an author of literature for children and young adults in 1989 with »Corneilles«
© international literature festival berlin
Esi Edugyan was born in 1977 in Calgary, Canada, as the daughter of immigrants from Ghana. Beginning in 1996, she first studied journalism and then switched to English and creative writing at the University of Victoria and Johns Hopkins University.Her first collection of short stories »The Bone House and Other
Edem Awumey was born in Lomé, Togo in 1975. He studied literature at the university in his hometown from 1995 to 2000 and received a UNESCO Aschberg scholarship in 2000, which enabled him to work as a writer-in-residence in Marnay-sur-Seine, France. By 2005, he had obtained degrees in language, literature,
David Albahari was born in Peć, former Yugoslavia, in 1948. He studied English language and literature in Belgrade. His first volume of short stories was published in 1973. »Opis smrti« was published in 1982, and this volume of short stories won that year’s Ivo Andriç Award. Some of the stories
Dany Laferrière was born in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, in 1953. He grew up in the village of Petit-Goâve with his grandmother, to whom he later dedicated two novels. He first worked in Port-au-Prince as a journalist however, for the newspaper »Petit Samedi Soir« and the radio station »Radio
Caitlin Dale Nicholson grew up on a farm near Vancouver in the Canadian province of British Columbia. At age 22 she attended art school, at age 25 she went to the Yukon and Northern British Columbia to live in the Tahltan and Kaska communities. In 1991 she received a Bachelor
Brian Brett was born in Vancouver in 1950. Inspired by a collection of Arthur Rimbaud’s poems, which were given to him by an English teacher, he began to write his own poems at 17. He studied literature at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby. Subsequently, he worked as a lecturer and
is a poet, scholar, and author who is a member of the indigenous Driftpile Cree Nation. Currently, Belcourt is an assistant professor of Indigenous creative writing at the University of British Columbia. His work explores the themes of decolonization, grief, intimacy, and queer sexuality. His poetry anthology, »This Wound Is
Aritha van Herk , the daughter of Dutch immigrants, was born in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. She grew up on a farm and then studied Canadian Literature and Creative Writing in Edmonton. Her debut novel ‘Judith’ appeared in 1978 and won the Seal First Novel Award. Judith is a young woman
The Canadian poet Anne Carson was born in Toronto in 1950. She studied classical literature there and worked subsequently as a professor at various North American universities. Her writing combines her academic speciality with the emotional and experiential worlds of today in a unique and inimitable manner. Enthusiastically received by
Anne Michaels was born in Toronto in 1958. She studied English at the university there and today teaches Creative Writing at the same academic institution. On the side she composes musical scores for theatre and takes an interest in painting.Michaels first emerged as a poet. She received the Norma Epstein
