Audrey Grace Thomas, OC (née Callahan; born 17 November 1935) Reingard M. Nischik.
The Canadian Short Story: Interpretations
'. Camden House; 2007. , p. 247–. is a Canadian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and

short story writer A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

who lives on

Galiano Island Galiano Island ( Hul'qumi'num: ''Swiikw'') is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the west side of the Strait of Georgia, the island is bordered by Mayn ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Her stories often have feminist themes and include exotic settings.Reingard M. Nischik.
History of Literature in Canada: English-Canadian and French-Canadian
'. Camden House; 2008. . p. 318–. She is a recipient of the

Marian Engel Award Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queensla ...

Biography

Born in

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

, New York, she immigrated in 1959 to Canada, where she attended and later taught at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...

. From 1964 to 1966 she lived in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, and some of her stories are set there and in other distant places. In 1987 she won the

for her body of work. Thomas lived in Edinburgh, Scotland in the 1980s, and wrote articles for ''Saturday Night Magazine''. She has three times received the

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, established in 1985 as one of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, is awarded annually to the best work of fiction by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. The award is named after novelist and short story writer Ethel W ...

, for ''Intertidal Life'' (1984),Caroline Rosenthal.
Narrative Deconstructions of Gender in Works by Audrey Thomas, Daphne Marlatt, and Louise Erdrich
'. Camden House; 2003. . p. 29–. ''Wild Blue Yonder'' (1990), and ''Coming Down from Wa'' (1995). In 2008, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. In 2014 she published her eighteenth book, ''Local Customs''.

Bibliography

Novels

*''Mrs. Blood'' – 1970 *''Munchmeyer and Prospero on the Island'' – 1971 *''Songs My Mother Taught Me'' – 1973 *''Blown Figures'' – 1974 *''Latakia'' – 1979 *'' Intertidal Life'' – 1984 (nominated for a

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual List of awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. Th ...

) *''Graven Images'' – 1993 *''Coming Down from Wa'' – 1995 (nominated for a

) *'' Isobel Gunn'' – 1999"Book Review:Isabel Gunn"
''Quill and Quire''. *''Tattycoram'' *''Local Customs'' – 2014

Short stories

*''Ten Green Bottles'' – 1967 *''ladies and escorts'' – 1977 *''Real Mothers'' – 1981 *''Two in the Bush and Other Stories'' – 1981 *''Goodbye Harold, Good Luck'' – 1986 *''The Wild Blue Yonder'' – 1990 *''The Path of Totality'' – 2001

References

External links

Audrey Thomas's
entry in

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

*The archives of Audrey Thoma
(Thomas Audrey fonds, R11818)
are held at Library and Archives Canada {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Audrey 1935 births Living people Canadian women novelists Canadian people of American descent Officers of the Order of Canada 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian women short story writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers