Alicia Elliott (born 1987 or 1988) is a

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

writer and editor.

Early life and education

Elliott was born in the United States and moved with her family to the Six Nations of the Grand River

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

when she was 13. Although located in southern Ontario close to major cities, her home, like many others on the reserve, didn't have running water. She attended high school in the nearby city of

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

, graduating in 2005.

Career

Elliott's first paid writing opportunity occurred in 2015 when she wrote an article about band elections for ''

Briarpatch ''Briarpatch'' is an independent alternative news magazine based in Saskatchewan, Canada and distributed across Canada and internationally. ''Briarpatch'' is published six times a year by Briarpatch Incorporated, an independent non-profit organi ...

'' magazine titled "The Meaning of Elections for Six Nations". In 2016,

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson Leanne Betasamosake Simpson is a Mississauga Nishnaabeg writer, musician, and academic from Canada. She is the author of several books centering on Indigenous thought and practices in Canada and is known for her work with the 2012 Idle No Mor ...

asked Elliott to contribute to the issue of ''

The Malahat Review ''The Malahat Review'' is a Canadian quarterly literary magazine established in 1967. It features contemporary Canadian and international works of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction as well as reviews of recently published Canadian litera ...

'' she was editing. Elliott's essay, "A Mind Spread Out On The Ground", went on to win a National Magazine Award, a prize that Elliot credits with kickstarting her career. The next year, Elliott was selected by

Tanya Talaga Tanya Talaga is a Canadian journalist and author of Anishinaabe and Polish descent. She worked as a journalist at the ''Toronto Star'' for over twenty years, covering health, education, local issues, and investigations. She is now a regular colu ...

to receive the RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award, which includes a cash prize and a mentorship component. A collection of Elliott's essays, also titled ''A Mind Spread Out On The Ground,'' was published by

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

in 2019. From 2017-2018 she was the Geoffrey and Margaret Andrew Fellow 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 ...

. She was selected as the first mentor-in-residence for Canadian feminist literary journal ''Room'' and currently serves as the creative nonfiction editor at ''

The Fiddlehead ''The Fiddlehead'' is a Canadian literary magazine, published four times annually at the University of New Brunswick. It is the oldest Canadian literary magazine which is still in circulation. History and profile ''The Fiddlehead'' was establis ...

.'' In addition to her essays, Elliott has written for newspapers and magazines including ''The Globe and Mail'', ''Maclean's'', ''Maisonneuve'', ''Today's Parent'' and ''Reader's Digest''.

Selected works

Short stories

* "Tracks," ''The New Quarterly,'' Winter 2017. * "Unearth," ''Grain'' issue 44.3, Spring 2017.

Essays

* "On Seeing and Being Seen: The Difference Between Writing With Empathy and Writing With Love," ''Room,'' 2018. * "A Mind Spread Out On The Ground," ''The Malahat Review'', Winter 2016. * "The Meaning of Elections for Six Nations," ''Briarpatch,'' 2016.

Awards and honours

* Gold prize at the

National Magazine Awards The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for "A Mind Spread Out On The Ground" (2017). * RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award (2018). *"Unearth" was selected to appear in ''The Best American Short Stories 2018'' collection. *"Tracks" was selected to appear in the ''Best Canadian Stories 2018.'' *Longlist, Journey Prize for Short Fiction for "Tracks", 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Alicia 1988 births Living people 21st-century Canadian essayists 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century First Nations writers Canadian women essayists First Nations women writers Tuscarora people