Carellin Brooks is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer, whose

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

''One Hundred Days of Rain'' won the

Edmund White Award The Edmund White Award is an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle to honour debut novels by writers within the LGBT community. First presented in 2006, the award was named in honour of American novelist Edmund White. Winners * 2 ...

in 2016 and the

ReLit Award The ReLit Awards are Canadian literary prizes awarded annually to book-length works in the novel, short-story and poetry categories."Three indie writers honoured by ReLit Awards". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 19, 2007. Founded in 2000 by Newfoundla ...

for Fiction in 2017."Carellin Brooks, Kevin Hardcastle and Sue Goyette win 2016 ReLit Awards"

CBC Books CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, March 9, 2017.

Background

Originally from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

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, ...

,"Assertive teen turned life around". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', December 17, 1992. after a tumultuous childhood, Brooks became a ward of the state. Placed with loving foster parents, she lived in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, until the age of 14, when she ran away from her foster home and moved to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

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 Ca ...

, to live with her grandmother. She completed high school in Ottawa, and was a regular youth columnist for the ''

Ottawa Sun The ''Ottawa Sun'' is a daily newspaper in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is published by Sun Media. It began publication in 1983 as the ''Ottawa Sunday Herald'', until it was acquired by (then) Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation in 1988. In Apri ...

''. After high school, she studied English and anthropology at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

."McGill student wins writing prize". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', September 26, 1992. While at McGill, she won the national Book City/''

Books in Canada ''Books in Canada'' was a monthly magazine that reviewed Canadian literature, published in print form between 1971 and 2008. In its heyday it was the most influential literary magazine in Canada. Foundation One of the co-founders of ''Books in Ca ...

'' Student Writing Award for poetry in 1992 and hosted a weekly radio show, ''Dykes on Mikes'', on

CKUT-FM CKUT-FM is the official campus community radio station of McGill University. It can be heard at 90.3 FM in Montreal. CKUT's FM signal, broadcast from a tower on the top of Mount Royal, reaches as far as the Eastern Townships and upstate New Yo ...

."Off to Oxford with a mission; Scholar wants to reverse Rhodes's legacy". ''

'', January 7, 1993. She was awarded a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1993, and was reported at the time as the first person ever to have won a Rhodes scholarship while having been out as

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

on her application. After completing her studies at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, she returned to Vancouver, becoming a columnist for ''

Xtra West ''Xtra Vancouver'' (), formerly ''Xtra! West'', was a gay bi-weekly newspaper, published by Pink Triangle Press in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Printed on newsprint in tabloid format from its establishment in 1993, Pink Triangle Press a ...

'' and a book reviewer for the ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

''. She later became managing editor of the Vancouver-based publishing company New Star Books, and is a writing instructor at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, 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 a ...

Writing

She has published the non-fiction books ''Every Inch a Woman: Phallic Possession, Femininity, and the Text'' (2005), ''Wreck Beach'' (2007) and ''Fresh Hell: Motherhood in Pieces'' (2013), and edited the anthologies ''Bad Jobs: My Last Shift at Albert Wong's Pagoda and Other Ugly Tales of the Workplace'' (1998) on her own and ''Carnal Nation: Brave New Sex Fictions'' (2000) as coeditor with

Brett Josef Grubisic Brett Josef Grubisic (born 1963) is a Canadian author, editor, and sessional lecturer of English at the University of British Columbia. Education He obtained his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Victoria (B.A., M.A.) and com ...

. ''Every Inch a Woman'' was a shortlisted

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

nominee in the LGBT studies category at the

19th Lambda Literary Awards The 19th Lambda Literary Awards were held in 2007, to honour works of LGBT literature published in 2006. Special awards Nominees and winners External links 19th Lambda Literary Awards {{Lambda Literary Awards Lambda Literary Awards Lambda ...

in 2007. ''One Hundred Days of Rain'' was the winner of the 2016

for Fiction and the Publishing Triangle's 2016 Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction.

Works

Written

*''Every Inch a Woman: Phallic Possession, Femininity, and the Text'' (2005, ) *''Wreck Beach'' (2007, ) *''Fresh Hell: Motherhood in Pieces'' (2013, ) *''One Hundred Days of Rain'' (2015, )

Edited

*''Bad Jobs: My Last Shift at Albert Wong's Pagoda and Other Ugly Tales of the Workplace'' (1998, ) *''Carnal Nation: Brave New Sex Fictions'' (2000, )

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Carellin 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian LGBT people 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Alumni of the University of Oxford Canadian anthologists Canadian columnists Canadian lesbian writers Canadian LGBT novelists Canadian literary critics Canadian Rhodes Scholars Canadian women columnists Canadian women literary critics Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian women novelists Lesbian novelists Living people McGill University alumni Women anthologists Writers from Ottawa Writers from Vancouver Year of birth missing (living people)