David Adams Richards (born 17 October 1950) is a Canadian writer and member of the

Canadian Senate The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

."Trudeau appoints acclaimed writer David Adams Richards to Senate"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', 30 August 2017.

Background

Born in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Richards left St. Thomas University in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, three credits shy of completing a BA. After publishing a poetry chapbook in 1972, he won the Norma Epstein Award, a literary prize for unpublished writing by Canadian university students, in 1974 for an excerpt from his novel manuscript '' The Coming of Winter'', and the novel was published later that year as his fiction debut.

Career

Over his career as a writer, Richards has published novels, stage plays, short stories and non-fiction work. His fiction typically addresses the lives and experiences of poor and

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

residents of the Miramichi region of New Brunswick, exploring spiritual and philosophical themes influenced by Richards'

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith. Richards has been a writer-in-residence at various universities and colleges across Canada, including the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

. On 30 August 2017, the appointment of Richards to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

was announced. On 25 April 2018, Richards resigned from the

Independent Senators Group The Independent Senators Group (ISG; french: Groupe des sénateurs indépendants) is a parliamentary group in the Senate of Canada. Established on March 10, 2016, the Independent Senators Group (ISG) is committed to a non-partisan Senate and the ...

to sit as a non-caucusing independent senator."Trudeau-appointed senator quits group of Independents"
''CTV News'', 25 April 2018. Richards stressed that he had not felt pressured by the ISG, saying that he left because he wants a high degree of personal autonomy, citing how he never joined the

Writers' Union of Canada The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC), founded in 1973, describes itself as supporting "the country's authors by advocating for their rights, freedoms, and economic well-being." Its members are professional writers who must have published at least o ...

PEN Canada PEN Canada is one of the 148 centres of PEN International. Founded in 1926, it has a membership of over 1,000 writers and supporters who campaign on behalf of writers around the world who are persecuted, imprisoned and exiled for exercising their r ...

as an author. Richards also said that since Trudeau had appointed him as an independent, he felt it was his duty to be as independent as possible. On November 4, 2019, he joined the

Canadian Senators Group The Canadian Senators Group (french: Groupe des sénateurs canadiens) is a parliamentary group of senators in the Senate of Canada founded on November 4, 2019, by eight senators from the Independent Senators Group, two from the Conservative Pa ...

Awards

Richards has received numerous awards including two

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States a ...

for scriptwriting for ''Small Gifts'' and ''

For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down ''For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down'' is a novel by David Adams Richards, published in 1993."Malice on the Miramichi". ''Montreal Gazette'', October 2, 1993. It was the final volume in his Miramichi trilogy, which also included the novels '' Nig ...

'', the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in the Arts, and the

Canadian Authors Association The Canadian Authors Association is Canada's oldest association for writers and authors. The organization has published several periodicals, organized local chapters and events for Canadian writers, and sponsors writing awards, including the Gover ...

Award for his novel ''Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace''. Richards is one of only three writers to have won in both the fiction and non-fiction categories of the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

. He won the 1988 fiction award for ''Nights Below Station Street'' and the 1998 non-fiction award for ''Lines on the Water: A Fisherman's Life on the Miramichi''. He was also a co-winner of the 2000

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

for '' Mercy Among the Children''. The Writers' Federation of New Brunswick administers an annual David Adams Richards Prize for Fiction. In 2009, he was made a Member 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 ...

"for his contributions to the Canadian literary scene as an essayist, screenwriter and writer of fiction and non-fiction". In 2011, Richards received the

Matt Cohen Prize The Matt Cohen Award is an award given annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to a Canadian writer, in honour of a distinguished lifetime contribution to Canadian literature. First presented in 2000, it was established in memory of Matt Cohen, a ...

Bibliography

Richards' papers are currently housed at the University of New Brunswick. In 2014, Halifax singer-songwriter Dan MacCormack released an album of songs inspired by Richards' novels, called ''Symphony of Ghosts''. The title was taken from a line in ''Mercy Among the Children.''Johns, Stephanie,
Dan MacCormack is book smart
, ''The Coast'', 13 November 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2016.

Novels

* '' The Coming of Winter'' (1974) * '' Blood Ties'' (1976) * '' Lives of Short Duration'' (1981) * '' Road to the Stilt House'' (1985) * '' Nights Below Station Street'' (1988, winner of the 1988 Governor General's Award for fiction) * '' Evening Snow Will Bring Such Peace'' (1990) * ''

'' (1993, nominated for a

, winner of the 1994

Thomas Head Raddall Award The Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award is a Canadian literary award administered by the Atlantic Book Awards & Festival for the best work of adult fiction published in the previous year by a writer from the Atlantic provinces.

) * '' Hope in the Desperate Hour'' (1996) * ''

The Bay of Love and Sorrows ''The Bay of Love and Sorrows'' is a 1998 novel by David Adams Richards. Background Like many of Richards's books, ''The Bay of Love and Sorrows'' is set during the 1970s; the book was in part inspired by his experiences growing up then in New Bru ...

'' (1998) * '' Mercy Among the Children'' (2000) (co-winner of the

) * '' River of the Broken-Hearted'' (2004) * '' The Friends of Meager Fortune'' (2006) (longlisted for the

) * '' The Lost Highway'' (2007) (longlisted for the

, Nominated Governor General's Awards 2008 Governor General's Award) * '' Incidents in the Life of Markus Paul'' (2011) * '' Crimes Against My Brother'' (2014) * '' Principles to Live By'' (2016) * '' Mary Cyr'' (2018)

Poetry

* ''Small Heroics'' (1972) (chapbook)

Plays

* ''The Dungarvon Whooper'' (1975) * ''Water Carrier, Bones and Earth'' (1983) * ''Hockey Dreams'' (2009)

Short stories

* ''Dancers at Night'' (1978) * ''Dane'' (1978) The Christmas Tree (2008)

Non-fiction

* ''A Lad From Brantford and Other Essays'' (1994) * ''Hockey Dreams: Memories of a Man Who Couldn't Play'' (1996) * ''Lines on the Water: A Fisherman's Life on the Miramichi'' (1998, winner of the 1998 Governor General's Award) * ''Extraordinary Canadians: Lord Beaverbrook'' (2008) * ''God is.'' (2009) * ''Facing the Hunter: Reflections on a Misunderstood Way of Life'' (2011) * ''Murder and Other Essays'' (2019)

General

* "Non-Judgmental Truth: An Interview with David Adams Richards" by Craig Proctor, ''Blood & Aphorisms'' (Winter 1998)

Personal life

In 1971, Richards married the former Peggy McIntyre. They have two sons, John Thomas Richards and Anton Richards, and reside in Fredericton .

References

External links

*
Richards'
item at English-Canadian writers, Aathabasca University, by Vivian Zenari; incl. several hyperlinks {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, David Adams 1950 births Living people Canadian male novelists Writers from New Brunswick Members of the Order of New Brunswick Members of the Order of Canada Governor General's Award-winning fiction writers Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers People from Miramichi, New Brunswick People from Northumberland County, New Brunswick Canadian senators from New Brunswick Independent Canadian senators Canadian Senators Group Canadian Roman Catholics Canadian male non-fiction writers