Ellen Jane Seligman (died March 25, 2016) was an American-Canadian editor and publisher. She was a member of the
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...
, the highest
honour
Honour (British English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of socia ...
in the
Canadian province
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
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 ...
, and twice won the
Canadian Booksellers Association The Canadian Booksellers Association (CBA) is an organization that promotes and advocates for Canadian booksellers, publishers and authors. Its membership is open to bookstore owners and "affiliated stakeholders" like authors and publishers. The org ...
Editor of the Year Award.
Seligman was born in New York City and attended the University of Wisconsin, where she received a Bachelor of Arts. She moved to Canada in 1976, where she eventually took a job with
McClelland and Stewart
McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann.
...
as a senior editor and became their editorial director of fiction by 1987.
During this time she worked with authors such as
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
,
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...
,
Rohinton Mistry
Rohinton Mistry (born 1952) is an Indian-born Canadian writer. He has been the recipient of many awards including the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2012. Each of his first three novels were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His ...
,
Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...
,
Jane Urquhart
Jane Urquhart, LL.D (born June 21, 1949) is a Canadian novelist and poet. She is the internationally acclaimed author of seven award-winning novels, three books of poetry and numerous short stories. As a novelist, Urquhart is well known for her e ...
and
Alice Munro
Alice Ann Munro (; ; born 10 July 1931) is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. Munro's work has been described as revolutionizing the architecture of short stories, especially in its tendency to move f ...
, and in 2012 became the vice-president of McClelland and Stewart.
At the time of her death Seligman was seen as one of Canada's top literary editors.
In 2009 Seligman became the president of
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 ...
, a position she held until 2011.
Seligman died in Toronto on March 25, 2016, and was survived by partner James Polk, sister Margaret Seligman and her extended family.
Editing
*''Childhood'', André Alexis
*''Alias Grace'', Margaret Atwood
*''Dead Girls'', Nancy Lee
*''The English Patient'', Michael Ondaatje
*''The Underpainter'', Jane Urquhart
References
Further reading
*Johnson, Jessica
"Mark Her Words"''
The Walrus
''The Walrus'' is an independent, non-profit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an 8-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a national s ...
'' (29 March 2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seligman, Ellen
1952 births
2016 deaths
American book editors
20th-century American Jews
American emigrants to Canada
Canadian Jews
Members of the Order of Ontario
Writers from New York City
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
21st-century American Jews