Frances Greenslade (born 1961 in St. Catharines,

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 ...

) is a Canadian writer. She grew up with four sisters and one brother playing among the orchards of the

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

. The family moved to

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, when she was ten. Greenslade earned a degree in English at the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

before moving to

Vancouver, British Columbia 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 ...

, where she completed her MFA in Creative Writing 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 ...

in 1992. In 2005 Frances and her family moved to

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan and Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its population was 33,761, while its census agglomeration The ce ...

, in the southern

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...

, where her love of

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, ...

's landscape flourished and was a source of inspiration in writing ''Shelter,'' her first novel.''Shelter'' by Frances Greenslade
,

Random House Canada Random House of Canada was the Canadian distributor for Random House, Inc. from 1944 until 2013. On July 1, 2013, it amalgamated with Penguin Canada to become Penguin Random House Canada. Company history Random House of Canada was established i ...

Greenslade now lives in

Penticton, British Columbia Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2016 Canadian Census, its pop ...

, where she teaches English Literature at

Okanagan College Okanagan College is a public, post-secondary institution with over 120 certificates, diplomas, degrees and programs including apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship trades programs. Its largest campus is located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada ...

. Arts Department English Faculty
Okanagan College

Writing

''Shelter'' (

2012) is Greenslade's first novel and was published as part of

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

and

's renowned New Face of Fiction program.New Face of Fiction Program
, Random House Canada Greenslade says of the book during an interview with the

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

, "''Shelter'' looks at the expectations we have of our mothers, our first shelter, and the shock that comes when we realize they are more than just our mothers, but women with lives that don't always include us."Out of Town Authors: Frances Greenslade
''Winnipeg Free Press'' ''

The National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Mo ...

'' called it, "a slow, quiet, addictive read. Once you get caught, you find yourself caring about these characters, wanting to know what they will do next, how they will survive"Open Book : ''Shelter'' by Frances Greenslade
, ''National Post'' and the

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 ...

said, "''Shelter'' is a beating heart of a book, alive with Greenslade's fierce imagination, her acute descriptions of the natural world, her sure hand with narrative."Review of ''Shelter'' by Frances Greenslade
''The Star'' ''Shelter'' was shortlisted for the

Ontario Library Association The Ontario Library Association (OLA) was established in 1900 and is the oldest continually operating library association in Canada. With 5,000 members, OLA is also the largest library association in Canada and among the 10 largest library associ ...

's 2012 Evergreen Awards and was named one of the best books of 2012 by the United Kingdom book chain,

Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

.Frances Greenslade's ''Shelter'' Named one of the Best of 2012 by UK Book Chain Waterstones
''The Star'' Greenslade is also the author of two non-fiction books, ''By the Secret Ladder: A Mother's Initiation'' (

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

2007)''By the Secret Ladder: A Mother's Initiation''
Amazon.com and ''A

Pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...

in Ireland: A Quest for Home'' (Penguin, 2002).''A Pilgrim in Ireland: A Quest for Home''
Amazon.com ''A Pilgrim in Ireland: A Quest for Home'' was awarded the 2003

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Book Award for non-fiction.

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

reviewed it as "Rich with research and anecdote, the book functions as a primer to Irish lore, the peculiarities of

Irish Catholicism , native_name_lang = ga , image = Armagh, St Patricks RC cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh. , abbreviation = , type ...

, and to

Irish history The first evidence of human presence in Ireland dates to around 33,000 years ago, with further findings dating the presence of homo sapiens to around 10,500 to 7,000 BC. The receding of the ice after the Younger Dryas cold phase of the Quaterna ...

."Review of ''A Pilgrim in Ireland: A Quest for Home''
Quill & Quire Greenslade's work has also appeared in ''GRAIN'', ''NeWest Review'', and ''

Room In a building or large vehicle, like a ship, a room is any enclosed space within a number of walls to which entry is possible only via a door or other dividing structure that connects it to either a passage (architecture), passageway, another roo ...

''.FrancesGreenslade.com
/ref>

References

External links

Book Trailer for ''Shelter''

Quill & Quire Review of ''Shelter''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenslade, Frances Canadian women novelists University of British Columbia alumni 21st-century Canadian novelists 1961 births People from St. Catharines Writers from Ontario Living people 21st-century Canadian women writers