Hélène Ouvrard (November 3, 1938 – January 6, 1999) was a

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

writer.

Biography

The daughter of Bernadette Boily and Jean de la Salle Ouvrard, she was born in

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 ...

and was educated at the Collège Marguerite-Bourgeoys, also studying painting at the

École des beaux-arts de Montréal École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région ...

and studying piano. From 1968 to 1969, she worked on publicity at the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

. She was also a freelance writer for the National Film Board and for

Radio Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

. She was the main editor for the series of publications ''Initiation aux métiers d'art du Québec''. Ouvrard also contributed to the magazines ''

Châtelaine ''Châtelaine'' is a French-language magazine of women's lifestyles, published in Quebec by St. Joseph Communications. History and profile The magazine was first published in 1960 by Maclean-Hunter Publishing. It covers issues and interests ...

'' and ''La Barre du jour''. She was awarded a number of grants from the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...

and from the Quebec Ministry of Cultural Affairs. In 1982, she won first prize in the Radio-Canada's Concours d'oeuvres dramatiques radiophoniques. She was awarded the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Prix de la nouvelle in 1983 for ''L'Ange''. Radio Suisse Romande dedicated a week to her radio plays in 1983. Ouvrard wrote the text for a book published in 1980 based on the film ''

J.A. Martin Photographer ''J.A. Martin Photographer'' (''J.A. Martin photographe'') is a 1977 drama film directed by Jean Beaudin for the National Film Board of Canada. Synopsis The film is about a strong-willed woman who accompanies her photographer husband on a tri ...

''. Although mainly known for her novels, she also published poetry, short stories and other prose.

Selected works

* ''La fleur de peau'' (1965) * ''Le coeur sauvage'' (1967) * ''Le Corps étranger'' (1973) * ''L'herbe et le varech'' (1977) * ''La noyante'' (1980), shortlisted for the

Governor General's Award for French-language fiction The Governor General's Award for French-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in French. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each ...

in 1980

References

1938 births 1999 deaths Canadian novelists in French Canadian women novelists Canadian women poets Canadian women short story writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian women writers Writers from Montreal 20th-century Canadian short story writers École des beaux-arts de Montréal alumni {{Canada-poet-stub