Johanna Shively Skibsrud (born 1980) is a Canadian 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 ...
''
The Sentimentalists'' won the 2010
Scotiabank 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 ...
.
Career
Skibsrud has published two books of poetry, ''Late Nights with Wild Cowboys'' in 2008 and ''I Do Not Think That I Could Love a Human Being'' in 2010. ''Late Nights with Wild Cowboys'' was a shortlisted nominee for the
Gerald Lampert Award The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is made annually by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert
Gerald Lampert (c. 1924 - April 29, 1978) w ...
, and ''I Do Not Think That I Could Love a Human Being'' was a shortlisted nominee for the Atlantic Poetry Prize.
''The Sentimentalists''
In 2009 Skibsrud's debut novel ''
The Sentimentalists'' was published by
Gaspereau Press. The novel won the 2010
Scotiabank 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 ...
.
Skibsrud's Giller win also focused attention on the struggles of small press publishers. The book had been originally published by
Gaspereau Press, a boutique firm based in Nova Scotia which is one of Canada's only book publishing companies that still binds and prints its own books, with the result that the firm had difficulty meeting the increased demand after Skibsrud's win was announced.
["Author's angst grows over unavailability of Giller winner"]
''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', November 11, 2010. Chapters
Chapter or Chapters may refer to:
Books
* Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document
* Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10
* Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...
-
Indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
, Canada's primary bookstore chain, did not have a single copy of the book in stock anywhere in Canada in the entire week of the Giller announcement.
However, the paper book's unavailability resulted in a significant increase in
ebook sales; the ebook version of the novel quickly became the top-selling title in the
Kobo
Kobo may refer to:
Places
* Kobo (woreda), a district in Ethiopia
** Kobo, Ethiopia, a town
* Kōbo Dam, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
* Mount Kōbō, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
People First name
* Kōbō Abe (1924–1993), pseudonym of Japanese w ...
ebookstore. The company subsequently announced that it had sold the novel's
trade paperback rights to
Douglas & McIntyre
Douglas and McIntyre (2013) Ltd. is a Canadian book publishing firm.
Douglas & McIntyre was founded by James Douglas and Scott McIntyre in 1971 as an independent publishing company based in Vancouver. Reorganized with new owners in 2008 as D&M P ...
, while it will continue to print a smaller run of the novel's original edition for book collectors.
In spring 2011, ''The Sentimentalists'' was published in the United States by W. W. Norton & Company. The book has been translated, or is currently being translated, into five languages.
Skibsrud's first collection of short stories, ''This Will Be Difficult to Explain, and Other Stories'', was first published in September 2011 by Hamish Hamilton Canada, with US and UK editions of the book appearing in spring 2012.
''Quartet for the End of Time''
In 2014 Skibsrud's second novel, ''
Quartet for the End of Time
''Quatuor pour la fin du temps'' (), originally ''Quatuor de la fin du temps'' ("''Quartet of the End of Time''"), also known by its English title ''Quartet for the End of Time'', is an eight-movement piece of chamber music by the French composer ...
'', was published by
Hamish Hamilton.
Education
Skibsrud is a 2005
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...
graduate from
Concordia University's creative writing program; A version of ''The Sentimentalists'' was first written for her thesis. She completed her Ph.D. in English Literature at the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...
in spring 2012 and currently holds a SSHRC postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Arizona.
Personal life
A native of
Meadowville, Nova Scotia
Meadowville is a community in the Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Pictou County. Author Johanna Skibsrud is a native of Meadowville.
ReferencesMeadowville on Destination Nova Scotia
Communi ...
, Skibsrud currently lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Skibsrud is married to John Melillo, a professor at the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
.
Bibliography
Fiction
* ''
The Sentimentalists'' (2009)
* ''This Will Be Difficult to Explain, and Other Stories'' (2011)
* ''
Quartet for the End of Time
''Quatuor pour la fin du temps'' (), originally ''Quatuor de la fin du temps'' ("''Quartet of the End of Time''"), also known by its English title ''Quartet for the End of Time'', is an eight-movement piece of chamber music by the French composer ...
'' (2014)
* ''Tiger Tiger.'' (2018)
** excerpt: ''The rememberer.''
Granta
''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...
, 141, special ed. ''Canada'', september 2017, pp 45-54
Poetry
* ''Late Nights with Wild Cowboys'' (2008)
* ''I Do Not Think That I Could Love a Human Being'' (2010)
References
External links
Johanna Skibsruds aawebsite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skibsrud, Johanna
1980 births
Living people
Canadian women novelists
Canadian women poets
Writers from Montreal
Writers from Nova Scotia
Concordia University alumni
People from Pictou County
21st-century Canadian novelists
21st-century Canadian poets
21st-century Canadian women writers
Canadian women short story writers
21st-century Canadian short story writers