Katherine Mary Govier (born July 4, 1948) is a Canadian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and essayist.

Biography

Katherine Govier was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, and was educated at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

and

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

. She has been made a Distinguished Alumna of the

and is one of York University's "Famous Fifty" graduates. She has been Chair of the

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada (french: La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada) is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laure ...

and 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 ...

. Govier has published essays in major newspapers and magazines, including

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

, Saturday Night,

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 ...

, Harper's, Queen, 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 ...

. Govier was shortlisted for the

Trillium Award The Trillium Book Award (french: Prix littéraire Trillium or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates, a Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, which is ove ...

in 1994, and won the City of Toronto Book Award in 1992. In 1997, she was awarded the

Marian Engel Award Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places *Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queensland ...

for a woman writer in mid-career. Her novel "Creation" was a New York Times Notable Book of 2003. Her 2010 novel, ''The Ghost Brush'', focusing on the life of Katsushika Oi, has been published in translation in French as ''La Femme Hokusai'', in Japanese as ''Hokusai Tu Oi'', in Spanish as ''La Hija del Dibujante'', in Romanian as ''Fiica Lui Hokusai'', and in the United States under the title ''The Printmaker's Daughter''. In 2014, Lori Saint-Martin and Paul Gagne were nominated for the Governor General's award for translation 2014 for their translation of ''The Ghost Brush'' into French as ''La Femme Hokusai'', published by Quebec-Amerique. In 2011, she wrote an article for the Ottawa Citizen about a New York Times article on the disparity of female to male writers who contribute to the writing and editing of Wikipedia. Govier also founde
The Shoe Project
a writing workshop for immigrant women, with sponsorship from Heather Gardiner and hosting by The Bata Shoe Museum. The group publishes stories on the web, creates 'snapshot' exhibits for The Bata Shoe Museum, and offers public performances. It has been the subject of two one-hour documentaries on CBC Ideas
In Their Shoes I
(February 27, 2012), an
In Their Shoes II
(June 10, 2013), and

In April 2014, Govier's anthology ''Half for You and Half For Me: Nursery Rhymes and the Stories Behind Them'', with illustrations by Sarah Clement, was published by Whitecap Publishers.

Personal life

Govier lives in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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 ...

with her partner Nicholas Rundall. She has two children, Robin and Emily Honderich. She was previously married to

John Honderich John Allen Honderich, (July 6, 1946 – February 5, 2022) was a Canadian businessman, journalist, and editor who was publisher of the ''Toronto Star'' from 1994 to 2004. He previously served as its editor from 1988, the same year his father, B ...

, former publisher of 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 ...

''.

Bibliography

Novels

*''Random Descent'' - 1979 *''Going Through the Motions'' - 1982 *''Between Men'' - 1987 *''Hearts of Flame'' - 1991 *''Angel Walk'' - 1996 *''The Truth Teller'' - 2000 *''Creation'' - 2002 *''Three Views of Crystal Water'' - 2005 *''The Ghost Brush'' - 2010 *''The Three Sisters Bar and Hotel'' - 2016

Short story collections

*''Fables of Brunswick Avenue'' - 1985 *''Before and After'' - 1989 *''The Immaculate Conception Photo Gallery'' - 1994

Anthologies edited

*''Without a Guide: Contemporary Women's Travel Adventures'' - 1994 *''Solo: Writers on Pilgrimage'' - 2004 *''HALF FOR YOU AND HALF FOR ME Nursery Rhymes and the Stories Behind Them'' - April 2014, anthology, illustrations by Sarah Clement, published by Whitecap Publishers.

References

External links

Katherine Govier website

HarperCollins Canada site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Govier, Katherine 1948 births Living people Members of the Order of Canada University of Alberta alumni York University alumni Canadian women novelists Writers from Edmonton Writers from Toronto Canadian women short story writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers