Laisha Rosnau
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Laisha Rosnau (born 1972) is a Canadian novelist and poet.


Biography

Born in
Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 ce ...
,
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 ...
, Rosnau grew up in Vernon,
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, ...
.Dan Davidson, "Author Laisha Rosnau didn't see writing as a career". ''
Whitehorse Star The ''Whitehorse Star'' is one of two newspapers in Whitehorse, Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least p ...
'', April 21, 2004.
She received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a 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 among the top thre ...
, where she was the executive editor of the literary magazine ''
Prism International ''Prism International'' (styled ''PRISM international'') is a magazine published quarterly in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1959, it is Western Canada's senior literary magazine. The magazine was started with name ''Prism'' ...
''. Her poetry and short fiction have been published in literary journals and anthologies in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rosnau's first novel, ''The Sudden Weight of Snow'' (McClelland and Stewart, 2002), traces a year in the life of a 17-year-old girl living in the interior of British Columbia. Rosnau's first collection of poetry, ''Notes on Leaving'', was published in 2004, and won the 2005 Acorn-Plantos People's Poetry Award. Her second, ''Lousy Explorers'' (Nightwood, 2009), was a finalist for the Pat Lowther Award for best book of poetry by a Canadian woman. ''Pluck'' (Nightwood, 2014) takes on issues of sexuality, parenthood, and vulnerability with delicacy and intent, and was nominated for the national
Raymond Souster Award The Raymond Souster Award is a Canadian literary award, presented by the League of Canadian Poets to a book judged as the best work of poetry by a Canadian poet in the previous year."Local poet wins national prize". ''Telegraph-Journal'', June 12, 2 ...
. Rosnau's most recent collection of poetry, ''Our Familiar Hunger'', was published in 2018, and was the winner of the 2019
Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize The Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, established in 1986, is awarded annually to the best collection of poetry by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. One of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, the award was originally known as the B.C. Prize for Poetry. ...
, and the 2020
Kobzar Literary Award KOBZAR Book Award is a biennial literary award that "recognizes outstanding contributions to Canadian literary arts by authors who develop a Ukrainian Canadian theme with literary merit". The prize is . It is awarded in one of several genres: liter ...
.Jane van Koeverden
"Laisha Rosnau's poetry collection Our Familiar Hunger wins $25K Kobzar Book Award"
CBC Books CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...
, March 13, 2020.
Her second novel, ''Little Fortress'', was published by Wolsak & Wynn in fall 2019. As well as full collections of poetry, Rosnau has published two limited edition chapbooks, ''Getaway Girl'' (Greenboathouse Books, 2002) and ''This Glossy Animal'' (Baseline Press, 2013). In 2023, she was the recipient of the Latner Griffin Writers' Trust Poetry Prize.Nicole Thompson
"Kai Thomas wins Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for debut novel"
''
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 pa ...
'', November 21, 2023.
Rosnau has taught fiction and poetry classes at UBC,
Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...
,
Vancouver Film School Vancouver Film School (VFS) is a private entertainment arts school located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1987, it has achieved international recognition. The Vancouver Film School has campus locations around Downtown Vancouver ...
, and
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, Canad ...
. She was the 2010 Writer in Residence at UBC Okanagan, where she currently teaches in the Creative Studies Department. Rosnau is married to Aaron Deans and they have two children. The family are the resident caretakers of Bishop Wild Bird Sanctuary in
Coldstream Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army. Description Coldstream l ...
, British Columbia.


Bibliography


Poetry

*''Getaway Girl'' (2002) *''Notes on Leaving'' (2004) *''Lousy Explorers'' (2009) *''This Glossy Animal'' (2013) *''Pluck'' (2014) *''Our Familiar Hunger'' (2018)


Novels

*''The Sudden Weight of Snow'' (2002) *''Little Fortress'' (2019)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosnau, Laisha 1972 births 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets Canadian women poets Canadian women novelists Living people People from Pointe-Claire People from Vernon, British Columbia People from Coldstream Canadian women short story writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Writers from British Columbia