Marjorie Celona (born January 7, 1981) is an American-Canadian writer. Their

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 ...

, '' Y'', published in 2012, won the

Waterstones 11 The Waterstones 11 was a literary book prize aimed at promoting debut authors, run and curated by British bookseller Waterstones. It ran from 2011–13. The list of 11 authors are selected from a list of 100 authors submitted by publishers. The ...

literary prize and was a shortlisted nominee for the

Center for Fiction The Center for Fiction, originally called the New York Mercantile Library, is a not-for-profit organization in New York City, with offices at 15 Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Prior to their move in early 2018, The Center for Fiction ...

's Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and a longlisted nominee for the

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 ...

."Victoria author makes Giller Prize long list". ''

Victoria Times-Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily Co ...

'', September 4, 2012.

Life and career

Born and raised in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

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, ...

, Celona studied creative writing at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

before attending the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...

. Celona has published stories, book reviews, and essays in ''The O. Henry Prize Stories'', ''The Best American Nonrequired Reading'', ''The Southern Review'', ''Harvard Review'', and elsewhere. Celona was winner of the Bronwen Wallace Award in 2008 for their short story "Othello". Celona's short story, "Counterblast," won a 2018 O. Henry Award, and was selected as a juror favorite by author Ottessa Moshfegh. Celona's most recent novel, ''

How a Woman Becomes a Lake ''How a Woman Becomes a Lake'' is a 2020 novel by Marjorie Celona. Set in the small fishing town of Whale Bay, it deals with childhood, familial bonds, new beginnings, and costly mistakes. The novel was a shortlisted finalist for the Crime Wri ...

'', was published in March 2020."47 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2020"

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 ...

, February 5, 2020. Celona currently teaches in the MFA program at the University of Oregon.

References

External links

Marjorie Celona
Writers from Victoria, British Columbia Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 1981 births 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Canadian non-binary writers O. Henry Award winners 21st-century Canadian LGBT people {{Canada-writer-stub