Mary Swan is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. She is also a trained librarian with a keen eye for history. Her novel ''The Boys in the Trees'', a shortlisted nominee for the 2008

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 ...

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 ...

'', October 7, 2008. was inspired by a newspaper clipping concerning a death within a family. Swan was the winner of the 2001

O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...

for short fiction for her short story "The Deep", which was published in ''

The Malahat Review ''The Malahat Review'' is a Canadian quarterly literary magazine established in 1967. It features contemporary Canadian and international works of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction as well as reviews of recently published Canadian litera ...

''. That story later became the title story of her debut short story collection ''The Deep and Other Stories'' in 2002. A graduate of

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 ...

and the

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

, she currently resides in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

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 family.

Bibliography

* ''The Deep'', The Porcupine's Quill, 2002, * ''Emma’s Hands'', The Porcupine's Quill, 2003, * ''Boys in the Trees'', Henry Holt and Company, 2008,

References

External links

Mary Swan profile at The Porcupine's Quill
Canadian women novelists Canadian librarians Canadian women librarians York University alumni University of Guelph alumni People from Guelph Writers from Ontario Living people Canadian women short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian women writers O. Henry Award winners Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-writer-stub