Taras Grescoe (born November 1966) is a Canadian non-fiction writer. His debut book, '' Sacré Blues'', won the

Edna Staebler Award The Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction is an annual literary award recognizing the previous year's best creative nonfiction book with a "Canadian locale and/or significance" that is a Canadian writer's "first or second published book of ...

for Creative Non-Fiction,

Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction The Quebec Writers' Federation Awards are a series of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Quebec Writers' Federation to the best works of literature in English by writers from Quebec. They were known from 1988 to 1998 as the QSPELL ...

, and

McAuslan First Book Prize The Quebec Writers' Federation Awards are a series of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Quebec Writers' Federation to the best works of literature in English by writers from Quebec. They were known from 1988 to 1998 as the QSPELL ...

. His fourth book, Bottomfeeder, won the

Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction The Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best work of non-fiction by a Canadian writer. Canada's most lucrative non-fiction prize, the winner rec ...

Biography

Grescoe was born in 1966, 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 ...

. From 1990 to 1994, Grescoe taught English in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, after which he moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and began working as a travel journalist. He has since contributed to ''

Canadian Geographic ''Canadian Geographic'' is a magazine published by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, (RCGS) based in Ottawa, Ontario. History and profile After the Society was founded in 1929, the magazine was established the next year in May 1930 unde ...

'',Articles by Taras Grescoe at Canadian Geographic
. ''

'', May 18, 2011. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

The Smithsonian The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

'', ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'', ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

'', ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', ''

National Geographic Traveler ''National Geographic Traveler'' is a magazine published by NG Media in Armenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Latin America, Israel, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the UK. The US ...

'', the ''

Times of London ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', ''

Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, of ...

'', ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...

'', the ''

Chicago Tribune Magazine The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are ...

'', and ''

Condé Nast Traveller ''Condé Nast Traveller'' is published by Condé Nast Publications Ltd, from Vogue House in Hanover Square, Mayfair, London. It is a luxury travel magazine aimed at the upmarket, independent traveller. It can be differentiated from the America ...

''. His book, ''Bottomfeeder: how to eat ethically in a world of vanishing seafood'' has also been published as ''Dead Seas: how the fish on our plates is killing our planets'' and ''Bottomfeeder:'' ''how the fish on our plates is killing our planets'' (Pan/Macmillan 2012). Since the publication of ''Straphanger'', he has published op-eds, given keynotes, and developed a social media following commenting on urbanism, transit, and active transport. He has served as juror at the Canada Council for the Arts (publishing) and for the Marian Hebb Research Grant. Since the beginning of 2023, he has been a professor of Creative Writing, specializing in literary journalism, at Concordia University in Montreal. He lives in

Outremont Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by franc ...

."Taras Grescoe wins Writers' Trust"
. '' Dose'', November 17, 2008.

Awards and honours

In 2022, Grescoe won a Marian Hebb Research Grant, which is intended to support "inquiry and exploration relevant to Canadian publishing, writing and visual arts, and toward the realization of a publishable work in progress.” He is a fellow of the Fondation Michalski in Montricher, Switzerland, where he worked during a six-week residency in the summer of 2022. In addition to the below,

Hélène Rioux Hélène Rioux (born January 12, 1949) is a French Canadian writer and translator. She was born in Montreal, Quebec and was educated at the Cégep du Vieux-Montréal, going on to study Russian at the Université de Montréal. Her stories have be ...

's translation of ''Bottomfeeder'' was shortlisted for The Cole Foundation Prize for Translation in 2010.

Books

*'' Sacré Blues: An Unsentimental Journey Through Quebec'' (2000) *''The End of Elsewhere: Travels Among the Tourists'' (2003) *''The Devil's Picnic: Around the World in Pursuit of Forbidden Fruit'' (2005) *''Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood'' (2008) *''Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile'' (2012) *''Shanghai Grand: Forbidden Love and International Intrigue in a Doomed World'' (2016) *''Possess the Air: Love, Heroism, and the Battle for the Soul of Mussolini's Rome'' (2019) *''The Lost Supper: Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past'' (2023)

References

External links

Grescoe's food-history themed newsletter by subscriptionGrescoe's transit-and-city themed newsletter by subscription
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grescoe, Taras 1966 births Living people Canadian travel writers Canadian food writers Canadian non-fiction writers Writers from Toronto