Vincent Lam (born September 5, 1974) is a Canadian writer and

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

Early life and education

Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

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 ...

and raised in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Lam's parents came to Canada from the Chinese expatriate community in Vietnam. He attended St. Pius X High School and did his medical training at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, graduating in 1999.

Career

Lam worked as an emergency physician at

Toronto East General Hospital Michael Garron Hospital (MGH), formerly Toronto East General Hospital (TEGH), is a community teaching hospital located at 825 Coxwell Avenue in East York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Overview In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the Michael Garron Hospi ...

and has done international air evacuation work and expedition medicine on

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

ships. He is currently working as an addictions physician at Coderix Medical Clinic.

Writing career

Lam's first book ''

Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures ''Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures'' is a short story collection by Vincent Lam, published in 2006. The book, inspired by Lam's own experiences in medical school and as a professional physician, is a volume of interconnected short stories about ...

'' is based on his experiences in

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

. ''Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures'' won the 2006

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 ...

, Canada's most prestigious literary award, on November 7, 2006. ''Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures'' was also a finalist for The

Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first p ...

in 2008. His second book, the ''Flu Pandemic and You'', which was co-authored by Colin Lee, was published in 2008. Following Lam's Giller win,

Shaftesbury Films Shaftesbury Films is a film, television and digital media production company founded by Christina Jennings in 1987. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background Shaftesbury is a creator and producer of original content for television and ...

announced that it had reached a deal to adapt ''Bloodletting'' into a television series, which debuted in January 2010 on

HBO Canada HBO (previously known as HBO Canada, and still referred to as such on social media) is a Television in Canada, Canadian premium television network from Crave (TV network), Crave (formerly The Movie Network), which is owned by Bell Media. The chan ...

. Lam published a biography of Canadian politician

Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist min ...

, as part of

Penguin Canada Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Doubleday Canada Doubleday Canada is an imprint of the publishing company Penguin Random House Canada. The company used to be known as Forboys. It was incorporated in 1936, and since 1945 it has been known as Doubleday Canada Limited. In 1986 parent company Doubl ...

and has been shortlisted for the 2012

Governor General's Literary Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

Personal life

Lam currently lives with his wife and three children in Toronto.

Bibliography

*''The Flu Pandemic and You'', co-written with Colin Lee with a foreword by

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

(2006, ) *''Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures'' (2006, ) *''Extraordinary Canadians: Tommy Douglas'' (2011) *''The Headmaster's Wager'' (2012)

References

External links

* * 1974 births Canadian medical writers Canadian male novelists Canadian emergency physicians Canadian male short story writers Canadian biographers Male biographers Canadian people of Chinese descent Canadian people of Vietnamese descent Living people Writers from London, Ontario Writers from Ottawa Writers from Toronto University of Toronto alumni Canadian writers of Asian descent 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century biographers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers {{Canada-writer-stub