Eden Robinson
Robinson in November 2017
Robinson in November 2017
BornEden Robinson
(1968-01-19) January 19, 1968
Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationAuthor
GenreSpeculative Fiction, Gothic Fiction
Notable works• Monkey Beach
• Traplines
• Blood Sports
Notable awardsEthel Wilson Fiction Prize
2001
Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award
2016

Eden Victoria Lena Robinson (born 19 January 1968) is an Indigenous Canadian author. She is a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations.[1]

Life

Childhood

Born in Kitamaat, British Columbia, she is a member of the Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations.[1] Her sister, Carla Robinson, is a television journalist for CBC Newsworld.

Education

She received a BA from the University of Victoria and an MFA from the University of British Columbia.[2]

Later life

In 2003, Robinson moved back to Kitamaat Village to care for her father who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1998. In 2019, Robinson was diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica.[3]

Literary works

Robinson's first book, Traplines (1995), was a collection of four short stories. The young narrators recount haunting tales of their disturbing relationships with sociopaths and psychopaths. The collection won Britain's Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize for the best regional work by a Commonwealth writer.[2] One of the stories, "Queen of the North", was also published in The Penguin Anthology of Stories by Canadian Women. Another of her short stories, "Terminal Avenue", (which was not included in Traplines) was published in the anthology of postcolonial science fiction and fantasy So Long Been Dreaming.

Her second book, Monkey Beach (2000), is a novel. It is set in Kitamaat territory and follows a teenage girl's search for answers to and understanding of her younger brother's disappearance at sea while in the retrospective, it tells a story about growing up on a Haisla reserve. The book is both a mystery and a spiritual journey, combining contemporary realism with Haisla mysticism. Monkey Beach was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize[4] and the Governor General's Literary Award,[5] and received the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.[6]

In her third book, Blood Sports (2006), also a novel, Robinson returns to the characters and urban terrain of her novella "Contact Sports," from Traplines.

Her novel Son of a Trickster (2017) is a humorous coming of age novel and the first of a trilogy.[5] It took Robinson eight years to write, and was originally conceived as a short story.[7] The second book in the trilogy is Trickster Drift (2018), which follows the main character from Kitamaat to Vancouver. The third book in the trilogy, titled The Return of the Trickster, was published March 2, 2021.[8]

Son of a Trickster was optioned for a television series, which premiered as Trickster on CBC Television in 2020.

Awards and honours

Robinson was awarded the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize in 2001 for Monkey Beach, and the Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award in 2016 for her body of work.[9] In 2017 she was named a recipient of the $50,000 Writers' Trust Fellowship.[10]

Son of a Trickster was shortlisted for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize.[11] Trickster Drift won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize at the BC Book Awards on May 11, 2019.[12]

Son of a Trickster was selected for the 2020 edition of Canada Reads, in which it was defended by actress Kaniehtiio Horn.[13]

Bibliography

  • Traplines (1996), ISBN 0-8050-4446-9
  • Monkey Beach (2000), ISBN 0-618-07327-2
  • Blood Sports (2006), ISBN 0-7710-7604-5
  • Sasquatch at Home: Traditional Protocols & Modern Storytelling (2011), ISBN 0-8886-4559-7
  • Son of a Trickster (2017), ISBN 978-0345810786
  • Trickster Drift (2018), ISBN 073527343X
  • Return of the Trickster (2021), ISBN 9780735273467

References

  1. 1 2 Eden Robinson's Archived 2018-05-29 at the Wayback Machine entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  2. 1 2 Robinson, Eden (September 2016). "On Writing and the Gothic". Room (Interview). Interviewed by Taryn Hubbard. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  3. ↑ Deerchild, Rosanna (2019-04-12). "The indestructible Eden Robinson on love, loss and tricksters". CBC. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
  4. ↑ "Monkey Beach". CBC Books. CBC. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Eden Robinson will read for Winter's Tales". The Guardian. 12 March 2017. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  6. ↑ Chau, David (15 February 2017). "Eden Robinson's Son of a Trickster tells story of teen angst and magic". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  7. ↑ "Why it took Eden Robinson eight years to write her new novel". CBC Books. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  8. ↑ "Return of the Trickster by Eden Robinson - Penguin Random House (Book Details)". Penguin Random House Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Eden Robinson, Gregory Scofield, Yasuko Thanh among 2016 Writers' Trust Prize winners". CBC Books, November 2. 2016.
  10. ↑ Brad Wheeler (Nov 7, 2017). "Indigenous writer Eden Robinson awarded 2017 Writers' Trust Fellowship". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "The Scotiabank Giller Prize Presents Its 2017 Shortlist". Scotiabank Giller Prize, October 2, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Winners of the 2019 BC Book Prizes Awarded at Annual Gala". Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "Meet the Canada Reads 2020 contenders". CBC Books, January 22, 2020.
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