Author Biographies: Full Readings Fanshawe College Letters and Arts Society Reading Series September 2012 – April 2013

James Bartleman October 18, 2012

James Bartleman is a member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation. He received his early education in Port Carling and London, attended the University of Western and was a teacher for three years in the early 1960s. He then joined the Department of External Affairs and served for thirty-five years inter alia as ambassador to , , NATO, and the , to and and assistant secretary to the Federal Cabinet for foreign and defence policy.

From 2002 to 2007, he was Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. During his term in office, he championed three social justice causes: mental illness stigma; anti-racism and the well-being of Native children. Remembering the importance of books and literacy in helping him emerge from a background of poverty, he established libraries in communities across Ontario, established summer reading camps in all the fly-in First Nations in the province, set up Club Amick, a book club providing free books to children ages five to twelve in the fly-in communities as well as numerous other initiatives to provide sport and music equipment to disadvantaged Native youth.

He holds thirteen honorary doctorates as well as the following awards: Officer of the ; ; Knight of Justice Order of St John; National Aboriginal Achievement Award; Phi Delta Kappa Educator of the Year Award; Canadian Institute of Child Health National Child Care Award; Arthur Kroeger College Award in Ethics in Public Affairs; Mood Disorders Association Hero Award; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Courage to Come Back Award; Dr. Hugh Lefavre Award; DARE Arts Cultural Award; Marion Dewar Defender of the Public Good Award.

He is the author of four books of non-fiction, and since his retirement as Lieutenant Governor, he has written a novel on the intergenerational impact of the residential school experience on the current epidemic of youth suicide in . As Long as the Rivers Flow. (Random House/Knopf, released on February 15, 2011. )

Katrina Onstad October 25, 2012 (note change of date)

Katrina Onstad’s award-winning journalism has appeared in The New York Times Magazine as well as in The Guardian, Elle, and Life. A former film critic for the National Post, she is currently a culture columnist in the Style section of The Globe and Mail. Her first novel, How Happy to Be, was published in Canada by McClelland & Stewart in 2006. Her non-fiction has appeared in the anthologies Between Interruptions (Key Porter, 2007) and Because I Love Her (Harlequin, 2009). Her most recent novel is Everybody Has Everything, to be published spring 2012 by McClelland and Stewart/Random House, and in many other territories around the world. She lives in Toronto.

Jeff Lemire November 22, 2012

New York Times Bestselling author Jeff Lemire is the creator of the acclaimed monthly comic book series Sweet Tooth published by DC/Vertigo and the award winning graphic novel Essex County published by Top Shelf. The Canadian writer and cartoonist is now one of DC Comics cornerstone writers: Jeff was prominent in the publisher’s recent “New 52” line-wide relaunch as the writer of ANIMAL MAN and JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK. He has also written the monthly adventures of SUPERBOY, FRANKENSTEIN: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. and THE ATOM. In 2008 Jeff won the Schuster Award for Best Canadian Cartoonist and The Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent. He also won the American Library Association’s prestigious Alex Award, recognizing books for adults with specific teen appeal. He has also been nominated for 5 Eisner awards, 5 Harvey Awards and 6 Shuster Awards. In 2010 Essex County was named as one of the five Essential Canadian Novels of the Decade and was the Canada Reads selection for 2011. He currently lives and works in Toronto with his wife and son.

Kelley Armstrong January 24, 2013

Kelley Armstrong is the author of the NYT-bestselling “Women of the Otherworld” (Random House Canada) paranormal suspense series and “Darkest Powers/Darkness Rising” (Random House Canada) young adult urban fantasy series, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series (Random House Canada). Her first book Bitten (Random House Canada 2001) was a hard cover release. She writes both online and published anthologized short-fiction and assists young writers through her online writers’ workshop. Her novels and short fiction are published in Canada, the UK and the USA. Her most recent hard cover release (Double-Day Canada April 2011) is The Gathering. Kelley is currently working on the finale of the Otherworld series, which is called 13. The Calling—book 2 of the “Darkness Rising” trilogy—is due to release in April, 2012. She grew up in Southwestern Ontario, where she still lives with her family near London (a former Fanshawe College grad).

Andrew MacDonald February 21, 2013

Andrew MacDonald was a finalist for the Journey Prize and won the Western Magazine Award for Fiction. His writing has appeared in journals all over Canada and the United States, including The Fiddlehead, Event, Prism International, The Pinch, Riddle Fence, and has been collected in the anthologies The Journey Prize Stories 22: Canada’s Best Young Writers (McClelland & Stewart, 2010) and A Manner of Being: Writers on their Mentors (University of Tampa Press, 2013). He also won the inaugural Adam Penn Gilders Award for Best Graduate Creative Thesis from the (a former Fanshawe College grad).

Mark Callanan April 4, 2013

Mark Callanan is the author of Scarecrow (Killick Press, 2003), which was shortlisted for the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award for Poetry; Sea Legend (Frog Hollow Press, 2010), shortlisted for the bpNichol Chapbook Award; and Gift Horse (Véhicule Press, 2011), which was named on the National Post’s Best Poetry of 2011 list. His poems have appeared in numerous anthologies, including Breathing Fire 2: Canada’s New Poets and Open Wide A Wilderness: Canadian Nature Poems. He is currently the Poetry Reviews Editor for Canadian Notes & Queries. He lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland.