Audrey Grace Thomas (née Callahan; born 17 November 1935) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer who lives on Galiano Island, British Columbia. Her stories often have feminist themes and include exotic settings.Reingard M. Nischik. History of Literature in Canada: English-Canadian and French-Canadian. Camden House; 2008. . p. 318–. She is a recipient of the Marian Engel Award and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Life, education and career Thomas was born 17 November 1935 in Binghamton, New York. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College in Massachusetts in 1957, then studied at St. Andrews University in Scotland before teaching in England. In 1959, she immigrated to Canada, where she received a Master of Arts degree from University of British Columbia in 1963.
From 1964 to 1966, Thomas lived in Ghana, and some of her stories are set there and in other distant places."Local Customs, by Audrey Thomas: Review". National Post, February 21, 2014"Audrey Thomas" | Room Magazine.
Thomas lived in Edinburgh, Scotland in the 1980s, and wrote articles for Saturday Night Magazine.Linda L. Richards, "Audrey Thomas" , January Magazine.
Beginning in 1990, Thomas was a visiting professor at Concordia University in Montreal. She also spent time as writer-in-residence at the University of Victoria, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, and David Thompson University Centre.
She published her first story, "If One Green Bottle...", in 1967. In 2014, she published her eighteenth book, Local Customs."Local Customs: A take on 19th century woman's death not so much a work of historical fiction as an act of channelling". Review by Sara O'Leary, The Globe and Mail, 21 March 2014.
Awards and honours From 1984 to 1986, Thomas received the Canada-Scotland Writer's Literary Fellowship, and in 1987, she won the Marian Engel Award for her body of work. In 1989, she receive the Canada-Australia Literary Prize. In 1994, she received an honorary doctorate from Simon Fraser University. In 2003, she won the Terasen Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2008, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
+Awards for Thomas's writingYearTitleAwardResultRef.1966"If One Green Bottle..."Atlantic First AwardWinner1984Intertidal Life Ethel Wilson Fiction PrizeWinner1984Intertidal LifeGovernor General's Award for English-language fictionFinalistJames Adams, "Local writers nominated for award". Edmonton Journal, May 16, 1985.1990Wild Blue YonderEthel Wilson Fiction PrizeWinner1995Coming Down from WaEthel Wilson Fiction PrizeWinner1996Coming Down from WaGovernor General's Award for English-language fictionFinalistJudy Stoffman, "It's Atwood ahead again in book race". Toronto Star, October 18, 1996.2006TattycoramEthel Wilson Fiction PrizeShortlist
Bibliography
Novels Mrs. Blood – 1970 Munchmeyer and Prospero on the Island – 1971 Songs My Mother Taught Me – 1973 Blown Figures – 1974 Latakia – 1979 Intertidal Life – 1984 Graven Images – 1993 Coming Down from Wa – 1995 Isobel Gunn – 1999 Tattycoram Local Customs – 2014
Short stories
Ten Green Bottles – 1967 Ladies and Escorts – 1977 Real Mothers – 1981 Two in the Bush and Other Stories – 1981 Goodbye Harold, Good Luck – 1986 The Wild Blue Yonder – 1990 The Path of Totality – 2001
References
External links The archives of Audrey Thomas (Thomas Audrey fonds, R11818) are held at Library and Archives Canada