Yann Martel
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| Born: | June 25, 1963 (age 43) |
|---|---|
| Occupation: | Novelist |
| Nationality: | Canadian |
| Writing period: | 1993-present |
| Debut works: | The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios |
Yann Martel (born June 25, 1963 in Salamanca, Spain) is a Canadian author best known for the Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi.
As an adult, Martel has travelled the globe, spending time in Iran, Turkey and India. After studying philosophy at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, at age 27 he embarked on a writing career. Living in or visiting many cultures influenced his writing, providing the rich cultural background of Life of Pi. To write the novel, Martel spent six months in India visiting mosques, temples, churches and zoos, and then an entire year reading religious texts and castaway stories. After the research, the actual writing required two more years.
Life of Pi was chosen for the 2003 edition of CBC Radio's Canada Reads competition, where it was championed by author Nancy Lee. In addition, its French translation, Histoire de Pi, was included in the French version of the competition, Le combat des livres, in 2004, championed by singer Louise Forestier.
Martel spent a year in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from September 2003 as the public library's writer-in-residence. He moved to Montreal, Quebec and has recently collaborated with Canadian composer Omar Daniel, composer-in-residence at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, on a piece for piano, string quartet and bass. The composition, You Are Where You Are, is based on text written by Martel, which includes parts of cellphone conversations taken from moments in an ordinary day.
In November 2005, the University of Saskatchewan announced that Martel will return and spend a year in the university's English department as a scholar-in-residence.
His upcoming book will deal with the Holocaust in a novel way: it will take place between two talking animals on a man's dress shirt.
Yann Martel is thought to currently live in Saskatoon.
[edit] Books
- Seven Stories (1993)
- The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios (1993)
- Self (1996)
- Life of Pi (2001)
- We Ate the Children Last (2004
[edit] Literary awards
- Winner of the 2002 Booker Prize for Fiction
- Winner of the 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction
- Shortlisted for the 2001 Governor General's Award for Fiction
- Shortlisted for Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award
- His short story "The Facts behind the Helsinki Roccamatios" was the winner of the 1991 Journey Prize
[edit] External links
| 1960s | 69: Newby | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 70: Rubens | 71: Naipaul | 72: Berger | 73: Farrell | 74: Gordimer, Middleton | 75: Jhabvala | 76: Storey | 77: Scott | 78: Murdoch | 79: Fitzgerald |
| 1980s | 80: Golding | 81: Rushdie | 82: Keneally | 83: Coetzee | 84: Brookner | 85: Hulme | 86: Amis | 87: Lively | 88: Carey | 89: Ishiguro |
| 1990s | 90: Byatt | 91: Okri | 92: Ondaatje, Unsworth | 93: Doyle | 94: Kelman | 95: Barker | 96: Swift | 97: Roy | 98: McEwan | 99: Coetzee |
| 2000s | 00: Atwood | 01: Carey | 02: Martel | 03: Pierre | 04: Hollinghurst | 05: Banville | 06: Desai |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Martel, Yann |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Canadian novelist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 25, 1963 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Salamanca, Spain |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
Categories: Cleanup from February 2007 | All pages needing cleanup | Articles lacking sources from February 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Articles to be expanded since February 2007 | All articles to be expanded | Canadian novelists | Authors selected for Canada Reads | Booker Prize winners | Trent University alumni | Canadian vegetarians | 1963 births | Living people
