Sheila Leah Fischman (born 1 December 1937) is a Canadian

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

who specializes in the translation of works of contemporary Quebec literature from French to English. Born in

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, she was brought up in Ontario. She holds an M.A. from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. Fischman is a former editor of the ''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English language, English-language Canada, Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950 ...

''s book section, as well as a columnist for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' and the ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'' and a broadcaster for

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. She is a founding member of the Literary Translators' Association of Canada and founding co-editor of ''Ellipse: Œuvres en traduction/Writers in Translation''. She lives in Montreal.

Works

Fischman has translated nearly 150

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s into English, including works by such noted Quebec authors as

Michel Tremblay Michel Tremblay (born 25 June 1942) is a Canadian writer, novelist and playwright. Tremblay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up in the French-speaking neighbourhood of Plateau Mont-Royal; at the time of his birth, a neighbourhood ...

Hubert Aquin Hubert Aquin (24 October 1929 – 15 March 1977) was a Quebec writer, filmmaker and intellectual. He is particularly known for his novel ''Next Episode (novel), Next Episode''. He is also an important figure in the history of the Quebec Soverei ...

Jacques Poulin Jacques Poulin (; born 23 September 1937 in Saint-Gédéon, Quebec) is a Canadian novelist with a quiet and intimate style of writing. Poulin studied psychology and arts at the Université Laval in Quebec City; he started his career as commercial ...

, Suzanne Jacob, Anne Hébert, Marie-Claire Blais,

Roch Carrier Roch Carrier (born 13 May 1937) is a French Canadian novelist and author of "contes" (a very brief form of the short story). He is among the best known Quebec writers in English Canada. Life He was born in Sainte-Justine, Quebec, and studied a ...

, Yves Beauchemin,

Kim Thúy Kim Thúy Ly Thanh, CM CQ (born 1968 in Saigon, South Vietnam)

, Dominique Fortier and François Gravel.

Honours and citations

Since 1987, Fischman has received 14 nominations for the

Governor General's 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 ...

for Translation, receiving the prize in 1998 for ''Bambi and Me'', her translation of

's ''Les vues animés''. She has twice won the

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

Prize for Translation (in 1974 and 1984) and the Félix-Antoine Savard Award offered by the Translation Center,

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, for ''Heartbreaks Along the Road'' by Roch Carrier (1989) and ''The First Garden'' by Anne Hébert (1990). Her translation of Pascale Quiviger's ''The Perfect Circle'' was a finalist for the 2006

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) 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 c ...

and her translation of ''Am I Disturbing You'' by Anne Hébert was a finalist for the same prize in 2000. Four of Fischman's translations have been selected for

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...

: '' Next Episode'' by

in 2003; '' Volkswagen Blues'' by

in 2005; '' The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant'' by

in 2009; and '' Ru'' by

Kim Thúy Kim Thúy Ly Thanh, CM CQ (born 1968 in Saigon, South Vietnam)

in 2015. Her translations won the competition in 2003 and 2015. In recognition of her work, Fischman has received honorary doctorates from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

. In 2000, she was invested into the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

and, in 2008, made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

. She won the 2008

Molson Prize The Thomas Henry Pentland Molson Prize for the Arts is awarded by the Canada Council, Canada Council for the Arts. Two prizes are awarded annually to distinguished individuals. One prize is awarded in the arts, one in the social sciences and human ...

for the Arts.

References

External links

* Archives of Sheila Fischma
(Sheila Fischman fonds, R11732)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischman, Sheila 1937 births Living people French–English translators Members of the Order of Canada Knights of the National Order of Quebec People from Moose Jaw University of Toronto alumni Governor General's Award–winning translators Literary translators 20th-century Canadian translators 21st-century Canadian translators