Éric Gauthier is a Québécois writer and storyteller. He primarily writes science fiction and fantasy novels and

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

s. He has won the prix Boréal four times (2000, 2006, 2009, 2012); the

prix Solaris Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who ...

three times (1999, 2002, 2016); and the prix Jacques-Brossard three times (2003, 2012, 2020).

Biography

Éric Gauthier was born in 1975 in

Rouyn-Noranda Rouyn-Noranda (; Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipalit ...

, in the Abitibi region of

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, ...

. After a childhood spent in Abitibi, and computer science studies in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Gauthier moved to

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. He eventually left his job as a computer scientist to pursue writing. In 1999, Gauthier did a live

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing narrative, stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatre, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cul ...

performance at the pub Le Sergent Recruteur in Montréal and published his first short story. Though he had previous experience doing readings in Abitibi, the Montréal performance, part of Dimanches du Conte (Sundays of Storytelling), was the true start of his storytelling career. Since then, he has performed in places such as

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

, France, and Serbia, as well as at festivals such as ''Le Rendez-vous des grandes gueules'' in Trois-Pistoles, ''Festival Voix d'Amérique'' in Montréal, ''Caf'Contes'' in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, and Ottawa Storytelling Festival. In 2003, his solo show ''Feu blanc. Contes de la luna'' (''White Fire: Tales of the Moon'') was released as a book-CD. He sometimes tours with other members of Production Cormorant. In addition to his readings and performances, Gauthier also teaches workshops and offers writing consultations. A resident of

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( , ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François River, Saint-François and Magog River, Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territ ...

, Gauthier is part of the Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois.

Bibliography

* 2002: ''Terre des pigeons'' (Planète rebelle) * 2008: ''Une fêlure au flanc du monde'' (Éditions Alire) * 2009: ''Feu blanc'' (Planete Rebelle) * 2011: ''Montréel'' (Éditions Alire) * 2015: '' La grande mort de mononc' morbide'' (Éditions Alire) * 2019: ''Le Saint Patron des plans foireux'' (Éditions Alire) * 2021: ''Les Étages ultérieurs'' (Éditions Alire) Additionally, his short stories have been published in magazines including ''

Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...

'', ''XYZ'', and ''Mœbius''. These stories include: * ''Bientôt sur votre écran'' (''Solaris'', issue 139) * ''Au bout du couloir'' (''Solaris'', issue 200) * ''Le livre de trop'' (''À l'est de l'apocalypse'')

Awards

Gauthier was the youngest person to receive the ''Grand prix de la science-fiction et du fantastique québécois'' during its 23-year history. It was renamed the Jacques-Brossard Prize for Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. Since then, he has won two more but is no longer the youngest winner. He received the inaugural ''Prix estrien de litterature de genre'' for his novel ''La grande mort de mononc' morbide'' in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gauthier, Eric 1975 births Canadian science fiction writers Canadian short story writers in French Living people People from Rouyn-Noranda Canadian novelists in French Canadian male short story writers Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers