Alison Pick (born 1975) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer. She is most noted for her

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

-nominated novel ''Far to Go'', and was a winner of the

Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to a writer who has not yet published his or her first book. Formerly restricted to writers under age 35, the age li ...

for most promising writer in Canada under 35.

Life and career

Alison Pick is the author of three novels (''The Sweet Edge'', ''Far to Go'', and ''Strangers With the Same Dream''), two poetry collections and one memoir (''Between Gods''). She was born in

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and grew up in Kitchener. In 1999, she graduated from the

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

with a B.A. in psychology. Pick received her MA in philosophy from Memorial University in Newfoundland. During her teenage years, Pick discovered that her father's Czech family was originally Jewish although he had been raised a Christian. Pick herself later converted to Judaism. Pick's novel ''Far to Go'' won the Canadian Jewish Book Award and was nominated for the 2011

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

. The novel has been optioned for film by House of Films, with a screenplay written by Hannah Moscovitch and Rosa Laborde. Pick is the author of ''Between Gods'', a memoir about depression, family secrets, and forging a new identity from the ashes of the past. It won the Canadian Jewish Book Award for Memoir, and was shortlisted for the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction and for the

Wingate Prize The Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Literary Prize is an annual British literary prize inaugurated in 1977. It is named after the host ''Jewish Quarterly'' and the prize's founder Harold Hyam Wingate. The award recognises Jewish and non-Jewish writers r ...

in the UK. ''Between Gods'' was also a Top Book of 2014 at the CBC and ''

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 ...

''. The title section of Pick's poetry collection ''Question & Answer'' won the 2002

for Poetry and the 2003

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for Poetry. The book itself was short-listed for the League of Canadian Poets

Gerald Lampert Award The Gerald Lampert Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the best volume of poetry published by a first-time poet. It is presented in honour of poetry promoter Gerald Lampert. Each winner receive ...

for best first book of poetry, and for a Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award. Pick also won the 2005 CBC Literary Award for Poetry. Her writing has appeared widely in publications including ''The Globe and Mail'',''The Walrus'', and ''enRoute Magazine''. Pick served on the jury for the 2015

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 ...

. Pick taught at the Iceland Writers Retreat in

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in the spring of 2015. She is currently a member of the faculty at the Humber School for Writers and the Sage Hill Writing Experience. She lives and writes in Toronto.

Awards

*2001 – Shortlist: CBC Literary Awards (Fiction) *2002 –

for Poetry (for the title section of ''Question & Answer'') *2002 – Shortlist: League of Canadian Poets Gerald Lampert Award (for ''Question & Answer'') *2002 – Shortlist: Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award (for ''Question & Answer'') *2002 – Winner: Writer's Federation of New Brunswick's Alfred G. Bailey Manuscript Prize *2003 – National Magazine (Gold) Award for Poetry *2003 – Shortlist: CBC Literary Awards (Fiction) *2005 – CBC Literary Award for Poetry (for "The Mind's Eye") *2006 – Editor's Choice': Arc Poem of the Year Contest *2007 – Finalist: National Magazine Award for Poetry *2008 – ''

'' Top 100 Book (for ''The Sweet Edge'') *2010 – Winner: Words Worthy Award for Best Novel *2011 – Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award, fiction category (for '' Far to Go'') *2011 – Longlist: The Man Booker Prize for Fiction (for '' Far to Go'') *2013 – Winner: Governor General's Award for Translation (Quebec edition) *2014 – Shortlist: Ontario Arts Council KM Hunter Award for Mid-Career Artist *2015 – Winner: Canadian Jewish Book Award for Non-Fiction and Memoir *2015 – Shortlisted: BC Award for Canadian Non-Fiction *2016 – Longlisted: JQ Wingate Prize *2016 – Shortlisted: JQ Wingate Prize

Festivals

* Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts – 2015 * IFOA (Toronto) – 2014, 2011, 2010, 2005 * Wordfest: Calgary and Banff – 2014, 2010, 2003 * Vancouver International Writers Festival – 2014, 2003 * Ottawa International Writers Festival – 2014, 2010, 2008, 2005 * Thin Air: Winnipeg International Writers Festival – 2014, 2003 * The Bookworm International Literary Festival (Beijing, China) – 2012 * Jewish Book Week (London, England) – 2012 * BookFest Windsor – 2012 * Festival of Words (Moose Jaw) – 2012 * Prince Edward County Authors Festival – 2012 * Talking Fresh (Regina) – 2012 * Vancouver Jewish Book Festival – 2011 * San Diego Jewish Book Fair – 2011 * Tarbut: Festival of Jewish Culture (Winnipeg) – 2011 * Eden Mills Writers Festival – 2015, 2011, 2003 * Joe Burke Wolfe Island Literary Festival – 2011 * Elora Writers Festival – 2011 * GritLit (Hamilton) – 2011 * Ontario Writers Conference – 2011 * Kingston WritersFest – 2010 * Měsíc autorského čtení" (The Month Of Authors' Readings) (Brno, Czech Republic) – 2008

Juries

* The Giller Prize – 2015 * The Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize – 2013 * CBC Literary Awards – 2011 * The Journey Prize – 2011 * Lampman-Scott Award (Best Book by an Ottawa Poet) – 2008 * Malahat Review Novella Contest – 2008 * Gerald Lampert Award for Best First Book of Poetry – 2007 * Newfoundland Book Awards, Poetry Category – 2007 * Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award for Poetry – 2006 * Gregory Power Awards for Poetry, Memorial University – 2006 * Arts and Letters Awards, Newfoundland Arts Council, Poetry – 2005 * Canada Council for the Arts, Poetry, Mid-Career and Established – 2004

Anthologies

* The M Word: Conversations about Motherhood (Kerry Clare, ed) – Goose Lane, 2014 * Best Canadian Poetry in English 2008 – Tightrope Books, 2008 * The Mind's Eye: CBC Literary Award Winners 2001–2006 – ECW, 2008 * The Echoing Years: An Anthology of Poetry from Canada & Ireland – WIT/SCOP, 2007 * Outside of Ordinary: Women's Travel Stories – Second Story Press, 2005 * Breathing Fire 2: Canada's New Poets – Nightwood Editions, 2004 * Vintage 2000: The League of Canadian Poets – Quarry Press, 2000

Radio appearances

* CBC Radio 'Tapestry,' host Mary Hynes – 2014 * CBC Radio 'The Next Chapter,' host Shelagh Rogers – 2010 * CBC Radio 'Weekend Arts Magazine,' host Angela Antle – 2010 * CBC Radio 'Sounds Like Canada,' host Shelagh Rogers – 2006, 2003 * CBC Radio 'Talking Books,' host Ian Brown – 2006 * CBC Radio 'Between the Covers,' host Eleanor Wachtel – 2006 * CBC Radio 'The Arts Tonight,' host Nora Young – 2006

Bibliography

Novels

*''The Sweet Edge'' – 2005 * ''Far to Go'' – 2010 * ''Strangers with the Same Dream'' - 2017

Poetry

*''Question & Answer'' – 2003 *''The Dream World'' – 2008

Non-fiction memoir

*''Between Gods: A Memoir'' – 2014

References

External links

*
Audio of Alison Pick on CBC Radio's ''The Next Chapter''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pick, Alison 1975 births Living people Canadian people of Czech-Jewish descent Canadian women poets Canadian women novelists Converts to Judaism Jewish Canadian writers Writers from Kitchener, Ontario Poets from Toronto 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian women writers Novelists from Toronto