Anna Maria Porter is a Canadian publisher and novelist.

Life and career

Born Anna Szigethy in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary, she emigrated to New Zealand in 1956. She received a bachelor's degree and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

. She started at

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

in 1969 and became president and publisher of Seal Books. In 1979, she founded

Key Porter Books Key Porter Books was a book publishing company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1979 by Anna Porter, later well known as a writer, the company specialized in Canadian non-fiction, although it published some fiction too. It ceased op ...

and in 1986 she purchased a majority stake in

Doubleday Canada Doubleday Canada is an imprint of the publishing company Penguin Random House Canada. The company used to be known as Forboys. It was incorporated in 1936, and since 1945 it has been known as Doubleday Canada Limited. In 1986 parent company Doubl ...

. In 2004, she was appointed to the Board of Governors of

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. In 1991, she was made an Officer of 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 ...

for being "instrumental in bringing Canadian titles to the attention of the international market place". In 2003, she was awarded the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...

. She has been awarded honorary degrees from

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, although i ...

, St. Mary's University, and the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; ) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; ), its name was changed by statu ...

. In 2004, Porter sold her interest in

to focus on writing. She has published three mystery novels and three books on Middle European history. Her most recent book is ''The Ghosts of Europe'', published in September, 2010.MacSkimming, Roy. "Anna Porter's latest phase", ''Quill & Quire'', 76.8 (2010): 13. She is married to the lawyer Julian Porter.

Selected works

* ''Farewell to the 70's: a Canadian salute to a confusing decade'' (1979) * ''Hidden Agenda'' (1985) * ''Mortal Sins'' (1987) * ''The Bookfair Murders'' (1997) * ''The Storyteller: memory, secrets, magic and lies'' (2000) * ''Kasztner's Train: the true story of an unknown hero of the Holocaust'' (2007) * ''The Ghosts of Europe: journeys through central Europe's troubled past and uncertain future'' (2010) * ''Buying a Better World: George Soros and billionaire philanthropy '' (2015,

Dundurn Press Dundurn Press is one of the largest Canadian-owned book publishing companies of adult fiction and non-fiction. The company publishes Canadian literature, history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Hum ...

) * ''The Appraisal'' (2017) * ''In Other Words: How I Fell in Love with Canada One Book at a Time'' (2018)

Awards and honours

*2007: Nereus Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize, winner, ''Kasztner's Train'' * 2008:

Charles Taylor Prize The RBC Taylor Prize (2000–2020), formerly known as the Charles Taylor Prize, was a Canadian literary award, presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction. It was named for Charles P. B. Taylo ...

, shortlist, ''Kasztner's Train'' * 2010:

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best nonfiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writers� ...

, winner, ''The Ghosts of Europe''

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Anna Porter's official website
* Canadians of Hungarian ancestry * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Anna 1940s births 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian book publishers (people) Canadian women novelists Hungarian emigrants to New Zealand Living people Members of the Order of Ontario New Zealand emigrants to Canada Officers of the Order of Canada University of Canterbury alumni Women book publishers (people) Year of birth missing (living people)