Catherine Leroux (born 1979) is a
French Canadian
French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...
novelist.
Early life
Leroux was born in
Rosemère, Quebec in 1979. She graduated university with a degree in philosophy.
Career
Before becoming a novelist, Leroux worked as the Toronto correspondent for
Radio Canada.
Leroux's first novel, ''La marche en forêt'', was published in 2011 and was a finalist for the 2012 ''Prix des libraires du Québec''.
''Le mur mitoyen'' followed in 2013, and was a finalist for the 2013 ''Grand prix du livre de Montréal'' and won the
Prix France-Québec in 2014. She was a shortlisted nominee for the 2016
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 ...
for ''The Party Wall'', a translation of ''Le mur mitoyen'' by
Lazer Lederhendler.
Leroux published the short story collection ''Madame Victoria'' in 2015. The book won the Prix Adrienne-Choquette in 2016. An English edition translated by
Lazer Lederhendler, also called ''Madame Victoria'', was published in 2018.
At the
for ''Le saint patron des merveilles'', her translation of
Mark Frutkin's novel ''Fabrizio's Return''. At the
2019 Governor General's Awards, she won in the same category for ''Nous qui n'étions rien'', her translation of
Madeleine Thien
Madeleine Thien (; pinyin: Dèng Mǐnlíng; b. 1974) is a Canadian short story writer and novelist. ''The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Literature'' has considered her work as reflecting the increasingly trans-cultural nature of Canadian literature ...
's novel ''
Do Not Say We Have Nothing''.
In 2020, Leroux published her third novel, ''
The Future'' (''L'avenir''), an alternate history set in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
premised on the city having remained under French control until present times, under the name "Fort Détroit". The novel won the 2024 edition of ''
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 ...
'', where it was defended by
Heather O'Neill
Heather O'Neill (born 1973) is a Canadian novelist, poet, short story writer, screenwriter and journalist, who published her debut novel, '' Lullabies for Little Criminals'', in 2006. The novel was subsequently selected for the 2007 edition of ' ...
. In 2025, the novel was longlisted for the
International Dublin Literary Award
The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leroux, Catherine
1979 births
Living people
21st-century Canadian novelists
Canadian women novelists
Canadian novelists in French
21st-century Canadian short story writers
Canadian women short story writers
Canadian short story writers in French
People from Rosemère, Quebec
21st-century Canadian women writers
Canadian women non-fiction writers
21st-century Canadian translators
Novelists from Quebec