Curtis Gillespie is a Canadian writer from

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, and is most noted as the winner of seven National Magazine Awards for his writing on politics, culture, family and sport. He is also the winner of many provincial, regional and national awards for his magazine writing and book-length fiction and non-fiction. Born and raised in Alberta, Gillespie went to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

to study history at the

University of St. Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

before returning to Canada.Gordon Morash, "A year in Scotland: Curtis Gillespie has followed a road less travelled by authors -- freelance writing -- to literary success. His path leads him now to Scotland to work on his breakout book". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

'', September 4, 2000. He has published in many outlets, including The New York Times, the Paris Review, The Walrus, Western Living, Toronto Life, '' Alberta Views'' and '' Saturday Night'', among many others. ''The Progress of an Object in Motion'' was published by

Coteau Books Coteau Books was a small, non-profit literary press based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was established in 1975 by Bob Currie, Gary Hyland, Barbara Sapergia and Geoffrey Ursell when they realized that there was little opportunity for Sask ...

in 1997. It won the Danuta Gleed award, as well as the Henry Kreisel Award for best first book from the

Alberta Literary Awards The Alberta Literary Awards (ALA), administered by the Writers Guild of Alberta, have been awarded annually since 1982 to recognize outstanding writing by Alberta authors. The awards honour fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and children's literat ...

, and was a nominee for the Howard O'Hagan Award for short stories. He followed in 2000 with ''Someone Like That: Life Stories'', a collection of non-fiction profiles of people with developmental disabilities whom he had met in his past work as a case worker with Alberta's Catholic Social Services. The following year he and his family returned to Scotland for a year, following which he published the 2002 memoir ''Playing Through: A Year of Life and Links Along the Scottish Coast'', which was described as "the

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

version of '' A Year in Provence.''" In 2007 he published the novel ''Crown Shyness'', about a political journalist's interactions with a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

politician. The novel was a nominee for the

ReLit Awards The ReLit Awards are Canadian literary prizes awarded annually to book-length works in the novel, short-story and poetry categories."Three indie writers honoured by ReLit Awards". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 19, 2007. Founded in 2000 by Newfoundla ...

in 2008. He published ''Almost There: The Family Vacation, Then and Now'' in 2012.David Berry, "A trip well worth taking; Author looks at the meaning and necessity of family vacations". ''

'', October 19, 2012. In 2010, he co-founded (with Lynn Coady) the award-winning magazine Eighteen Bridges, which he also edited. He has also been an educator and writer in residence at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, the Banff Centre and Grant MacEwan University.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Curtis 1960 births Living people 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian memoirists 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male short story writers Canadian male novelists Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian magazine writers Writers from Edmonton Novelists from Alberta