Cynthia Flood (born September 17, 1940)"Vancouver writer wins $10,000 Canadian fiction prize". '' The Globe and Mail'', May 25, 1990. is a Canadian short-story writer and novelist. The daughter of novelist Luella Creighton and historian

Donald Creighton Donald Grant Creighton (15 July 1902 – 19 December 1979) was a Canadian historian whose major works include ''The Commercial Empire of the St-Lawrence, 1760–1850'' (first published in 1937), a detailed study on the growth of the English merch ...

, W. H. New, ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada''.

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university cale ...

, 2002. . "Creighton, Luella Sanders", p. 247. she grew up primarily in Toronto. After attending the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

she spent some years in the United States, where she married

Maurice Flood Maurice may refer to: People *Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr *Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and Lo ...

before moving to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

in 1969."Figures of Authority"
''

Books in Canada ''Books in Canada'' was a monthly magazine that reviewed Canadian literature, published in print form between 1971 and 2008. In its heyday it was the most influential literary magazine in Canada. Foundation One of the co-founders of ''Books in Ca ...

''. She has been active in many socialist, feminist, anti-war, and environmental groups, and in the faculty union while an English instructor at

Langara College , mottoeng = Knowledge is Freedom , established = April 1, 1994 , type = Public , endowment = C$5.8 million , administrative_staff = , faculty = , president = Paula Burns , students = 22,000 , city = Vancouver, British Columbia , cou ...

(1971-2001). Maurice came out as

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

in the 1970s, and was a prominent organizer with the

Gay Alliance Toward Equality The Gay Alliance Toward Equality, or GATE, was one of the first Canadian gay liberation groups.Ed Jackson and Stan Persky, ''Flaunting It! 1964-1982: A Decade of Gay Journalism from The Body Politic''. Pink Triangle Press, 1982. Formed in spri ...

. In 1973, both Maurice and Cynthia actively campaigned to have the federal

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

more explicitly include

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

in its platform. She and Maurice separated in 1981. Cynthia continued activity in the NDP and in the women's movement for years after that. As a member of Women Against the Budget, she participated in Vancouver's Solidarity movement (1985). As the 80s went on, she began to focus on her writing. After retirement, she briefly taught creative writing in

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

's writing and publishing program. Flood's first three books of short fiction are ''The Animals in Their Elements'', ''My Father Took a Cake to France'' (Talonbooks, 1987 and 1992), and ''The English Stories'' (Biblioasis 2009). The title story from ''My Father Took a Cake to France'' won the

Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by a ...

in 1990, and she has also won awards from Western Magazines and ''Prism International''. Her work has been widely anthologized, and has been repeatedly included in ''Best Canadian Stories''. Her novel ''Making a Stone of the Heart'' (Key Porter, 2002) was nominated for the

City of Vancouver Book Award The City of Vancouver Book Award is a Canadian literary award, that has been presented annually by the city of Vancouver, British Columbia to one or more works of literature judged as the year's best fiction, non-fiction, poetry or drama work abo ...

that year. Her collection, ''The English Stories'' was published in April 2009 by Biblioasis. These short fictions are set in 1950s England. One, "Religious Knowledge," won the National Magazine Gold Award in 2000, after its publication in ''PRISM International''. Another, "Learning to Dance," is included in ''Best Canadian Stories 2008'', edited by John Metcalf. Flood's 2013 collection, ''Red Girl Rat Boy'' (Biblioasis), was chosen by ''January Magazine'' and ''

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'' as one of 2013's notable books. It was shortlisted for the

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, established in 1985 as one of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, is awarded annually to the best work of fiction by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. The award is named after novelist and short story writer Ethel W ...

from BC Book Prizes, and long-listed for the Frank O'Connor Short Story award. Her work appears regularly in literary magazines, e. g.

Fireweed ''Chamaenerion angustifolium'' is a perennial herbaceous flowering plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is known in North America as fireweed, in some parts of Canada as great willowherb, in Britain and Ireland as rosebay willowherb. In ...

Queen's Quarterly ''Queen's Quarterly'' is a Canadian quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of cultural studies that was established in 1893 by, among others, George Munro Grant, Sanford Fleming, and John Watson, all of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.< ...

A Room of One's Own ''A Room of One's Own'' is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf, first published in September 1929. The work is based on two lectures Woolf delivered in October 1928 at Newnham College and Girton College, women's colleges at the University of C ...

Wascana Review ''Wascana Review'' was a biannual literary magazine, established in 1966, published by the University of Regina. The magazine was published open access, beginning with vol. 42 (2007). Due to decreases in funding of the English Department at the Un ...

, and in "Best Canadian Stories". In 2017 Biblioasis published her fifth book of short fictions, "What Can You Do." As with her other books, many of the stories appeared first in literary magazines. Most recently, a Selected book of Cynthia Flood's stories has appeared, titled "You Are Here" (Biblioasis). This book contains 20 of Flood's best stories from her five collections.

References

External links

Cynthia FloodRecords of Cynthia Flood are held by Simon Fraser University's Special Collections and Rare Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flood, Cynthia 1940 births Living people 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian women novelists Canadian women short story writers Writers from Toronto Canadian feminist writers Canadian anti-war activists Canadian environmentalists Canadian women environmentalists Canadian socialists Canadian LGBT rights activists Langara College people 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers Women civil rights activists