Danuta Gleed (1946 – 11 December 1996) was a Kenyan-born

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.

Biography

She was born in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

in a British camp for

displaced persons Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR defines 'forced displaceme ...

where she spent her early childhood. In 1958, her family moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. At the time of her death, she was living in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Canada. She studied writing with

Frances Itani Frances Susan Itani, née Hill (born August 25, 1942) is a Canadian fiction writer, poetry, poet and essayist. She is a Member of the Order of Canada. Biography Itani was born in Belleville, Ontario, Belleville, Ontario,

Audrey Thomas Audrey Grace Thomas, OC (née Callahan; born 17 November 1935) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer who lives on Galiano Island, British Columbia. Her stories often have feminist themes and include exotic settings.Reingard M. Nischik. ...

, Bryan Moon, and Rita Donovan. Many of her stories drew on her Polish background. Her short stories appeared in many literary journals and won several competitions. Her story "Bones" was nominated for the 1996

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 stories published b ...

Death and legacy

Gleed died 11 December 1996. A collection, ''One of the Chosen,'' was published posthumously by BuschekBooks in 1997. In the same year, John Gleed endowed the

Danuta Gleed Literary Award The Danuta Gleed Literary Award is a Canadian national literary prize, awarded since 1998. It recognizes the best debut short fiction collection by a Canadian author in English language. The annual prize was founded by John Gleed in honour of his ...

in honour of his late wife. The annual award recognizes a first collection of short fiction by a Canadian author writing in English.

References

*Selected with Olive Senior. ''The Journey Prize Anthology: Short Fiction from the Best of Canada's New Writers,'' McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1996. (v.8)

External links

The Writer's Union of Canada website
1946 births 1996 deaths Canadian women short story writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian short story writers {{Canada-writer-stub