Diana Atkinson, née Wigod"Author tells how surgery led to life as stripper". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', April 8, 1995. is a

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, who was a shortlisted nominee for the

Governor General's Award for English-language fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English.1995 Governor General's Awards The 1995 Governor General's Literary Awards were presented by Roméo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada on November 14 at the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto."Writer's Roaring success: Greg Hollingshead wins Governor-General's Award for fiction". ...

for her novel ''Highways and Dancehalls''.

Biography

Originally from

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, she was diagnosed with

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is one of the two types of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the other type being Crohn's disease. It is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary sympto ...

as a child, and underwent frequent surgeries for the condition. By her teenage years, she was psychologically troubled by post-operative trauma from the surgeries, dropping out of high school and spending some time working as a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

. ''Highways and Dancehalls'' was a ''

roman à clef A ''roman à clef'' ( ; ; ) is a novel about real-life events that is overlaid with a façade of fiction. The fictitious names in the novel represent real people and the "key" is the relationship between the non-fiction and the fiction. This m ...

'' about her experience, although she resisted media attempts to sensationalize her past in the novel's promotion. At the time of the award nomination, Atkinson was completing a degree at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. The novel was also a shortlisted nominee for the 1995 Chapters First Novel Award. A French-language translation, titled ''Strip'', was published in 1998. Atkinson won a Western Magazine Award in 2000 for "Falling Slowly", an essay published in ''

Vancouver Magazine ''Vancouver Magazine'' is an English-language lifestyle magazine focused on Vancouver, British Columbia and the Lower Mainland. ''Vancouver Magazine'' describes its mission as informing, guiding and entertaining residents of a "dynamic, internati ...

'', and was nominated for a

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

in the same year for "From the Gut", an essay published in ''Western Living''."National magazine nominees announced". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', April 20, 2000.

References

Living people Canadian women novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian magazine writers Novelists from Vancouver Jewish Canadian writers Concordia University alumni 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian essayists Canadian women essayists Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-writer-stub