Erna Paris (6 May 1938 – 3 February 2022) was a Canadian non-fiction author.

Biography

Paris was born in

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to an essentially secular Jewish family. She was the niece of classical pianist Beth Lipkin. After earning a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from 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 ...

in Honours Philosophy and English, Paris moved to France for several years, where she continued her studies at the

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. She began her writing career in the 1970s as a magazine journalist and radio broadcaster/documentarist. She was the author of seven books and the winner of twelve national and international prizes for her books, journalism, and radio documentaries. She was also a frequent contributor to the opinion page of the Globe and Mail. Paris lived in Toronto with her husband, Thomas M. Robinson, professor emeritus of Ancient Greek Philosophy and Classics at the University of Toronto. She had a daughter, Michelle, and a son, Roland. Paris died on 3 February 2022, at the age of 83.

Awards and recognition

* 1970: Winner,

Media Club of Canada The Media Club of Canada was a professional organization of Canadian journalists, active from 1904 to the early 1990s. It was originally known as the Canadian Women's Press Club (CWPC) before 1971, when it was only open to women journalists. The o ...

, feature writing * 1973: Winner, Media Club of Canada, radio documentary * 1974: Winner, Media Club of Canada, feature writing * 1974: Winner, Media Club of Canada, radio documentary * 1981-2001, ''

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'' magazine Best Books, ''Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History'' * 1983: Winner, Gold Medal,

National Magazine Awards 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 ...

* 1990: Best Canadian Essays, Fifth House Press, ''The Boat People'' * 1991: Winner, Bronze Medal

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, North America City and Regional Magazine Competition, ''The Boat People'' * 1995: Winner, Year-End Best Books,

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 ...

, ''The End of Days: Tolerance, Tyranny and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain'' * 1996: Winner,

Canadian Jewish Book Awards The Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Awards were a Canadian program of literary awards, managed, produced and presented annually by the Koffler Centre of the Arts to works judged to be the year's best works of literature by Jewish Canadian ...

, History, ''The End of Days: Tolerance, Tyranny and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain'' * 2000: Globe and Mail Best Books, ''Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History'' * 2001: Winner,

Pearson Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize The Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best work of non-fiction by a Canadian writer. Canada's most lucrative non-fiction prize, the winner rec ...

, ''Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History'' * 2001: Winner,

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best nonfiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writers� ...

, ''Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History'' * 2001: Winner,

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, Canadian Jewish Book Awards, ''Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History '' * 2001: ''

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'' Best Books, ''Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History'' * 2001: ''

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'' Best Books, ''Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History'' * 2002: Visiting Fellow, International Affairs Program,

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* 2003: "The Presence of Excellence/ Vingt-Cinq Ans d'Excellence: Twenty-Five Years of Selections from the National Magazine Awards", National Magazine Awards Foundation * 2005: "The 100 Most Important Canadian Books Ever Written" (1535-2004): ''Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History,'' The

Literary Review of Canada The ''Literary Review of Canada'' is a Canadian magazine that publishes ten times a year in print and online. The magazine features essays and reviews of books on political, cultural, social, and literary topics, as well as original Canadian poe ...

* 2008: '' The Globe and Mail'' Best Books, "The Sun Climbs Slow: Justice in the Age of Imperial America" * 2008-2009: Vice Chair,

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* 2009: Short-List,

, "The Sun Climbs Slow: Justice in the Age of Imperial America" * 2009: "Decade in Review: Top 10 Canadian Books", "Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History," ''

'' magazine * 2009: Appointed, Honorary Council,

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, Ottawa * 2009-2010: Chair,

* 2011: "Canada's Twenty-Five Most Influential Books of Nonfiction", "Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History", selected by the shortlisted authors for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction * 2012:

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World Peace Award * 2012: Winner, Silver Medal,

* 2014: "

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, University of Toronto * 2015: Appointed a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ce ...

Bibliography

* ''Jews, An Account of Their Experience in Canada''. Toronto: Macmillan, 1980. * ''Stepfamilies: Making Them Work''. Toronto: Avon, 1984. * ''Unhealed Wounds: France and the Klaus Barbie Affair''. Toronto: Methuen, 1985. * ''The Garden and the Gun: A Journey Inside Israel''. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys, 1988 * ''The End of Days: A Story of Tolerance, Tyranny, and the Expulsion of the Jews from Spain''. Toronto: Lester, 1995. * ''Long Shadows: Truth, Lies and History'' Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2000. * ''The Sun Climbs Slow: Justice in the Age of Imperial America,'' Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2008. * ''From Tolerance to Tyranny: A Cautionary Tale From Fifteenth-Century Spain,'' Toronto: Cormorant Books, 2015. (New edition of ''The End of Days.'')

References

External links

Erna Paris official website
accessed 17 July 2006
University of Toronto Magazine: Alumni Notes
Autumn 2001, "Kudos", accessed 17 July 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Erna 1930s births 2022 deaths 20th-century Canadian historians Jewish Canadian writers Writers from Toronto University of Paris alumni University of Toronto alumni 21st-century Canadian historians Members of the Order of Canada Canadian women historians