Esta Alice Spalding is an American author, screenwriter and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

who won the

Pat Lowther Award The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman.Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, to Phillip Spalding and

Linda Spalding Linda Spalding (née Dickinson; June 25, 1943) is a Canadian writer and editor. Born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Jacob Alan Dickinson and Edith Senner, she lived in Mexico and Hawaii before moving to Toronto, Ontario in 1982. She has ...

, she grew up in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

and currently resides in Culver City, California. In 1997, Spalding relocated 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 ...

, where she worked as an executive story editor and writer on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French- ...

's prime-time drama ''

Da Vinci's Inquest ''Da Vinci's Inquest'' is a Canadian dramatic television series which originally aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2005. While never a ratings blockbuster, the critically acclaimed show did attract a loyal following, and ultimately seven seaso ...

''. She also worked as a writer and executive story editor on all three seasons of '' The Eleventh Hour'', a prime-time drama about investigative journalists on

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

. Both series were highly critically acclaimed and repeatedly won Gemini awards for Best Series. Spalding adapted

Barbara Gowdy Barbara Gowdy, CM (born 25 June 1950) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. Born in Windsor, Ontario, she is the long-time partner of poet Christopher Dewdney and resides in Toronto. Literary career Gowdy's novel '' Falling Angels ...

's novel ''Falling Angels'' into a 2003

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

that was directed by Scott Smith. The movie premiered at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

and played at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

, and garnered many awards and nominations, including a Genie nod for Best Writing for Spalding. That year, she also co-wrote (with Deepa Mehta) the script adaptation of Carol Shields' '' Republic of Love'', which Mehta directed. Her 2007 original movie of the week, '' In God's Country'', broke records for viewership on CTV. She and

Tassie Cameron Tassie Cameron is a Gemini Award-winning Canadian screenwriter who has contributed to numerous television shows and films. She was the head writer and executive producer on the Global Television Network/ABC series ''Rookie Blue'' and creator of ...

co-wrote the script for '' Would Be Kings'', a movie of the week that premiered on CTV in 2008 to great critical acclaim and for which they were nominated for the Gemini award for Best Writing. She has been a writer and producing consultant on '' Flashpoint'', ''

Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police drama television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/ ...

'', ''

Being Erica ''Being Erica'' is a Canadian comedy-drama television series that aired on CBC from January 5, 2009, to December 12, 2011. Created by Jana Sinyor, the series was originally announced by the CBC as ''The Session'', but was later retitled ''Be ...

'', ''

Bomb Girls ''Bomb Girls'' is a Canadian television drama that debuted on January 4, 2012, on Global and Univision Canada in Spanish. The plot profiles the stories of four women working in a Canadian munitions factory during World War II, beginning in 1941. ...

'' and ''

Saving Hope ''Saving Hope'' is a Canadian supernatural medical drama television series set in Toronto in the fictional hospital Hope Zion. The series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks. The show's premise originated with Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Br ...

'', for which she was nominated for a Writers Guild Award and '' 19-2'', for which she was nominated for a Canadian Screenwriting Award. She was a writer and co-producer on FX's '' The Bridge'', and a writer and supervising producer on CBS' ''

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which encom ...

'' before moving on to Showtime's ''

Masters of Sex ''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography ''Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s through th ...

'' as a writer and co-executive producer. Currently, Spalding is the showrunner on Showtime's '' On Becoming a God in Central Florida'', and a writer and executive producer on Freeform's ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by ...

''. Her feature film '' The Last Letter from Your Lover'' (co-written with Nick Payne) based on the novel by Jojo Moyes will premiere on Netflix in July 2021. She recently published a children's book series that includes ''Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts'', ''Knock About with the Fitzgerald-Trouts'', and ''Shout Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts''. Spalding and her mother

co-wrote a novel, ''Mere'', which was published in 2001. She is a contributing editor to the literary magazine '' Brick''. She has a

B.A 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 ye ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and an M.A. from Stanford University.

Bibliography

* ''Shout Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts'' - 2019 * ''Knock About with the Fitzgerald-Trouts'' - 2017 * ''Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts'' - 2016 * ''The Wife's Account'' - 2004 * ''Carrying Place'' - 1995 * ''Anchoress'' - 1997 * ''Lost August'' - 1999 * ''Lost Classics'' - 2000 (edited with

Michael Redhill Michael Redhill (born 12 June 1966) is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller ...

and Linda Spalding) * ''Mere'' - 2001

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spalding, Esta 1966 births Living people 20th-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian poets Writers from Boston Canadian women poets 20th-century Canadian screenwriters American expatriate writers in Canada Writers from Toronto Writers from Vancouver American women screenwriters Canadian television writers American women television writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women screenwriters Screenwriters from Massachusetts American television writers Canadian women television writers 21st-century Canadian screenwriters