Jerrod Edson (born 1974 in
Saint John,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
) 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 ...
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
. His work has been widely praised by critics, including fellow New Brunswick writer
David Adams Richards who said in 2005 that Edson is "one of our best young writers." In 2010, the
Telegraph-Journal
The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, owned by Postmedia Network. It serves as both a provincial daily and as a local newspaper for Saint John. The ''Telegraph-Journal'' is the only New ...
claimed that Edson is "one of the best New Brunswick writers, period."
His novels all take place in Saint John and focus on the underbelly of society. His characters are often drunks who find redemption in one form or another. His novel ''The Goon'' was shortlisted for the 2011
ReLit Award for Best Novel. In 2013 he became a member of the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick. That same year his manuscript for ''The Moon is Real'' won the David Adams Richards Prize.
Edson’s sixth novel, ''The Boulevard'' —his first work of speculative fiction— was published in 2023 by Galleon Books from Moncton, New Brunswick. Critically acclaimed by reviewers, it was hailed by novelist Ian Colford as an “irreverent triumph” and was listed as one of the year’s best books by The Miramichi Reader.
From the New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia: "Edson’s vivid portrayal of the urban area, as well as the working class and underclass, creates a vision of Saint John that highlights the discrepancy between the pre-modern idyllic notion of life in Atlantic Canada and the more complicated reality of the region."
Bibliography
*''The Boulevard.'' Moncton: Galleon Books, 2023.
*''The Moon is Real.'' Windsor: Urban Farmhouse Press, 2016.
*''The Goon.'' Ottawa: Oberon Press, 2010.
*''A Place of Pretty Flowers.'' Ottawa: Oberon Press, 2007.
*''The Dirty Milkman.'' Ottawa: Oberon Press, 2005.
*''The Making of Harry Cossaboom.'' Saint John: Dreamcatcher, 2000.
External links
* http://w3.stu.ca/stu/sites/nble/e/edson_jerrod.html (New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia w/ Edson's bio)
* http://www.oberonpress.ca (Oberon Press website)
* http://jerrodedson.blogspot.ca/ (Edson's website)
1974 births
Canadian male novelists
Living people
Writers from Saint John, New Brunswick
Novelists from New Brunswick
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