Marianne Letitia Ackerman (born 1952) is a Canadian novelist, playwright, and journalist. ''Mankind and Other Stories of Women'', her fifth work of prose fiction, was published by Guernica Editions in 2016. Her play ''Triplex Nervosa'' premiered at Centaur Theatre in April 2015. ''Triplex Nervosa Trilogy'' was published by Guernica in 2020.

Biography

Marianne Ackerman was born in

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada, situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Its population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 55,071 (Census Metropolitan Area population 1 ...

and grew up on a farm in Prince Edward County. She received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Political Science (Honours) from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

in 1976. She spent a year at the Sorbonne in Paris studying French language and culture before receiving a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Drama from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 1981. From the early 1980s, Ackerman lived in

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 ...

, where she worked as a freelance journalist and as theatre critic for the ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', winning the Nathan Cohen Award for theatre criticism. In the late 1980s, she founded a bilingual theatre company, Theatre 1774, which staged her plays ''L'Affaire Tartuffe'', ''Woman by a Window'', ''Céleste'' and ''Blue Valentine'', as well as her adaptations of

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

's ''Miss Julie'' and

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''Measure for Measure''. The company also staged ''Echo'', a play developed by

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair lo ...

from Ann Diamond's book of poetry, ''A Nun's Story, ''co-produced with Theatre Passe Muraille. She and Lepage collaborated on ''Alienouidet'', a play about the actor Edmund Kean in Canada, directed by Lepage at the NAC. ''Venus of Dublin,'' a distilled version of the story, premiered at the Centaur Theatre in 2000, and has since been produced several times. After leaving Theatre 1774 and Quebec in 1997, she lived in the hamlet of La Roque Alric, France, moving back to Montreal in 2004. Her freelance articles, essays, reviews and criticism have appeared in ''

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, nonprofit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an eight-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a nation ...

'', ''

The Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'', ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', ''The Canadian Theatre Review'', ''

The Guardian Weekly ''The Guardian Weekly'' is an international English language, English-language news magazine based in London, England. It is one of the world's oldest international news publications and has readers in more than 170 countries. Editorial conten ...

'', ''En Route Magazine'' and other publications. She has taught courses in playwrighting and the history of Quebec theatre at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. Ackerman currently lives in Montreal. She is married to Gwyn Campbell, a professor of economic history at

, and has a daughter.

Prizes and honours

*1985, 1988, 1995, Nathan Cohen National Award for Theatre Criticism *1989 Jurors Award, Quebec Drama Festival, for ''Blue Valentine'' *1988 Best New Play Award, Quebec Drama Festival, for ''Snakeprints'' *1989 King's Theatre New Play Award, for ''Grande Ideas'' *1998 Nominee, Best New Play, Best Anglophone Production, Académie Québécoise du Théâtre, for ''Blue Valentine'' *1995 Best English-Language Production Award, Académie Québécoise du Théâtre, for ''Sliding in All Directions''

Bibliography

Novels and Short Stories

*''Jump'' (2000) McArthur & Company *''Matters of Hart'' (2005) McArthur & Company *''Piers' Desire'' (2010) McArthur & Company *''Holy Fools + 2 Stories'' (2014)

Guernica Editions Guernica Editions is a Canadian independent publisher established in Montreal, Quebec, in 1978, by Antonio D'Alfonso. Guernica specializes in Canadian literature Canadian literature is written in several languages including Canadian English, ...

* ''Mankind and Other Stories of Women'' (2016)

Plays

*''Snakeprints'' (1988) *''Night Driving'' (1989) *''Grande Ideas'' (1989) *''Sharansky'' (1989) *''Alanienouidet'' (co-written with Robert Lepage) (1992) *''Woman By A Window'' (1992) *''L'Affaire Tartuffe, or the Garrison Officers Rehearse Molière'' (1993) *''Sliding in All Directions'' (co-writer) (1995) *''Celeste'' (1995) *''Blue Valentine'' (1996) *''Venus of Dublin'' (2000) *''Triplex Nervosa'', ''Rooftop Eden, Famously'' (2015)

References

External links

*
"Ackerman, Marianne"
''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ackerman, Marianne 1952 births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian women writers Anglophone Quebec people Canadian expatriate writers Canadian expatriates in France Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian women journalists Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian women novelists Carleton University alumni Journalists from Montreal Journalists from Ontario University of Paris alumni University of Toronto alumni Writers from Belleville, Ontario Novelists from Ontario Novelists from Montreal