Mark Frutkin (born January 2, 1948) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

novelist and poet. He has published ten books of fiction, three books of poetry, as well as two works of non-fiction and a book of essays. In 2022, his novel ''The Artist and the Assassin'' won the Silver Medal in the

IPPY Awards The Independent Publisher Book Awards, also styled the IPPY Awards, are a set of annual book awards for independently published titles. They are the longest-running unaffiliated contest open exclusively to independent presses. The IPPY Awards ar ...

(for books from independent publishers in Canada/US/Australia), in the category of literary fiction. In 2007, his novel, ''Fabrizio's Return'', won the Trillium Prize for Best Book in Ontario and the

Sunburst Award The Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is an annual award given for a speculative fiction novel or a book-length collection. History The name of the award comes from the title of the first novel by Phyllis Gotlieb, ''Sunburs ...

for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, and was nominated for the

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Bes ...

for Best Book (Canada/Caribbean region). In 1988, his novel, ''Atmospheres Apollinaire'', was short-listed for a

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

and was also short-listed for the

Trillium Award The Trillium Book Award (french: Prix littéraire Trillium or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and ter ...

, as well as the

Ottawa-Carleton Book Award Ottawa Book Award and Prix du livre d'Ottawa is a Canadian literary award presented by the City of Ottawa to the best English and French language books written in the previous year by a living author residing in Ottawa.

. His works have been shortlisted for the Ottawa Book Awards five times. Frutkin went to Canada in 1970 as a

draft resister Draft evasion is any successful attempt to elude a government-imposed obligation to serve in the military forces of one's nation. Sometimes draft evasion involves refusing to comply with the military draft laws of one's nation. Illegal draft e ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, USA. In 1967-68 he studied at Loyola University in Rome, Italy. From 1970-80, he lived in a log cabin with no electricity or running water near Wolf Lake, Quebec. Since 1980, he has lived in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, Canada with his wife, Faith. As a journalist and critic he has written articles and reviews for '' The Globe and Mail'', '' Harper's'', the ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newsp ...

'', ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', ''Amazon.com/ca'', ''Ottawa Magazine'' and other publications. His poetry and fiction have been published in numerous Canadian and foreign journals including ''Canadian Fiction Magazine'', ''

Descant A descant, discant, or is any of several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice (''cantus'') above or removed from others. The Harvard Dictionary of Music states: A descant is a ...

'', and ''Prism International''.

Works

*"The Walled Garden" (essays) - 2023 TBD (Upcoming) *"The Artist and the Assassin" (non-fiction) - 2021 *"The Rising Tide" (non-fiction) - 2018 *"Hermit Thrush" (poetry) - 2016 * ''A Message for the Emperor'' (fiction) - 2012 * ''Colourless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously'' (essays) - 2012 * ''Walking Backwards'' (non-fiction) - 2011 * ''Erratic North'' (non-fiction) - 2008 * ''Fabrizio's Return'' (novel) – 2006 Winner of the 2006 Trillium Award for Best Book in Ontario; Winner of Sunburst Award; Finalist for Commonwealth Award (Canada/Caribbean region) * ''Slow Lightning'' (novel) - 2001 * ''The Lion Of Venice'' (novel) -1997 * ''In The Time Of The Angry Queen'' (novel) -1993 * ''Invading Tibet'' (novel) -1991 * ''Atmospheres Apollinaire'' (novel) –1988, re-issued - 1998 (Finalist for Governor General's Award for Fiction in 1988; finalist for Trillium Award; finalist for

) * ''The Growing Dawn'' (novel) -1983 * ''Iron Mountain'' (poetry) - 2001 * ''Acts Of Light'' (poetry) -1992 * ''The Alchemy Of Clouds'' (poetry) - 1985

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frutkin, Mark 1948 births Canadian male novelists 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists American expatriate writers in Canada Vietnam War draft evaders Living people Writers from Ottawa 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers