Michael Christie is a Canadian writer, whose debut story collection ''The Beggar's Garden'' was a longlisted nominee for the 2011

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

and a shortlisted nominee for the 2011

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...

. Born and raised in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Christie later moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

to pursue professional

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

, and studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

. He subsequently worked for several years in

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

before returning to the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

's creative writing program in 2008. He published ''The Beggar's Garden'' in early 2011. ''The Beggar's Garden'' won the 2011 City of Vancouver Book Award. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, ''If I Fall, If I Die'', a coming-of-age-story about the son of a reclusive agoraphobic filmmaker who leaves home for the first time to search for a lost boy, was published early 2015 in the US by Hogarth, and in Canada by

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

. The novel was longlisted for the 2015 Giller Prize. His second novel, ''Greenwood'', was published in 2019 and was longlisted for the 2019 Giller Prize. ''Greenwood'' was also shortlisted for

Forest of Reading The Forest of Reading is Canada's largest recreational reading program, featuring ten award programs and run by the Ontario Library Association (OLA). Programs are primarily geared towards French and English readers in kindergarten to grade twelve ...

's Evergreen Award, the

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, established in 1985 as one of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, is awarded annually to the best work of fiction by a resident of British Columbia, Canada. The award is named after novelist and short story A short ...

, and the

Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize The Roderick Haig-Brown Prize is part of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, awarded in celebration of the achievements of British Columbia writers and publishers. It is awarded to the author(s) of books who "contributes most to the enjoyment and unders ...

. In 2020, the novel won the

Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

. ''Greenwood'' was selected for the 2023 edition of ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...

'', where it was championed by

Keegan Connor Tracy Keegan Connor Tracy (born December 3, 1971) is a Canadian actress, author and director. She is best known for her roles as Audrey Malone in the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Beggars and Choosers'' (1999–2000), the Blue Fairy in the ABC fa ...

. He is married to writer Cedar Bowers.Mike Devlin
"Galiano Island spurs author Michael Christie’s imagination"
''

Victoria Times-Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the September 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ' ...

'', October 13, 2019.

Bibliography

* ''The Beggar's Garden'' (2011) * ''If I Fall, if I Die'' (2015) * ''Greenwood'' (2019)

References

External links

Michael Christie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, Michael 1976 births 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers Writers from Thunder Bay Novelists from Vancouver Simon Fraser University alumni University of British Columbia alumni Living people Canadian social workers Novelists from Ontario