David Bergen

David Bergen (born January 14, 1957, Port Edward, British Columbia) is a Canadian novelist from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has published six novels and one collection of short stories since 1993. The Matter with Morris, his most recent novel, published in 2010, has been shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Life and career

David Bergen was born on January 14, 1957 in Port Edward, a small fishing village in British Columbia, and later grew up in a small Mennonite town in Manitoba. ^[1] He went to Bible college in British Columbia and Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he studied creative communication. He taught English and Creative Writing at Winnipeg's Kelvin High School until 2002. ^[2]

Raised as a Mennonite, Bergen has noted that the tendency of the church to stifle questions and criticism affected his decision to write fiction. "Writing is a way of figuring things out," he says. "If you can't ask certain questions in church, maybe you can ask them in fiction." ^[3]

His debut novel, A Year of Lesser in 1996, was a New York Times Notable Book and winner of the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award. His 2002 novel The Case of Lena S. was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for English language fiction and won the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award. It was also a finalist for the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award, and the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction.

His 2005 novel The Time in Between won the Scotiabank Giller Prize, received a coveted starred review in the Kirkus Reviews trade magazine, and was recently longlisted for the 2007 IMPAC Award. In 2008 he published his fifth novel, The Retreat, which was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and which won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award, and the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction. In 2010 he was shortlisted again for the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his sixth novel, The Matter with Morris.

He is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Sitting Opposite My Brother (1993), which was a finalist for the Manitoba Book of the Year.

Bibliography

Novels

• A Year of Lesser, HarperCollins Canada, 1996
• See the Child, HarperCollins Canada, 1999
• The Case of Lena S., McClelland & Stewart, 2002
• The Time in Between, McClelland & Stewart, 2005
• The Retreat, McClelland & Stewart, 2008
• The Matter With Morris, HarperCollins Canada, 2010

Short stories

• Sitting Opposite My Brother, Turnstone Press, 1993

Awards

• 1993 Finalist, Manitoba Book of the Year — Sitting Opposite My Brother
• 1996 John Hirsch Award — A Year of Lesser
• 1996 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award — A Year of Lesser
• 1999 CBC Literary Award, Short Story — How Can 'N' Men Share a Bottle of Vodka
• 2002 Short list, Governor General's Award — The Case of Lena S.
• 2002 Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award — The Case of Lena S.
• 2002 Finalist, McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award — The Case of Lena S.
• 2002 Finalist, Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction — The Case of Lena S.
• 2005 Giller Prize — The Time in Between
• 2005 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award — The Time in Between
• 2007 Long list, International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award — The Time in Between
• 2008 Long list, Giller Prize — The Retreat
• 2008 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award — The Retreat
• 2008 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction — The Retreat
• 2010 Shortlist, Giller Prize — The Matter With Morris

References

1. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia
2. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia
3. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia

External links

• Description of David Bergen's archives at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections
• David Bergen's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Profile at Manitoba Writers' Guild

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Name	Bergen, David
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Date of birth	January 14, 1957
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