Sheila Fischman

Sheila Leah Fischman, C.M., M.A., D.U. (born 1 December 1937) is a Canadian translator who specializes in the translation of works of contemporary Quebec literature.

Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, she studied at the University of Toronto, in Toronto, Ontario, where she earned a B.A. in chemistry and a M.A. in anthropology .

Fischman has translated more than 100 Quebec novels. Since 1987 she has received numerous nominations for the Governor General's Award for Translation, winning the award in 1998; she has twice won the Canada Council Prize for Translation (in 1974 and 1984) and has twice won the Félix-Antoine Savard Award offered by the Translation Center, Columbia University (in 1989 and 1990). Her translation of Pascale Quiviger's "The Perfect Circle" was one of the finalists for the 2006 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Fischman has translated novels from French to English by such noted Quebec authors as Michel Tremblay, Jacques Poulin, Anne Hébert, Marie-Claire Blais, Roch Carrier, Yves Beauchemin and François Gravel.

Fischman has been honoured for her work with honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa and the University of Waterloo, and was invested in the Order of Canada in 2000. In 2008 she has been awarded the 2008 Molson Prize in the Arts and she has been invested in the Ordre national du Québec.

Two of Fischman's translations have been selected for Canada Reads: "Next Episode" by Hubert Aquin in 2003 and "Volkswagen Blues" by Jacques Poulin in 2005.

Fischman has also been a book review editor, a book columnist and a broadcaster.

Fischman is a founding member of the Literary Translators' Association of Canada.