Yann Martel

Infobox Writer
name = Yann Martel

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imagesize = 200px
caption =
pseudonym =
birthdate = birth date and age|1963|6|25
birthplace = Salamanca, Spain
occupation = Novelist
nationality = CAN
period = 1993-"present"
genre =
subject =
movement =
notableworks = Life of Pi
influences =
influenced =
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Yann Martel (born June 25, 1963 in Salamanca, Spain) is a Canadian author best known for the Man Booker Prize-winning novel "Life of Pi".

Biography

As an adolescent Martel attended high school at Trinity College School, a boarding school in Port Hope, Ontario known for having a rigorous and intensive academic English program. It was at the school where Martel honed his early skills in writing. As an adult, Martel has traveled the globe, spending time in Iran, Turkey and India. After studying philosophy at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, Martel spent thirteen months in India visiting mosques, temples, churches and zoos, and then two years reading religious texts and castaway stories. [cite-web | last=Martel | first=Yann | publisher=Powells.com | title=How I Wrote Life of Pi | url=http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html | accessdate=2007-04-19] His first published fictional work, "Seven Stories", appeared in 1993 .

In 2001, "Life of Pi" was published and was awarded the Man Booker Prize in 2002. Soon afterwards, a dedication to Brazilian author Moacyr Scliar appearing in the preface of the novel briefly elicited questions about the story's originality. It appeared that the premise of "Life of Pi" and some aspects of its plot had been inspired by Scliar's "Max e os Felinos", published in 1981. Martel admitted having been influenced, but accusations of plagiarism were defused when Scliar read "Life of Pi" and wrote about it for "La Presse", pointing out how entirely different the two books are. "Life of Pi" was later chosen for the 2003 edition of CBC Radio's "Canada Reads" competition, where it was championed by author Nancy Lee. In addition, its French translation, "Histoire de Pi", was included in the French version of the competition, "Le combat des livres", in 2004, championed by singer Louise Forestier.

Martel spent a year in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from September 2003 as the public library's writer-in-residence. He collaborated with Canadian composer Omar Daniel, composer-in-residence at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, on a piece for piano, string quartet and bass. The composition, "You Are Where You Are", is based on text written by Martel, which includes parts of cellphone conversations taken from moments in an ordinary day.

In November 2005, the University of Saskatchewan announced that Martel would be scholar-in-residence. [U Sask Department of English homepage, retrieved 16 April 2007, http://www.usask.ca/english/] He continues to have an office at the University.

His upcoming novel, "A 20th century Shirt", will deal with the Holocaust: it will take place between two talking animals (a monkey and a donkey) on a man's dress shirt. It will be published simultaneously with an essay on then same subject, also under the same name. Martel cited them as simply two approaches to the same subject. He claims it will be a philosophical work, essentially just "one long conversation". He is also working on a project entitled "What is Stephen Harper Reading", where he is sending the Prime Minister of Canada one book every two weeks that portrays 'stillness' with an accompanying explanatory note. He is posting his letters, book selection and any responses to the website devoted to the project. [What is Stephen Harper Reading, retrieved 16 April 2007, http://www.whatisstephenharperreading.ca/]

Yann Martel currently lives in Saskatoon Canada with his wife Alice Kuipers (author), whom he met at a Writers Conference where she was working as a volunteer. [Life of Yann http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24319737-16947,00.html?from=public_rss]

Books

*"Seven Stories" (1993)
*"The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios" (1993)
*"Self" (1996)
*"Life of Pi" (2001)
*"A 20th Century Shirt" (due spring 2009)

Literary awards

* Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction
* Winner of the 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction
* Shortlisted for the 2001 Governor General's Award for Fiction
* Shortlisted for Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award
* His short story "The Facts behind the Helsinki Roccamatios" was the winner of the 1991 Journey Prize

References

External links

*
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009822 Yann Martel's] entry in [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=HomePage&Params=A1 The Canadian Encyclopedia]

Persondata
NAME= Martel, Yann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Canadian novelist
DATE OF BIRTH= June 25, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH= Salamanca, Spain
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=