Gail Anderson-Dargatz

Gail Anderson-Dargatz
Gail Anderson-Dargatz
Born	Gail Kathryn Anderson; November 14, 1963 (age 60); Kamloops, British Columbia
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	University of Victoria
Period	1990s–present
Notable works	The Cure for Death by Lightning, A Recipe for Bees

Gail Kathryn Anderson-Dargatz (born November 14, 1963) is a Canadian novelist.^[1]

Anderson-Dargatz was born in Kamloops, British Columbia, and grew up in Salmon Arm. She studied creative writing at the University of Victoria^[1] and taught in the MFA program at UBC.^[2] She published her debut short story collection The Miss Hereford Stories in 1994, and received a nomination for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour in 1995.^[3]

Her first novel, The Cure for Death by Lightning (1996), was an experimental yet accessible work whose story unfolded partly through narrative and partly through a collection of recipes and household tips belonging to the narrator's mother.^[4] A Canadian bestseller that year, it won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize,^[5] and was nominated for the Giller Prize^[6] and the Books in Canada First Novel Award.^[7]

Her second novel, A Recipe for Bees, was published in 1998.^[8] Based on her own parents' early relationship, her process of researching the book led her parents to rekindle their romance after having divorced in 1981, and ultimately to their remarriage to each other.^[8] The book was a Giller Prize finalist in 1998.^[9]

She has since published the novels A Rhinestone Button (2002),^[10] Turtle Valley (2007)^[11] and The Spawning Grounds (2016).^[12]

Bibliography

Short story collections

The Miss Hereford Stories (1994) – ISBN 1-55054-160-9

Novels

The Cure for Death by Lightning (1996) – ISBN 0-385-72047-5
A Recipe for Bees (1998) – ISBN 0-385-72048-3
A Rhinestone Button (2002) – ISBN 0-676-97550-X/ISBN 0-676-97549-6
Turtle Valley (2007) – ISBN 0-676-97886-X
The Spawning Grounds (2016)
The Almost Wife (2021)

References

^ ^a ^b "Gail Anderson-Dargatz". The Canadian Encyclopedia, February 20, 2007.
^ "Success Story with Gail Anderson-Dargatz". 8 March 2020.
^ "Montreal writer wins humor award". Toronto Star, May 4, 1995.
^ "Lightning strikes genius in first novel". Edmonton Journal, May 12, 1996.
^ "B.C. Book Prizes: `Lightning' strikes at awards". The Province, May 18, 1997.
^ "Giller Prize goes to Atwood". Montreal Gazette, November 7, 1996.
^ "Anne Michaels awarded $5,000 first novel prize". Toronto Star, May 28, 1997.
^ ^a ^b "Book research prompts her parents to remarry". Victoria Times-Colonist, September 18, 1998.
^ "Quality evident in Giller nominations: Canadian authors recognized internationally for originality". St. Catharines Standard, October 17, 1998.
^ "Words, images woven with skill: Author describes everyday life in small rural community". Victoria Times-Colonist, December 15, 2002.
^ "Ghosts weave in and out of Turtle Valley for a scary read". Hamilton Spectator, September 29, 2007.
^ "A river runs through it: Gail Anderson-Dargatz's latest novel is a coming-of-age story with a very strange supernatural twist". The Globe and Mail, September 17, 2016.