Chelene Knight

{{Infobox writer

| image =

| caption = Chelene Knight

| birth_place = Vancouver, British Columbia

| occupation = Writer

| period = 2000s-present

| nationality = Canadian

| notableworks = Dear Current Occupant

| awards = 2018 City of Vancouver Book Award

| website = {{URL|https://cheleneknight.com/}}

}}

Chelene Knight is a Canadian writer and poet.

Biography

Knight was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is of Black and South Asian heritage.{{Cite web|date=2018-04-10|title='It triggered something in me.' Chelene Knight's memoir tackles belonging, race and poverty in Downtown Eastside|url=https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/04/10/local-black-author-shares-story-of-growing-up-in-the-downtown-eastside.html|access-date=2021-02-23|website=thestar.com|language=en}} A graduate of The Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University, Knight developed an interest in writing at a young age.{{Cite web|last=Monica|date=2015-04-01|title=An Interview with Poet and Room Poetry Coordinator Chelene Knight|url=https://roommagazine.com/an-interview-with-poet-and-room-poetry-coordinator-chelene-knight/|access-date=2021-02-22|website=ROOM Magazine|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Corkum|first=Trevor|title=The Chat With Chelene Knight|url=https://49thshelf.com/Blog/2018/05/09/The-Chat-With-Chelene-Knight|access-date=2021-02-23|website=49thshelf.com|language=en}} Her work has appeared in numerous American and Canadian publications, including The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, and The Capilano Review.{{Cite web|last=Newton|first=Elizabeth|date=2020-03-15|title=Chelene Knight|url=https://creatorsvancouver.com/chelene-knight/|access-date=2021-02-19|website=Creators Vancouver|language=en-US}}

Her debut book of poetry, Braided Skin, was published in 2015 by Mother Tongue Publishing.

Her 2018 sophomore release, Dear Current Occupant (Book*hug), is a creative nonfiction memoir about growing up in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside in the 1980s and 1990s. A hybrid work of poetry, prose, and photography, the book unfolds in a series of letters addressed to all of the current occupants living in the twenty different homes that Knight inhabited as a child.{{Cite news|title=Why Chelene Knight wrote letters to the current occupants of the houses she lived in growing up {{!}} CBC Books|language=en-US|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/why-chelene-knight-wrote-letters-to-the-current-occupants-of-the-houses-she-lived-in-growing-up-1.4533897|access-date=2021-02-22}} It was the winner of the 2018 City of Vancouver Book Award{{Cite web|date=2018-12-08|title=Chelene Knight's Dear Current Occupant wins City of Vancouver Book Award|url=https://www.straight.com/arts/1175081/chelene-knights-dear-current-occupant-wins-vancouver-book-award|access-date=2021-02-19|website=The Georgia Straight|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2018-12-10|title=Chelene Knight's memoir Dear Current Occupant wins Vancouver Book Award|url=https://quillandquire.com/omni/chelene-knights-memoir-dear-current-occupant-wins-vancouver-book-award/|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Quill and Quire|language=en}} and was long-listed for the 2019 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature.{{Cite web|date=2019-02-04|title=Longlist announced for 2019 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature|url=https://www.readlocalbc.ca/2019/02/04/longlist-announced-for-2019-george-ryga-award-for-social-awareness-in-literature/|access-date=2021-02-19|website=Read Local BC|language=en-CA}} Dear Current Occupant was also named one of the best Canadian nonfiction books of 2018 by CBC Books.{{Cite news|title=The best Canadian nonfiction of 2018 {{!}} CBC Books|language=en-US|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-best-canadian-nonfiction-of-2018-1.4932418|access-date=2021-02-19}}

In 2019, Knight was a recipient of the Writers' Trust of Canada inaugural Rising Star award. She was selected by Canadian writer David Chariandy, who noted in a press release: “Chelene Knight writes with all of the high artistry that comes from caring.”{{Cite news|title=Writers' Trust of Canada launches Rising Star program for emerging writers {{!}} CBC Books|language=en-US|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/writers-trust-of-canada-launches-rising-star-program-for-emerging-writers-1.5107207|access-date=2021-02-19}}

In addition to her career as a writer, Knight is a fixture in the literary scene of Vancouver. She was the former managing editor of the literary journal, Room, as well as the programming director for Vancouver's Growing Room Festival in 2018 and 2019.{{Cite web|title="Community is Everything": An Interview with Growing Room Festival Director Chelene Knight|url=https://prismmagazine.ca/2019/03/04/community-is-everything-an-interview-with-growing-room-festival-director-chelene-knight/|access-date=2021-02-19|website=PRISM international|date=4 March 2019 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2018-03-12|title=Second Growing Room festival focused on the craft of writing in a "safe, supportive, feminist environment"|url=https://quillandquire.com/omni/second-growing-room-festival-focused-on-the-craft-of-writing-in-a-safe-supportive-feminist-environment/|access-date=2021-02-19|website=Quill and Quire|language=en}} In 2019, Knight founded Breathing Space Creative Literary Studio, a literary wellness hub which helps new writers, authors, and publishing professionals build sustainable, long-term careers in publishing through wellness, mindfulness, and industry transparency.{{Cite web|date=2019-09-12|title=Chelene Knight launches author-care service, Breathing Space Creative|url=https://quillandquire.com/omni/chelene-knight-launches-author-care-service-breathing-space-creative/|access-date=2021-02-19|website=Quill and Quire|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=The Need for More Non-Traditional Mentorship in Canadian Publishing|url=https://open-book.ca/Columnists/The-Need-for-More-Non-Traditional-Mentorship-in-Canadian-Publishing|access-date=2021-02-19|website=open-book.ca|language=en}} She also works as an associate literary agent with Transatlantic Agency and teaches poetry part-time at the University of Toronto.{{Cite web|date=2020-06-24|title=Chelene Knight|url=https://www.transatlanticagency.com/about-us/agents/chelene-knight/|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Transatlantic Agency|language=en-US}}

Knight's 2022 novel Junie is set in Vancouver's historically Black neighbourhood of Hogan's Alley.{{Cite web|last=admin|date=2018-05-23|title=Changing the Game: In Conversation with Chelene Knight|url=https://bookhugpress.ca/in-tune-with-the-mess-in-conversation-with-chelene-knight/|access-date=2021-02-22|website=Book*hug Press|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last1=Knight|first1=Chelene|last2=Book*hug|title="What Does it Mean to Be Home?" Our June 2018 Writer-in-Residence Chelene Knight on Her Writing Journey|url=https://open-book.ca/News/What-Does-it-Mean-to-Be-Home-Our-June-2018-Writer-in-Residence-Chelene-Knight-on-Her-Writing-Journey|access-date=2021-02-19|website=open-book.ca|language=en}} The novel was longlisted for the inaugural Carol Shields Prize for Fiction in 2023,Deborah Dundas, [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2023/03/08/5-canadians-nominated-for-first-carol-shields-prize-for-fiction-for-women-and-non-binary-writers-worth-150000-us.html "5 Canadians nominated for first Carol Shields Prize for Fiction for women and non-binary writers, worth $150,000 (U.S.)"]. Toronto Star, March 8. 2023. and was a finalist for the 2023 ReLit Award for fiction.[https://quillandquire.com/omni/relit-awards-announce-2023-long-shortlists/ "ReLit Awards announce 2023 long shortlists"]. Quill & Quire, September 25, 2023.