Gillian Sze

{{short description|Canadian writer}}

{{Infobox writer

| birth_date =

| birth_place =

| occupation = writer

| nationality = Canadian

| period =

| genre = poetry, picture books

| notableworks =

| influences =

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| website = {{URL|http://www.gilliansze.com}}

| alma_mater =

| name = Gillian Sze

| awards = carte blanche Prize (2011), Pat Lowther Award (2023)

| spouse =

| children =

}}

Gillian Sze is a Canadian writer. She has won one Quebec Writers' Federation Award and been a finalist seven times across four different categories.

Biography

Sze's parents are Chinese immigrants, and she grew up speaking the Hokkien dialect of Mandarin at home.{{Cite web |last=Drudi |first=Cassandra |date=2022-04-06 |title=In her new collection, Gillian Sze ruminates on family and origins |url=https://quillandquire.com/authors/in-her-new-collection-gillian-sze-ruminates-on-family-and-origins/ |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Quill and Quire |language=en |archive-date=2022-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026033050/https://quillandquire.com/authors/in-her-new-collection-gillian-sze-ruminates-on-family-and-origins/ |url-status=live }} She was raised in Winnipeg.{{Cite web |title=Gillian Sze |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/authors/2210269/gillian-sze |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Penguin Random House Canada |language=English |archive-date=2023-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318173659/https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/authors/2210269/gillian-sze |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Gillian Sze – Asian Heritage in Canada |url=https://library.torontomu.ca/asianheritage/authors/sze_gillian/ |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Toronto Metropolitan University |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-11-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107191538/https://library.torontomu.ca/asianheritage/authors/sze_gillian/ |url-status=live }}

After graduating from high school, Sze studied at the University of Winnipeg for one year to study medicine, after which she transferred to Concordia University to study creative writing. She later received a Master of Arts in creative writing from Concordia University, as well as a Ph.D. in English Studies from the Université de Montréal.

Sze presently lives in Montreal where she teaches in the English Department at Concordia University.

Awards and honours

My Love for You is Always received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.{{Cite web |date=2021-07-14 |title=My Love for You is Always |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/gillian-sze/my-love-for-you-is-always/ |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Kirkus Reviews}}

The Night is Deep and Wide received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.{{Cite web |date=2021-03-04 |title=The Night Is Deep and Wide by Gillian Sze |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781459824812 |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Publishers Weekly}} The book was also named one of the best children's books of the year by New York Public Library (2021){{Cite web |title=Best Books for Kids 2021 |url=https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/kids |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=The New York Public Library |language=en |archive-date=2023-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308132527/https://www.nypl.org/books-more/recommendations/best-books/kids |url-status=live }} and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (2022).{{Cite web |last= |date=2022-04-25 |title=Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Announces 2022 Best Books for Babies List |url=https://www.carnegielibrary.org/clp_press_release/carnegie-library-of-pittsburgh-announces-2022-best-books-for-babies-list/ |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206102250/https://www.carnegielibrary.org/clp_press_release/carnegie-library-of-pittsburgh-announces-2022-best-books-for-babies-list/ |url-status=live }}

The Globe and Mail included Quiet Night Think: Poems & Essays in their list of the best 100 books of 2022.{{Cite news |date=2022-12-02 |title=The Globe 100: The best books of 2022 |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/article-globe-100-2022/ |access-date=2023-03-18 |archive-date=2023-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318033405/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/article-globe-100-2022/ |url-status=live }} CBC Books also included in on their "Best Canadian Poetry of 2022" list.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-08 |title=The best Canadian poetry of 2022 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-best-canadian-poetry-of-2022-1.6678441 |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=CBC Books |archive-date=2022-12-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227102038/https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-best-canadian-poetry-of-2022-1.6678441 |url-status=live }}

class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

|+Awards for Sze's writing

!Year

!Title

!Award

!Result

!Ref.

2009

|Fish Bones

|McAuslan First Book Prize

|Shortlist

|{{Cite web |title=The Concordia University First Book Prize |url=https://qwf.org/prize/the-concordia-university-first-book-prize/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101063012/https://qwf.org/prize/the-concordia-university-first-book-prize/ |archive-date=2022-11-01 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=Quebec Writers' Federation}}

2011

|"Like This Together"

|carte blanche Prize

|Winner

|{{Cite web |title=carte blanche Prize |url=https://qwf.org/prize/carte-blanche-prize/#winners |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207135846/https://qwf.org/prize/carte-blanche-prize/#winners |archive-date=2022-12-07 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=Quebec Writers' Federation |language=en-CA}}

2014

|Peeling Rambutan

|A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry

|Shortlist

|{{Cite web |title=The A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry |url=https://qwf.org/prize/the-a-m-klein-prize-for-poetry/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208130359/https://qwf.org/prize/the-a-m-klein-prize-for-poetry/ |archive-date=2022-12-08 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=Quebec Writers' Federation}}

2016

|Redrafting Winter

|A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry

|Shortlist

|

2018

|Panicle

|A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry

|Shortlist

|{{Cite web |date=2019-02-28 |title=Rawi Hage, Paige Cooper among finalists for 2018 Quebec Writers' Federation literary awards |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/rawi-hage-paige-cooper-among-finalists-for-2018-quebec-writers-federation-literary-awards-1.4863668 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=CBC Books |archive-date=2019-02-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228025224/https://www.cbc.ca/books/rawi-hage-paige-cooper-among-finalists-for-2018-quebec-writers-federation-literary-awards-1.4863668 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Mudaly |first=Lee-Ann |date=2018-11-21 |title=4 Concordians shortlisted for Quebec Writers Federation awards |url=https://www.concordia.ca/content/shared/en/news/offices/vpaer/aar/2018/11/14/4-concordians-shortlisted-for-quebec-writers-federation-awards.html |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Concordia University |language=en |archive-date=2023-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230318024842/https://www.concordia.ca/cunews/offices/vpaer/aar/2018/11/14/4-concordians-shortlisted-for-quebec-writers-federation-awards.html |url-status=live }}

2022

|Quiet Night Think

|A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry

|Shortlist

|{{Cite web |title=The QWF Spoken Word Prize |url=https://qwf.org/prize/spoken-word-prize/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207124635/https://qwf.org/prize/spoken-word-prize/ |archive-date=2022-12-07 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=Quebec Writers' Federation |language=en-CA}}{{Cite web |date=2022-10-20 |title=Rawi Hage and Sina Queyras among finalists for Quebec Writers' Federation Literary Awards |url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/rawi-hage-and-sina-queyras-among-finalists-for-quebec-writers-federation-literary-awards-1.6623202 |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=CBC Books |archive-date=2022-11-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101015641/https://www.cbc.ca/books/rawi-hage-and-sina-queyras-among-finalists-for-quebec-writers-federation-literary-awards-1.6623202 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Drudi |first=Cassandra |date=2022-10-19 |title=Shortlists announced for 2022 QWF awards |url=https://quillandquire.com/omni/shortlists-announced-for-2022-qwf-awards/ |access-date=2023-03-18 |website=Quill and Quire |language=en |archive-date=2022-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116172510/https://quillandquire.com/omni/shortlists-announced-for-2022-qwf-awards/ |url-status=live }}

2022

|You Are My Favorite Color

|Janet Savage Blachford Prize

|Shortlist

|

2023

|Quiet Night Think

|Pat Lowther Award

|Winner

|[https://www.cbc.ca/books/edmonton-s-matthew-james-weigel-among-winners-of-2023-league-of-canadian-poets-awards-1.6838662 "Edmonton's Matthew James Weigel among winners of 2023 League of Canadian Poets awards"]. CBC, May 11, 2023.

Publications

= Children's books =

  • My Love for You Is Always, illustrated by Michelle Lee (2021, Philomel, {{ISBN|9780593203071}})
  • The Night Is Deep and Wide, illustrated by Sue Todd (2021, Orca Books, {{ISBN|9781459824812}})
  • You Are My Favorite Color, illustrated by Niña Mata (2022, Philomel, {{ISBN|9780593203101}})
  • When Sunlight Tiptoes, illustrated by Soyeon Kim (2023, Orca Book Publishers, {{ISBN|9781459834507}})
  • The Little Green Envelope, illustrated by Claudine Crangle (2023, Groundwood)
  • I Drew a Heart, illustrated by Naoko Stoop (2023, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

= Poetry =

  • Fish Bones (2009, DC Books, {{ISBN|9781897190494}})
  • The Anatomy of Clay (2011, ECW Press, {{ISBN|9781770410145}})
  • Peeling Rambutan (2014, Gaspereau Press, {{ISBN|9781554471331}})
  • Fricatives (2015, Gaspereau Press, {{ISBN|9781554471539}})
  • Redrafting Winter, with Alison Strumberger (2015, BuschekBooks, {{ISBN|9781894543859}})
  • Panicle (2017, Misfit Book, {{ISBN|9781770414051}})
  • Quiet Night Think: Poems & Essays (2022, Misfit Book, {{ISBN|9781770416253}})

References

{{Reflist}}