Susan Ouriou
{{Short description|Canadian fiction writer, translator and editor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Susan Ouriou
| image =
| image_size =
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| birth_name = Susan Muir
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1955|7|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
| occupation = Writer, Translator, Editor
| website =
}}
Susan Ouriou (born 15 July 1955) is a Canadian fiction writer, literary translator and editor.
Career
Ouriou, née Muir, was born in Red Deer, Alberta and raised in Calgary, Alberta and pursued her studies in France, Spain, Quebec and Mexico, obtaining a bachelor's degree in applied foreign languages and a masters in translation studies. She has worked as a fiction writer, literary translator and editor and was one of the co-founders of the Banff International Literary Translation Centre at the Banff Centre, where she also served for three years as the BILTC's director.
Ouriou has worked as a interpreter in a variety of capacities, including with The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Awards
The Thirteenth Summer, her translation of José Luis Olaizola's Planicio, was a finalist for the John Glassco Translation Prize in 1994."Columnist wins translation prize". Montreal Gazette, May 7, 1994.
Pieces of Me, Ouriou's translation of Charlotte Gingras' La liberté? Connais pas, won the Governor General's Award for French to English translation at the 2009 Governor General's Awards.{{cite news|last1=Volmers|first1=Eric|title=Calgarian best in literary translation|url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/calgary-herald/20091118/282815007328506|newspaper=Calgary Herald|date=November 18, 2009|accessdate=June 26, 2019}}
She has been shortlisted for the award six other times, for The Road to Chlifa (Michèle Marineau, La Route de Chlifa) at the 1995 Governor General's Awards,Gordon Morash, "Edmonton fares well again in Governor General's race; Shortlist also a vindication for beleaguered small presses". Edmonton Journal, October 28, 1995. for Necessary Betrayals (Guillaume Vigneault, Chercher le vent) at the 2003 Governor General's Awards,Judy Stoffman, "Literary award short list reveals quirky choices; Governor General picks are mostly unexpected titles". Toronto Star, October 21, 2003. as co-translator with Christelle Morelli of Stolen Sisters: The Story of Two Missing Girls, Their Families and How Canada Has Failed Indigenous Women (Emmanuelle Walter, Sœurs volées: Enquête sur un féminicide au Canada) at the 2015 Governor General's Awards,"Cusk a finalist for Governor General's literary Award". Telegraph-Journal, October 8, 2015. for The Lover, the Lake (Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, L'amant du lac) at the 2021 Governor General's Awards,[https://www.cbc.ca/books/ivan-coyote-david-a-robertson-julie-flett-among-finalists-for-25k-governor-general-s-literary-awards-1.6209298 "Ivan Coyote, David A. Robertson & Julie Flett among finalists for $25K Governor General's Literary Awards"]. CBC Books, October 14, 2021. for White Resin (Audrée Wilhelmy, Blanc Résine) at the 2022 Governor General's Awards,[https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-finalists-for-the-2022-governor-general-s-literary-award-for-translation-1.6612923 "The finalists for the 2022 Governor General's Literary Award for translation"]. CBC Books, October 12, 2022. and for Kukum (Michel Jean) at the 2023 Governor General's Awards.[https://www.cbc.ca/books/suzette-mayr-iain-reid-among-finalists-for-25k-governor-general-s-literary-awards-1.7007194 "Suzette Mayr, Iain Reid among finalists for $25K Governor General's Literary Awards"]. CBC Books, October 25, 2023.
Ouriou and Morelli also jointly won a Libris Award in 2014 for Jane, the Fox and Me, their translation of Fanny Britt's Jane, le renard et moi.Sue Carter, [https://quillandquire.com/bookselling-2/2014/06/03/joseph-boyden-double-winner-at-libris-awards/ "Joseph Boyden double winner at Libris Awards"]. Quill & Quire, June 3, 2014.
One of her many short stories, "Violette Bicyclette" (Alberta Views, 2008) won the Western Canadian Magazines Association fiction award and her first novel Damselfish was short-listed for the Writers Guild of Alberta's Georges Bugnet Fiction Award and the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize."Mitchell Prize finalists named". Calgary Herald, March 19, 2004. Several of her short stories have been translated into Spanish, French, Dutch and Bulgarian.
In 2010, Ouriou was appointed a Chevalier in France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in recognition of her commitment to La Francophonie through her work as a writer, translator and interpreter.
Bibliography
= Fiction =
- Damselfish (XYZ Publishing, 2003){{cite magazine |last1=Toub |first1=Micah |title=Damselfish, by Susan Ouriou |url=https://quillandquire.com/review/damselfish/ |magazine=Quill and Quire |date=October 2003 |accessdate=June 27, 2019}}
- Nathan (Red Deer Press, 2016)
- The Recipe (Loft on Eighth, 2018)
- The Stuff of Life (Short Édition, 2019)
= Translation =
A selected list of Ouriou's translations include:
- 1993 - The Thirteenth Summer (José Luis Olaizola, Planicio)
- 1998 - The Road to Chlifa (Michèle Marineau, La Route de Chlifa)
- 2002 - Necessary Betrayals (Guillaume Vigneault, Chercher le vent)
- 2009 - Pieces of Me (Charlotte Gingras, La Liberté? Connais pas)
- 2013 - Jane, the Fox and Me, a co-translation with Christelle Morelli (Fanny Britt, Jane, le renard et moi){{cite news|last1=Brodesser-Akner |first1=Taffy |title=Solitary Creatures |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/books/review/jane-the-fox-and-me-by-fanny-britt.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 23, 2013 |accessdate=June 27, 2019}}{{cite news|last1=Goedhart |first1=Bernie |title=For kids: A sly response to cruelty |url=https://montrealgazette.com/arts/books/fanny-britts-jane-the-fox-me-a-sly-response-to-cruelty/wcm/93e2c409-f914-42eb-9e24-12d0d17e120f |newspaper=Montreal Gazette |date=August 30, 2013 |accessdate=June 26, 2019}}
- 2015 - Stolen Sisters - The Story of Two Missing Girls, Their Families and How Canada Has Failed Indigenous Women and Girls, a co-translation with Christelle Morelli (Emmanuelle Walter, Sœurs volées - Enquête sur un féminicide au Canada)
- 2017 - Winter Child, a co-translation with Christelle Morelli (Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, L'enfant hiver)
- 2017 - Louis Undercover, a co-translation with Christelle Morelli (Fanny Britt, Louis parmi les spectres)
- 2018 - Ophelia, a co-translation with Christelle Morelli (Charlotte Gingras, Ophélie)
- 2019 - The Body of the Beasts (Audrée Wilhelmy, Le Corps des bêtes)
- 2019 - Blue Bear Woman, a co-translation with Christelle Morelli (Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, Ourse bleue)
- 2021 - The Lover, the Lake (Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, L'Amant du lac)
- 2022 - White Resin (Audrée Wilhelmy, Blanc Résine)
- 2023 - The Future (Catherine Leroux, L'avenir){{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-future-by-catherine-leroux-translated-by-susan-ouriou-1.6940614|title=The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=2023-08-22|access-date=2023-12-17}}
= Anthologies, Editor =
- Beyond Words – Translating the World (Banff Centre Press, 2010)
- Languages of Our Land - Indigenous Poems and Stories from Quebec (Banff Centre Press, 2014)
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Governor General's French to English translation|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouriou, Susan}}
Category:Canadian women novelists
Category:Canadian women short story writers
Category:People from Red Deer, Alberta
Category:Governor General's Award–winning translators
Category:Spanish–English translators
Category:French–English translators
Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Category:21st-century Canadian novelists
Category:21st-century Canadian short story writers