Thomas Wharton (author)
{{Short description|Canadian novelist}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox writer
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|2|25}}
| birth_place = Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
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| period = 1990s–present
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| notableworks = {{Unbulleted list | Icefields | Salamander | The Logogryph | The Book of Rain }}
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| website = {{official website|http://thomaswharton.ca/}}
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Thomas Wharton (born February 25, 1963) is a Canadian writer from Edmonton, Alberta.Gordon Morash, "Alberta author warms to fame with Icefields novel". Ottawa Citizen, December 22, 1996.
Life
Born in Grande Prairie, Wharton later spent part of his teen years living in Jasper.Alban Harvey, [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/thomas-wharton "Thomas Wharton"]. The Canadian Encyclopedia, March 15, 2009. He attended the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, where he was a student of Rudy Wiebe and Greg Hollingshead. His first novel began as his M.A. thesis, under the supervision of Kristjana Gunnars. He worked on his PhD at Calgary with Aritha van Herk.
Wharton is currently a professor of creative writing and English at the University of Alberta.
Career
Wharton's first novel, Icefields, was published in 1995.Mark Giles, "Mystery fires the spirit in glacier icefield". Calgary Herald, July 22, 1995. It was awarded Best First Book in the Canada and Caribbean division of the Commonwealth Writers Prize,Gordon Morash, "Edmonton's NeWest scores big with Icefields; But is success with Thomas Wharton's novel enough to prevent another Coach House?". Edmonton Journal, July 21, 1996. the Writers Guild of Alberta's Henry Kreisel Award for Best First Book,Gordon Morash, "Awards celebrate Alberta writers; Writers Guild, Book Publishers Association trot out annual honor rolls". Edmonton Journal, May 5, 1996. and the Banff Mountain Book Festival Grand Prize.Ken McGoogan, "First novel wins award at Banff book festival". Calgary Herald, November 3, 1995. It was selected for inclusion in the 2008 Canada Reads competition, where it was advocated by astronaut Steve MacLean.James Adams, "CBC's battle of the books gives publishing industry a shot in the arm". The Globe and Mail, February 25, 2008.
His second book, Salamander, was published in 2001.Mario Trono, "Wharton's Salamander is equal parts adventure, romance and history". Kingston Whig-Standard, April 28, 2001. It was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2001 Governor General's Awards"Urquhart, Wright nominated for Gov. Gen.'s book awards". North Bay Nugget, October 24, 2001. and the 2002 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize."Double nominations in Writers' Trust awards". The Telegram, February 17, 2002. At the 2002 Writers Guild of Alberta awards, it was a finalist for the Grant MacEwan Author's Award, and won the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction.Shelly Boettcher, "Calgarians split book award". Calgary Herald, May 12, 2002.
His third book, The Logogryph, was published in 2004,Marc Horton, "Worth the paper it's written on: Author Thomas Wharton imagines wondrous world". Edmonton Journal, October 6, 2004. and was shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award in 2006."Alberta author Wharton makes short list for prestigious literary prize". Canadian Press, April 5, 2006.
Wharton subsequently published a three-volume fantasy novel for younger readers, The Perilous Realm.Richard Helm, "Edmonton's Wharton plans fantasy trilogy". Edmonton Journal, October 27, 2006. The three books in the series are The Shadow of Malabron (2008), The Fathomless Fire (2012), and The Tree of Story (2013).
Wharton's 2014 novel Every Blade of Grass was the story of a decades-long correspondence between a man and woman who share a love for the wonders and oddities of nature.
His 2023 novel The Book of Rain was a shortlisted finalist for the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.Cassandra Drudi, [https://quillandquire.com/omni/three-debut-novels-among-finalists-for-2023-atwood-gibson-writers-trust-fiction-prize/ "Three debut novels among finalists for 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize"]. Quill & Quire, September 27, 2023. La messagère, Sophie Voillot's French translation of The Book of Rain, received a Governor General's Award nomination for English to French translation at the 2024 Governor General's Awards.Laila Maalouf, [https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/litterature/2024-10-08/prix-litteraires-du-gouverneur-general/emmanuelle-pierrot-et-lea-clermont-dion-parmi-les-finalistes.php "Emmanuelle Pierrot et Léa Clermont-Dion parmi les finalistes"]. La Presse, October 8, 2024.
Bibliography
- Icefields - 1995 {{ISBN|0920897878}}
- Salamander - 2001 {{ISBN|0-7434-4415-9}}
- The Logogryph: A Bibliography of Imaginary Books - 2004 {{ISBN|1-894031-93-8}}
- The Shadow of Malabron: Book One of The Perilous Realm - 2008
- The Fathomless Fire: Book Two of The Perilous Realm - 2012
- The Tree of Story: Book Three of the Perilous Realm - 2013
- Every Blade of Grass - 2014
- The Book of Rain - 2023
References
External links
- {{official website|http://thomaswharton.ca/}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Thomas}}
Category:Canadian male novelists
Category:20th-century Canadian novelists
Category:20th-century Canadian male writers
Category:21st-century Canadian novelists
Category:21st-century Canadian male writers
Category:Writers from Edmonton
Category:People from Grande Prairie
Category:University of Calgary alumni
Category:University of Alberta alumni