David Bergen

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David Bergen
Bergen at the Eden Mills Writers Festival in 2013
Bergen at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival in 2013
Born (1957-01-14) January 14, 1957 (age 64)
Port Edward, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationNovelist, short story writer
GenreLiterary fiction
Notable worksThe Matter with Morris; A Year of Lesser The Case of Lena S. ; The Time in Between

David Bergen (born January 14, 1957) is a Canadian novelist. He has published nine novels and two collections of short stories since 1993 and is currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[1][2] His 2005 novel The Time in Between won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and he was a finalist again in 2010 (for The Matter With Morris) and 2020 (for Here the Dark), making the long list in 2008 (for The Retreat).[1]

Life and career[]

Bergen was born on January 14, 1957, in Port Edward, a small fishing village in British Columbia, Canada, and later grew up in the small town of Niverville, Manitoba.[3] He went to Bible college in British Columbia and Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he studied creative communication. He taught English and Creative Writing at Winnipeg's Kelvin High School until 2002.[3]

Raised Mennonite,[2] Bergen has noted that the tendency of the church to stifle questions and criticism affected his decision to write fiction. "Writing is a way of figuring things out," he says. "If you can't ask certain questions in church, maybe you can ask them in fiction."[3]

His debut novel, A Year of Lesser in 1996, was a New York Times Notable Book and winner of the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award. His 2002 novel The Case of Lena S. was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction, and won the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award. It was also a finalist for the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award, and the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction.

His 2005 novel The Time in Between won the Scotiabank Giller Prize, received a coveted starred review in the Kirkus Reviews trade magazine, and was recently longlisted for the 2007 International Dublin Literary Award. In 2008, he published his fifth novel, The Retreat, which was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and which won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award, and the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction. In 2010, he was shortlisted again for the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his sixth novel, The Matter with Morris, which was also shortlisted for the 2012 International Dublin Literary Award.[4]

He is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Sitting Opposite My Brother (1993), which was a finalist for the Manitoba Book of the Year. His most recent short story collection, Here the Dark, was published in 2020,[5] and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize[6] and the 2021 ReLit Award for short fiction.[7]

Bibliography[]

Novels[]

  • A Year of Lesser, HarperCollins Canada, 1996
  • See the Child, HarperCollins Canada, 1999
  • The Case of Lena S., McClelland & Stewart, 2002
  • The Time in Between, McClelland & Stewart, 2005
  • The Retreat, McClelland & Stewart, 2008
  • The Matter With Morris, HarperCollins Canada, 2010
  • The Age of Hope, HarperCollins Canada, 2012
  • Leaving Tomorrow, HarperCollins Canada, 2014
  • Stranger, HarperCollins Canada, 2016
  • Out of Mind, Goose Lane Editions, 2021

Short stories[]

Awards[]

  • 1993 Finalist, Manitoba Book of the Year — Sitting Opposite My Brother
  • 1996 — A Year of Lesser
  • 1996 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award — A Year of Lesser
  • 1999 — How Can 'N' Men Share a Bottle of Vodka
  • 2002 Short list, Governor General's Award — The Case of Lena S.
  • 2002 Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award — The Case of Lena S.
  • 2002 Finalist, McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award — The Case of Lena S.
  • 2002 Finalist, Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction — The Case of Lena S.
  • 2005 Giller Prize — The Time in Between
  • 2005 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award — The Time in Between
  • 2007 Long list, International Dublin Literary Award — The Time in Between
  • 2008 Long list, Giller Prize — The Retreat
  • 2008 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award — The Retreat
  • 2008 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction — The Retreat
  • 2010 Shortlist, Giller Prize — The Matter With Morris
  • 2012 Shortlist, International Dublin Literary Award — The Matter with Morris
  • 2013 The Age of Hope chosen for Canada Reads - Defended by Ron Maclean
  • 2016 Longlist, Scotiabank Giller Prize - Stranger
  • 2018 Matt Cohen Award
  • 2020 Shortlist, Scotiabank Giller Prize - Here the Dark
  • 2021 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award - Here the Dark[8]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Ahearn, Victoria (2020-10-05). "David Bergen, Shani Mootoo make Scotiabank Giller Prize short list". Winnipeg. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Winnipegger David Bergen's novels are infused with his Mennonite upbringing". thestar.com. 2012-06-08. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c The Canadian Encyclopedia
  4. ^ "The Matter with Morris by David Bergen: Review". thestar.com. 2012-06-11. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  5. ^ "47 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in spring 2020". CBC Books, February 5, 2020.
  6. ^ "3 novels, 2 short story collections shortlisted for $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize". CBC Books, October 5, 2020.
  7. ^ "38 books shortlisted for 2021 ReLit Awards". CBC Books, April 19, 2021.
  8. ^ Ben Sigurdson (May 20, 2021). "Bergen wins book of the year a fourth time". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved May 20, 2021.

External links[]

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