Caroline Adderson was born and raised in Alberta. After high school, she joined the youth program Katimavik and spent a year living in different communities across Canada doing volunteer work: carpentry, radio broadcasting, sheep farming. She then settled in Vancouver where she attended the University of British Columbia, earning a Bachelor of Education with a Concentration in Creative Writing. Over the next ten years she worked as an ESL teacher.
Her first collection of stories, Bad Imaginings, was published in 1993; stories from it have appeared in 19 anthologies world-wide. She has gone on to write internationally published novels (A History of Forgetting, Sitting Practice, The Sky Is Falling, Ellen in Pieces, A Russian Sister), two other collections of short stories (Pleased To Meet You, A Way to Be Happy), many books for young readers.
Caroline is also the editor and co-contributor of a non-fiction book of essays and photographs, Vancouver Vanishes: Narratives of Demolition and Revival and guest editor of Best Canadian Stories 2019. Her work has received numerous award nominations including the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, two Commonwealth Writers’ Prizes, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Rogers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist. In 2017, she was a YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Arts, Culture and Design nominee. Her awards include three BC Book Prizes, three CBC Literary Awards, the Marian Engel Award for mid-career achievement, and a National Magazine Award Gold Medal for Fiction. She teaches in the Writing and Publishing Program at SFU and is the Program Director of the Writing Studio at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband, the filmmaker Bruce Sweeney.
Writing credits
Books
A Way to Be Happy, Biblioasis, 2024; short stories
A Russian Sister, Patrick Crean Editions, Harper Collins Canada, 2020; a novel
Vancouver Vanishes: Narratives of Demolition and Revival (editor and contributor), Anvil Press, Canada, 2015; essays
A History of Forgetting (second edition), Biblioasis, 2015; a novel
Ellen in Pieces, Patrick Crean Editions, Harper Collins Canada, 2014; a novel
The Sky Is Falling, Thomas Allen, 2010; a novel
Pleased to Meet You, Thomas Allen, 2006; short stories
Mr. Justice, Biblioasis, 2005; limited edition chapbook
Sitting Practice, Thomas Allen, Canada, 2003; review, UK, 2003; CET, Serbia, 2005; Zhar, Bulgaria, 2005; Belfond, France, 2006; Trumpeter, USA, 2008; a novel
A History of Forgetting, Key Porter/Patrick Crean Editions, Canada, 1999; review, UK, 2001; a novel
Bad Imaginings, The Porcupine’s Quill, Canada, 1993; short stories
Prizes and Honours
A CBC Best Book of 2024: A Way to Be Happy
The Globe and Mail Top 100 Books of 2024: A Way to Be Happ
Metcalf-Rooke Award, 2022: “All My Auld Acquaintances Are Gone”
City of Vancouver Heritage Award of Honour, 2019
CBC Best Book of 2014: Ellen in Pieces
Writers’ Trust of Canada Best Book of 2014: Ellen in Pieces
National Magazine Award Gold Medal for Fiction, 2013: “Ellen-Celine, Celine-Ellen”
Alberta Magazine Association Gold Medal for Fiction, 2013: “I Feel Lousy”
The Globe and Mail Top 100 Books of 2010: The Sky Is Falling
Quill and Quire Best Books of 2010: The Sky Is Falling
Amazon.ca Top 100 Books of 2010: The Sky Is Falling
The Marian Engel Award: 2006
The Globe and Mail Top 100 Books of 2006: Pleased to Meet You
The National Post Editors’ Picks for 2006: Pleased to Meet You
The Toronto Star Best Books of 2006: Pleased to Meet You
CBC Literary Award: “Falling,” 2005
The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize: Sitting Practice, 2004
The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize: Bad Imaginings, 1994
CBC Literary Award: “The Chmarnyk”, 1991
CBC Literary Award: “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon,” 1988
Nominations
The 2024 Giller Prize longlist: A Way to Be Happy
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize longlist, 2019
YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Art, Culture and Design, 2017
The Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award, 2016: Vancouver Vanishes
Canada Reads 2016 longlist: Sitting Practice
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, 2015: Ellen in Pieces
National Magazine Award for Fiction, 2013: “I Feel Lousy”
Western Magazine Award for Fiction, 2013: “I Feel Lousy”
The Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, 2013: “Erection Man”
The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, 2012: The Sky Is Falling
The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, 2011: The Sky Is Falling
National Magazine Award, 2011: “How I Lost the War Against War and Learned to Love Arnold Schwarzenegger”
The Scotiabank Giller Prize (longlist), 2006: Pleased to Meet You
VanCity Book Prize, 2004: Sitting Practice
City of Vancouver Book Award, 2004: Sitting Practice
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, 2000: A History of Forgetting
Rogers’ Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, 2003: A History of Forgetting
CNIB Talking Book of the Year Award, 1995: Bad Imaginings
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, 1994: Bad Imaginings
Governor General’s Literary Award, 1993: Bad Imaginings
Journey Prize, 1993: “Oil and Dread”
National Magazine Award, 1991: “The Chmarnyk”
Anthologies
Fifty Years of Best Canadian Stories, Biblioasis, Canada (forthcoming): “Your Dog Makes Me Smile”
Best Canadian Stories 2023, Biblioasis, Canada, 2022: “All Our Auld Acquaintances Are Gone”
Resonance: Essays on the Craft and Life of Writing; Anvil Press 2022: “Character Makes Plot”
Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, Oxford University Press 2018: “Shh: Three Stories About Silence”
2016 Short Story Advent Calendar, Hingston and Olsen Publishing 2016: “Obscure Objects”
Beyond Five Paragraphs: Advanced Essay Writing Skills, McGraw-Hill Ryerson 2015: “Highlights for Children”
Best Canadian Stories 14, Oberon Press, Canada, 2014: “Your Dog Makes Me Smile”
Best Canadian Stories 13, Oberon Press, Canada, 2013: “Ellen-Celine, Celine-Ellen”
Best Canadian Stories 12, Oberon Press, Canada, 2012: “Poppycock”
The Best Canadian Essays 2011, Tightrope Press 2012: “Highlights for Children”
The Anthology of Canadian Women Writers, Women’s Publishing House 2011, Vietnam: “And the Children Shall Rise”
The Penguin Book of Canadian Short Stories, Canada, 2007: “And the Children Shall Rise”
Romans d’une ville, Editions Autrement, France, 2004: “Mr. Justice”
Best Canadian Short Stories 2002, Oberon Press, Canada, 2002: “The Maternity Suite”
Islands West: Stories from the Coast, Oolichan Books, Canada, 2001: “Shiners”
Intersections: Fiction and Poetry from the Banff Centre for the Arts, The Banff Centre Press, Canada, 2000: “Bread and Stone”
Nouvelles Du Canada Anglais, L’instant meme, Canada, 1999: “Menes” (“Shiners”)
Emergent Voices, Goose Lane, Canada,1999: “The Chmarnyk”, “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon”
Riprap: Fiction and Poetry from the Banff Centre for the Arts, The Banff Centre Press, Canada,1999: “The Chmarnyk”
West by Northwest: British Columbia Short Stories, Polestar Book Publishers, Canada,1998: “Gold Mountain”
Desde el Invierno: Ficciones Contemporeas del Canada Ingles, National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, Cuba, 1997: “The Chmarnyk”
Cuento canadiense contemporaneo, Textos de Difusion Cultural, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, 1996: “El Planeta Tierra” (“The Planet Earth”)
The Porcupine’s Quill Reader, The Porcupine’s Quill, Canada, 1996: “Shiners”
Canadian Short Fiction, Prentice-Hall, Canada, 1996: “Gold Mountain”
The New Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories in English, Oxford University Press, Canada, 1995: “The Chmarnyk”
Ethics, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Canada, 1995: “And the Children Shall Rise”
The Journey Prize Anthology 5, McClelland and Stewart, Canada, 1993: “Oil and Dread”
Coming Attractions ’92, Oberon Press, Canada, 1992: “Shiners”, “The Chmarnyk” and “Oil and Dread”
Out of Place, Coteau Books, Canada, 1991: “And the Children Shall Rise”
Short Fiction
The Walrus, March/April 2022: “The Procedure”
Canadian Notes and Queries, Number 109, 2021: “All Our Auld Aquaintances Are Gone”
Canadian Notes and Queries, Number 86, 2012: “Ellen-Celine, Celine-Ellen”
Eighteen Bridges, Winter 2012: “I Feel Lousy”
Numéro Cinq, October 2012: “Your Dog Makes Me Smile”
The New Quarterly, 121, 2012: “Poppycock”
Found Press Quarterly, Summer 2011: “Obscure Objects”
Brick 77, Summer, 2006: “Spleenless”
The New Quarterly, 97, 2006: “Knives”
Geist, Vol. 15, No. 57, 2005: “Ring Ring”
En Route, August, 2005: “Falling”
Room Of One’s Own, Vol. 28:3, 2005: “Hauska Tutustua”
The New Quarterly, 90, 2004: “Obscure Objects” plus an interview
The New Quarterly, Vol. XXI, No. 2&3 2002: “Gold Mountain”
The New Quarterly, Fall 1996: “Things Get Vicious” a novel excerpt
Quarry, Volume 42, Number 3: “Gold Mountain”
Event, Volume 21, Number 3: “Grunt If You Love Me”
Saturday Night, Volume 107, Number 8, October 1992: “The Chmarnyk”
The Malahat Review, Number 99, June 1992: “Bread and Stone”
Quarry, Volume 41, Number 2, Summer 1992: “Oil and Dread”
Saturday Night, Volume 106, Number 7, September 1991: “Shiners”
Grain, Volume XIX, Number 2, 1991: “Bestiary”
Canadian Fiction Magazine, Number 71, 1991: “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon”
Cyphers, Number 32, (Ireland), Spring 1990: “The Hanging Gardens of Babylon”
Grain, Volume XVI, Number 1, February 1988: “And the Children Shall Rise”
Grain, Volume XIV, Number 1, February 1986: “Making Puppets”
The Capilano Review, Number 39, 1986: “And There Is No Junta”
Non-fiction
Event, 2021: ““A Beginner’s Guide to Yoga for Writers”
CPF Magazine, Spring 2020: “Thriving in French Immersion”
Write, Volume 46 Number 1, Spring 2018: “R.I.P., WIR: New Funding Model Ends a Program”
SubTerrain, Volume 8, Issue #72, 2016: “The End of the Leigh Block”
Canadian Notes and Queries, Number 93, 2015: “A History of A History of Forgetting”
Write, Volume 42 Number 2, Fall 2014: “Chasing Your Muse: On the Writer-Editor Relationship”
The New Quarterly, Fall 2014: “Surrendering to Paradise: In Conversation with Kathy Page”
Vancouver Magazine, September, 2014: “The Vanishing Point”
The Globe and Mail, December 28, 2013: “Long story short”
Canadian Notes and Queries, Number 88, 2013: “Obdurate and Smelly”
Brick 91, 2013: “Spoiler Alert: The Bookshop”
Ryeberg.com, January 2013: “Re-Ethralling the Picture in Motion”
The New Quarterly, Spring 2012: “Poppycock! An Afterword”
In the Flesh, Brindle and Glass 2012: “120 Thousand Strands”
Geist 83, Winter 2011: “Lives of the House”
Eighteen Bridges, Spring 2011: “How I Lost the War Against War and Learned to Love Arnold Schwarzenegger”
The New Quarterly, Winter 2010: “Highlights for Children”
Shambhala Sun, 2010: “About a Poem”
Reader’s Digest, May 2010: “Congratulations, It’s a Toaster!”
The Globe and Mail, Saturday April 25, 2009: “A Holy Sinner”
Great Expectations, House of Anansi, 2008: “Congratulations, It’s a Toaster!”
The Globe and Mail, Saturday July 29, 2006: “Guilty Pleasures”
Geist 62, Fall 2006: “A True Story About Reading”
The New Quarterly, Fall 2006: “Sir Charles”
Reading Writers Reading; The University of Alberta Press, 2006: “A True Story About Reading”
Brick 71, 2003: “Lost Classics: The Life of the Caterpillar”
Canadian Notes and Queries, Number 63, 2003: “Mogul Recollected”
The Globe and Mail, Saturday October 25, 2003: “So You Want to Be a Writer”
Arc 50, 2003: “Silver”
We Who Can Fly: Poems, Essays and Memories in Honour of Adele Wiseman, Cormorant Press, 1997: “Wingless, Fearless”
Afterword to Woodsmen of the West, McClelland and Stewart, New Canadian Library Edition, 1996
The New Quarterly, Fall 1996: “John Metcalf”
Quill and Quire, August 1994: “Sold on the West”
Carousel, Volume 10: “Old Men and Holy Places”
Event, Volume 22, Number 1: “A Beginner’s Guide to Yoga for Writers”
Book Reviews
The Walrus, 2021:The Singing Forest
The Literary Review of Canada, 2016: The Hidden Keys
Canadian Notes and Queries, 2010: Going Ashore
The Globe and Mail:
–There Is No Dog, 2011
–There but for the, 2011
– Dr. Zhivago, 2010
– February, 2009
– At a Loss for Words, 2008
– Shining at the Bottom of the Sea, 2007
– The Interpreter of Silences, 2006
– The Accidental, 2005
– The I.V. Lounge Reader, 2001
– Love Street, 2001
– The Fat Princess, 2000
– Robbiestime, 2000
Radio Broadcasts
Between the Covers, 2005: “Falling”
Sunday Showcase/Monday Playbill, 2003: “The Chmarnyk”
Sunday Showcase, CBC Radio, 1997: “The Planet Earth”, drama
Morningside, CBC Radio, December 1989: “Fire of Stones”, a five-part drama
Ambience, CBC Saskatchewan 1987: “Bestiary”, a short story
Opera
The Chmarnyk by Lisa Turner from the short story by Caroline Adderson: premiered 24 March, 2006, Mt. McIntrye, Whitehorse, Canada
Feature Interviews
The Globe and Mail, 2014
The National Post, 2014
World Literature Today, 2012
The Globe and Mail, 2010
Canadian Notes and Queries 71, 2007
The New Quarterly, 2004
The Vancouver Sun, 2004
Book T.V., 2004
The Independent, London, UK, 2001
The Jewish Chronicle, London, UK, 2001
Archives
Fonds purchased by Simon Fraser University Special Collections, 2004; 2008; 2013; 2019