Rohinton Mistry

Template:Short description Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox writer Rohinton Mistry Template:Post-nominals (born 1952) is an Indian-born Canadian writer. He has been the recipient of many awards including the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2012. Each of his first three novels was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His novels to date have been set in India, told from the perspective of Parsis, and explore themes of family life, poverty, discrimination, and the corrupting influence of society.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life and education

Rohinton Mistry was born in Bombay, India, to a Parsi family.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> His brother is the playwright and author Cyrus Mistry. He earned a BA in Mathematics and Economics from St. Xavier's College, Bombay.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He emigrated to Canada with his wife-to-be Freny Elavia in 1975 and they married shortly afterwards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He worked in a bank for a while, before returning to academia at the University of Toronto where he obtained a BA in English and Philosophy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

Template:Update While attending the University of Toronto (Woodsworth College) he became the first to win two Hart House literary prizes for stories published in the Hart House Review, and Canadian Fiction MagazineTemplate:'s annual Contributor's Prize for 1985.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Three years later, Penguin Books Canada published his collection of 11 short stories, Tales from Firozsha Baag. It was later published in the United States as Swimming Lessons and Other Stories from Firozsha Baag. The book consists of 11 stories set within an apartment complex in modern-day Bombay. This volume contains the oft-anthologized story, "Swimming Lessons".<ref name="bindu">Malieckal, Bindu (2000). "Rohinton Mistry". In Nelson, Emmanuel Sampath (Ed.), Asian American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook, pp. 219–28. Greenwood Publishing Group. Template:ISBN.</ref>

His second book, the novel Such a Long Journey, was published in 1991. It won the Governor General's Award, the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book, and the W.H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award.<ref name=bindu/> It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and for the Trillium Award. It has been translated into German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Japanese. It was adapted for the 1998 film Such a Long Journey. The content of the book caused controversy at Mumbai University in 2010 due to language used against Bal Thackeray, leader of Shiv Sena, a political party from Maharashtra, as well as some remarks about Maharashtrians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The book was prescribed for the second year Bachelor of Arts (English) in 2007–08 as an optional text, according to University sources. Later, Dr. Rajan Welukar, University of Mumbai's Vice-Chancellor (V-C) used emergency powers in the Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994, to withdraw the book from the syllabus.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

His third book, and second novel, A Fine Balance (1995), won the second annual Giller Prize in 1995, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction in 1996. It was selected for Oprah's Book Club<ref>New, William H. (2003). A History of Canadian Literature, (3d ed.), p. 326. McGill-Queen's University Press. Template:ISBN.</ref> in November 2001. It won the 1996 Commonwealth Writers Prize and was shortlisted for the 1996 Booker Prize.<ref>Faber and Faber paperback edition 1997</ref>

Family Matters (2002) is a consideration of the difficulties that come with ageing, to which topic Mistry returned in 2006 with the short fiction The Scream (published as a separate volume, in support of World Literacy of Canada, with illustrations by Tony Urquhart). Mistry's literary papers are housed at the Clara Thomas Archives at York University.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2002, Mistry cancelled his United States book tour for his novel Family Matters after he and his wife were targeted by security agents at every airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Awards and recognition

• 1983 – Hart House Literary Contest, "One Sunday"
• 1984 – Hart House Literary Contest, "Auspicious Occasion"
• 1985 – Annual Contributors' Prize, Canadian Fiction Magazine
• 1991 – Booker Prize, shortlist, Such a Long Journey
• 1991 – Governor General's Award, Such a Long Journey
• 1991 – Commonwealth Writers Prize, Such a Long Journey
• 1991 – W.H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award, Such a Long Journey
• 1991 – Trillium Award, Such a Long Journey
• 1995 – Giller Prize, A Fine Balance
• 1995 – Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, A Fine Balance
• 1996 – Commonwealth Writers Prize, A Fine Balance
• 1996 – Booker Prize, shortlist, A Fine Balance
• 2002 – Booker Prize, shortlist, Family Matters
• 2002 – James Tait Black Memorial Prize, shortlist Family Matters
• 2004 – International Dublin Literary Award, shortlist, Family Matters
• 2012 – Neustadt International Prize for Literature<ref name=parsi>Rohinton Mistry wins Neustadt Prize 2012 – "Parsi Khabar"</ref><ref name=rohinton>Critically acclaimed Indian-Canadian writer Rohinton Mistry wins 2012 Neustadt International Prize for Literature – World Literature Today</ref>
• 2016 – Appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada (CM) in the 2016 Canadian honours<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Brampton Arts Walk of Fame, Brampton, Ontario

Selected works

Novels

• Such a Long Journey (1991)
• A Fine Balance (1995)
• Family Matters (2002)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Short stories and chapbooks

• Tales from Firozsha Baag (1987), also published as Swimming Lessons and Other Stories from Firozsha Baag (1989)
• Searching for Stevenson (1994)
• The Scream (2006)

See also

• List of Canadian writers
• List of Indian writers

External links

• Rohinton Mistry archives held at the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University Libraries, Toronto, Ontario
• Rohinton Mistry biographical and critical information by James Proctor