Peter Oliva
Encyclopedia
Peter Oliva is a Canadian
novelist who lives in Calgary, Alberta.
His first novel, Drowning in Darkness (1993), won the Writers Guild of Alberta Best First Book Award and was shortlisted for a Bressani Prize. The book is set in the Crowsnest Pass
of southern Alberta, and in Calabria
, Italy
. It follows Italian immigrants to Canada in the early 1900s.
A former bookseller, Oliva won the Canadian Bookseller's Association Award for best independent bookstore
in Canada, in 1999.
His second novel, The City of Yes, won the 1999 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
. The main narrative of a Canadian English teacher in Japan is interwoven with the fictionalized account of Ranald MacDonald
, a Canadian explorer and the first man to teach English in Japan.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
novelist who lives in Calgary, Alberta.
His first novel, Drowning in Darkness (1993), won the Writers Guild of Alberta Best First Book Award and was shortlisted for a Bressani Prize. The book is set in the Crowsnest Pass
Crowsnest Pass
Crowsnest Pass is a high mountain pass across the Continental Divide of the Canadian Rockies on the Alberta/British Columbia border.-Geography:...
of southern Alberta, and in Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It follows Italian immigrants to Canada in the early 1900s.
A former bookseller, Oliva won the Canadian Bookseller's Association Award for best independent bookstore
Independent bookstore
An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned.-Literary and countercultural history:Author events at independent bookstores sometimes take the role of literary salons. The bookstores themselves, "have historically supported and cultivated the work of independent...
in Canada, in 1999.
His second novel, The City of Yes, won the 1999 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
The Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize is a Canadian literary award presented by Rogers Communications and the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition between publishers who submit entries....
. The main narrative of a Canadian English teacher in Japan is interwoven with the fictionalized account of Ranald MacDonald
Ranald MacDonald
Ranald MacDonald was the first man to teach the English language in Japan, including educating Einosuke Moriyama, one of the chief interpreters to handle the negotiations between Commodore Perry and the Tokugawa Shogunate.-Early life:MacDonald was born at Fort Astoria, in the Pacific Northwest of...
, a Canadian explorer and the first man to teach English in Japan.