Saleema Nawaz
Encyclopedia
Saleema Nawaz is a Canadian author whose works of short fiction have been published in literary journals such as Prairie Fire
, PRISM International
, Grain, The Dalhousie Review
, and The New Quarterly. Nawaz was born in Ottawa
, Ontario
and later moved to Winnipeg
, Manitoba
in order to study English at the University of Manitoba
, where she received her M.A. with a creative writing thesis. Her first complete collection of short fiction, entitled Mother Superior, was published by Freehand Books
in 2008. Nawaz is currently writing her first novel while residing in Montreal
, Quebec
.
, Ontario
in 1979. An only child, Nawaz was raised solely by her Nova-Scotian mother in the Ottawa
neighbourhood of Centretown
, in the absence of her Indian father. Nawaz claims to have begun showing interest in writing fiction as early as the first grade. During her high school years she attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute
, a highly-regarded public school near her Centretown
home. Upon graduation from high school Nawaz attended Carleton University
in Ottawa
.
Nawaz moved to Winnipeg
, Manitoba
to pursue her M.A. at the University of Manitoba
. The M.A. program at the University of Manitoba
interested Nawaz because it offered a Creative Thesis option. Since obtaining her degree, Nawaz has attended a writing studio program at the Banff Centre for the Arts and currently resides in Montreal
, Quebec
where she does administrative work for McGill University
and is writing her first novel.
, Tobias Wolff
, and Raymond Carver
.
Award for Best Creative Thesis in 2006. This award is given to the writer of the best creative thesis each year out of all University of Manitoba
M.A. graduates. In the following years, Nawaz published several individual short stories in various literary publications across Canada (see "List of published works" below).
. The stories in Mother Superior follow a diverse cast of female protagonists struggling with issues such as racism, abuse, death, anorexia, pregnancy and motherhood. Mother Superior is published by Freehand Books
.
Prairie Fire (magazine)
Prairie Fire is a Canadian literary magazine. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the magazine publishes as a quarterly. Prairie Fire magazine was created in hopes to expand Canadians' knowledge and awareness of literary work rather than focusing on mainstream writings of our generation. Included in the...
, PRISM International
PRISM international
PRISM international is a magazine published quarterly in Vancouver, British Columbia. Established in 1959, it is Western Canada's senior literary magazine...
, Grain, The Dalhousie Review
The dalhousie review
The Dalhousie Review is a Canadian literary magazine, founded in 1921 and associated with Dalhousie University. It publishes three times a year, in the spring, summer, and fall. Content includes fiction, poetry, literary essays and book reviews.-History:...
, and The New Quarterly. Nawaz was born in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and later moved to Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
in order to study English at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
, where she received her M.A. with a creative writing thesis. Her first complete collection of short fiction, entitled Mother Superior, was published by Freehand Books
Freehand Books
Freehand Books is a Canadian literary imprint started in 2007 by Broadview Press, a Canadian academic publisher. Freehand publishes literary fiction, literary non-fiction, memoir and poetry....
in 2008. Nawaz is currently writing her first novel while residing in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
.
Early life in Ottawa
Saleema Nawaz was born in OttawaOttawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in 1979. An only child, Nawaz was raised solely by her Nova-Scotian mother in the Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
neighbourhood of Centretown
Centretown
Centretown is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada defined by the city as "the area bounded on the north by Gloucester Street and Lisgar Street, on the east by the Rideau Canal, on the south by the Queensway Freeway and on the west by Bronson Avenue." Traditionally it was all of Ottawa west of the...
, in the absence of her Indian father. Nawaz claims to have begun showing interest in writing fiction as early as the first grade. During her high school years she attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute
Lisgar Collegiate Institute
Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.Lisgar Collegiate Institute, one of the country's best regarded public schools, is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal and is only a few blocks from Canada's Parliament Hill...
, a highly-regarded public school near her Centretown
Centretown
Centretown is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Canada defined by the city as "the area bounded on the north by Gloucester Street and Lisgar Street, on the east by the Rideau Canal, on the south by the Queensway Freeway and on the west by Bronson Avenue." Traditionally it was all of Ottawa west of the...
home. Upon graduation from high school Nawaz attended Carleton University
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
.
Winnipeg, Banff, and Montreal
After receiving a B.A. in English at CarletonCarleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
Nawaz moved to Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
to pursue her M.A. at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
. The M.A. program at the University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
interested Nawaz because it offered a Creative Thesis option. Since obtaining her degree, Nawaz has attended a writing studio program at the Banff Centre for the Arts and currently resides in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
where she does administrative work for McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and is writing her first novel.
Influences
To date, Nawaz's published work consists strictly of short fiction. She cites her biggest short fiction influences as Alice MunroAlice Munro
Alice Ann Munro is a Canadian short-story writer, the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime body of work, a three-time winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction, and a perennial contender for the Nobel Prize...
, Tobias Wolff
Tobias Wolff
Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff is an American author. He is known for his memoirs, particularly This Boy's Life , and his short stories. He has also written two novels.-Biography:Wolff was born in 1945 in Birmingham, Alabama...
, and Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
.
Early work
Nawaz' novella "The White Dress" (which would later appear in her collection, Mother Superior) won her the Robert KroetschRobert Kroetsch
Robert Kroetsch, OC was a Canadian novelist, poet and non-fiction writer. In his fiction and critical essays, as well as in the journal he co-founded, Boundary 2, he was the single most influential figure in Canada in introducing ideas about postmodernism.He was born in Heisler, Alberta...
Award for Best Creative Thesis in 2006. This award is given to the writer of the best creative thesis each year out of all University of Manitoba
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
M.A. graduates. In the following years, Nawaz published several individual short stories in various literary publications across Canada (see "List of published works" below).
Mother Superior
In 2008, Nawaz published a collection of seven stories and two novellas entitled Mother Superior. The collection includes five previously published short stories as well as two previously unpublished short stories and two previously unpublished novellas. Mother Superior has generally been met with positive reviews, even receiving a nomination for the prestigious McAuslan First Book Prize from the Quebec Writers' FederationQuebec Writers' Federation Awards
The Quebec Writers' Federation Awards are a series of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Quebec Writers' Federation to the best works of literature in English by writers from Quebec.-Categories:...
. The stories in Mother Superior follow a diverse cast of female protagonists struggling with issues such as racism, abuse, death, anorexia, pregnancy and motherhood. Mother Superior is published by Freehand Books
Freehand Books
Freehand Books is a Canadian literary imprint started in 2007 by Broadview Press, a Canadian academic publisher. Freehand publishes literary fiction, literary non-fiction, memoir and poetry....
.
Upcoming novel
Nawaz is currently in the process of writing her first novel. She has revealed that its narrative will follow two sisters from her previously published short story "Bloodlines" (found in The New Quarterly and as a part of Mother Superior) twenty years after their original story.Individual short stories
- "Mother Superior" in PRISM InternationalPRISM internationalPRISM international is a magazine published quarterly in Vancouver, British Columbia. Established in 1959, it is Western Canada's senior literary magazine...
- "Look, But Don't Touch" in Grain
- "My Three Girls" in Prairie FirePrairie Fire (magazine)Prairie Fire is a Canadian literary magazine. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the magazine publishes as a quarterly. Prairie Fire magazine was created in hopes to expand Canadians' knowledge and awareness of literary work rather than focusing on mainstream writings of our generation. Included in the...
- "Bloodlines" in The New Quarterly
- "Scar Tissue" in The Dalhousie ReviewThe dalhousie reviewThe Dalhousie Review is a Canadian literary magazine, founded in 1921 and associated with Dalhousie University. It publishes three times a year, in the spring, summer, and fall. Content includes fiction, poetry, literary essays and book reviews.-History:...
Awards and honours
- Winner of the Robert KroetschRobert KroetschRobert Kroetsch, OC was a Canadian novelist, poet and non-fiction writer. In his fiction and critical essays, as well as in the journal he co-founded, Boundary 2, he was the single most influential figure in Canada in introducing ideas about postmodernism.He was born in Heisler, Alberta...
Award for Best Creative Thesis at the University of ManitobaUniversity of ManitobaThe University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...
for her novella "The White Dress", 2006. - Winner of the Writers' Trust of CanadaWriters' Trust of CanadaThe Writers' Trust of Canada is a non-profit organization which provides financial support to Canadian writers.Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, David Young and Margaret Laurence, the Writers' Trust of Canada was registered as a non-profit organization in 1976...
's McClelland & Stewart Journey PrizeJourney PrizeThe Journey Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by an emerging writer in a Canadian literary magazine. The award was endowed by James A...
for her short story "My Three Girls", 2008. - Placed second in the Malahat Review Novella Contest for her novella "The White Dress".
- Nominated for the Quebec Writers' Federation'sQuebec Writers' Federation AwardsThe Quebec Writers' Federation Awards are a series of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Quebec Writers' Federation to the best works of literature in English by writers from Quebec.-Categories:...
McAuslan First Book Prize for her collection entitled Mother Superior, 2008.