Today is Canada's 146th birthday! In honour of this splendid occasion, which is being celebrated across the country, I thought I'd share some of my favourite Canadian authors with you, organized by the genre in which they most commonly write.
My list of favourites is by no means exhaustive, and I haven't included well-known Canadian authors such as Margaret Atwood or Micheal Ondaatje since many non-Canadian readers are already familiar with them. I also haven't included any of the authors I featured in my 2012 Canada Day post, the subject of which was great works of Canadian historical fiction (click here to read the post).
Have you read any of the authors on this list? Do you enjoy their work? Who are your favourite Canadian authors?
Literary Fiction
Ann-Marie MacDonald MacDonald is the author of two beautifully written novels set in the past, Fall on Your Knees and As the Crow Flies. Both novels deal with a multitude of subject matters that stay with you long after you finish the final pages.
Helen Humphreys
Helen Humphreys is the author of several novels. While I've only read two of her books (at least so far) -- The Lost Garden and Coventry -- I enjoyed them immensely. Both novels take place during the Second World War. The Lost Garden is set in quaint Devon and features a young woman who teaches others how to grow crops in order to help on the home front. As indicated by the novel's title, Coventry is set in Coventry at the time of the firebombing of the city and provides an intimate look at what it was like to live through it. Humour
Terry Fallis
Do you enjoy political satires with a heart? If so, you simply must try Terry Fallis' novels featuring Angus McClintock and Daniel Addison, The Best Laid Plans and The High Road. You don't have to have a knowledge of Canadian politics or the Canadian political system to enjoy these novels. Angus is a character who readers will find it hard to forget. Fantasy
Guy Gavriel Kay
Kay is pretty well-known within the fantasy genre. I have all of his novels on my shelves, although I've not yet read them all. His best known work is probably The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, but my favourite (at least so far) is A Song for Arbonne, which is set in a world similar to the South of France in the medieval era. I can't wait to read the rest of Kay's novels! I think Kay's novels will appeal to historical fiction lovers who also like fantasy. Historical Fiction/Suspense/Paranormal
Susanna Kearsley
Susanna Kearsley is not only one of my favourite Canadian authors, she is one of my favourite authors period. Kearsley has the ability to pull me right into her stories and I'm always sad to finish them. I started reading her novels before they started to become popular, and now that Kearsley is becoming better known I'm so happy to see other readers discovering her novels for the first time and getting the same enjoyment out of her books that I do. My favourites Kearsley novels are Mariana, The Shadowy Horses and Season of Storms, but I've enjoyed each and every one of her books.
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