Morris House Reading Series 2008-2009

These were the writers who came to Bishop's University for the Morris House Reading Series between 2008-2009:

John Miller

John Miller graduated from McGill University in 1990 with an Honours B.A. in Geography of International Development. He then went on to study the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands, graduating in 1991 with an M.A. in International Development Studies. Miller worked in policy development and program management for years, publishing work such as "The Emperor Has No Condom: Gay Couples are Looking for a Way out of Safer Sex," and "What's Behind Closet Door Number 3?," before moving on to creative writing. His first novel, The Featherbed, was published in 2002. Miller went on to win the 2008 Martin and Beatrice Fischer Award in Fiction at the 20th annual Canadian Jewish Book awards for A Sharp Intake of Breath, his second novel, published in 2007. Also in 2008, Miller was named a finalist for the Dayne Ogilbie Grant for Emerging Gay Writers. He is currently working on a third novel, as of yet unnamed.

Brian Fawcett

Brian Fawcett is a Canadian writer and cultural analyst who currently lives in Toronto, Ontario. He was born and raised in Prince George, in northwest British Columbia, and graduated from Simon Fraser University as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. Before becoming a full time writer, he worked as an urban planner. In 2001, he co-founded (with Stan Persky) the website www.dooneyscafe.com (named after a restaurant on Toronto's Bloor Street West), which is described as "a news service" and to which he is a regular contributor. He has also taught cultural literacy in maximum security prisons. Virtual Clearcut: Or, the Way Things Are in My Hometown won the 2003 Pearson Prize for Canadian non-fiction.

Donna Morrissey

Donna Morrissey left her birthplace, The Beaches, a small outport on the west coast of Newfoundland, at the age of 16. She lived in various places of Canada before returning to St. John's where she studied at Memorial University, where she obtained a Bachelor of Social Work, and a diploma in adult education. Morrissey now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Morrissey has written three prize-winning novels -- Kit's Law, the national best seller Downhill Chance, and Sylvanus Now -- as well as one prize-winning screenplay, Clothesline Patch.

Alistair Macleod

Alistair Macleod is a noted Canadian author and retired professor of English at the University of Windsor. He studied at St. Francis Xavier University between 1957 and 1960 and graduated with a BA and B.Ed. He then went on to receive his MA in 1961 from the University of New Brunswick and his PhD in 1968 from the University of Notre Dame. A specialist in British literature of the nineteenth century, MacLeod taught English for three years at Indiana University before accepting a post in 1969 at the University of Windsor as professor of English and creative writing. During the summer, his family resides in Cape Breton Island, where he spends part of his time "writing in a cliff-top cabin looking west towards Prince Edward Island." MacLeod's published works include the 1976 short story collection The Lost Salt Gift of Blood and the 1986 As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories. All of the stories in these two volumes along with his other published stories are included in MacLeod's 2000 collection Island. Among other awards, Macleod won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for his 1999 novel No Great Mischief.

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