Dionne Brand

Dionne Brand was born in Guayaguayare, Trinidad and Tobago in 1953. As a young girl growing up, she submitted poems to the newspapers under the pseudonym Xavier Simone, an homage to Nina Simone, whom she would listen to late at night on the radio. Brand moved to Canada when she was 17 to attend the University of Toronto, where she earned a degree in Philosophy and English, a Masters in the Philosophy of Education and pursued PhD studies in Women's History but left the program to make time for creative writing.

Dionne Brand first came to prominence in Canada as a poet. Her books of poetry include No Language Is Neutral, a finalist for the Governor General's Award, and Land to Light On, winner of the Governor General's Award and the Trillium Award and thirsty, finalist for the Griffin Prize and winner of the Pat Lowther Award for poetry. Brand is also the author of the acclaimed novels In Another Place, Not Here, which was shortlisted for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Trillium Award, and At the Full and Change of the Moon. Her works of non-fiction include Bread Out of Stone and A Map to the Door of No Return.

What We All Long For was published to great critical acclaim in 2005. While writing the novel, Brand would find herself gazing out the window of a restaurant in the very Toronto neighbourhood occupied by her characters. "I'd be looking through the window and I'd think this is like the frame of the book, the frame of reality: 'There they are: a young Asian woman passing by with a young black woman passing by, with a young Italian man passing by," she says in an interview with The Toronto Star. A recent Vanity Fair article quotes her as saying "I've 'read' New York and London and Paris. And I thought this city needs to be written like that, too."

In addition to her literary accomplishments, Brand is Professor of English in the School of English and Theater Studies at the University of Guelph.

Bibliography
What We All Long For (Vintage Canada, 2005)
What We All Long For (Knopf Canada, 2005)
A Map to the Door of No Return (Anchor Canada, September 2002)
A Map to the Door of No Return (Doubleday Canada, August 2001)
At the Full and Change of the Moon (Vintage Canada, 2000)
At the Full and Change of the Moon (Knopf Canada, 1999)
Bread Out of Stone (Vintage Canada, 1998)
In Another Place, Not Here (Vintage Canada, 1997)
In Another Place, Not Here (Knopf Canada, 1996)

Awards
Winner of the Governor General's Award for Poetry (1997) - for Land to Light On
Winner of the Trillium Award for Poetry (1997) - for Land to Light On
Shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award - for In Another Place, Not Here
Shortlisted for the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award - for In Another Place, Not Here