Role
2016 Keynote Speaker
M. G. Vassanji was born in Nairobi, Kenya and raised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He received a BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, before going to live in Canada. He is a member of the Order of Canada and has been awarded several honorary doctorates. He currently lives in Toronto.
He is the author of seven novels, two collections of short stories, a travel memoir about India, a memoir of East Africa, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. He is twice winner of the Giller Prize (1994, 2003) for best work of fiction in Canada; the Governor General’s Prize (2009) for best work of nonfiction; the Harbourfront Festival Prize; the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa, 1990); and the Bressani Prize. The Assassin’s Song was also shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Prize, the Writers Trust Award, and India’s Crossword Prize. His work has been translated into many languages, including Hindi. Vassanji has given lectures worldwide and written many essays, including introductions to the works of Robertson Davies, Anita Desai, Mordecai Richler, and the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. In June 2015, M. G. Vassanji was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize for the Arts.
This is a truly wonderful initiative to promote literature, more so because it comes from a private initiative. By telling our stories we share our lives; this fiction prize will bring Punjab to us and through that the world. I wish it every success.
