Élisabeth Vonarburg

Overview:

• Legal Name: Vonarburg, Elisabeth
• Place of Birth: Paris, France
• Date of Birth: August 05, 1947
• Pseudonym:
  • Sabine Verreault

Notes:

Born to life in 1947 (France), to reading in 1952 (myths, fairy tales, comics, adventure), to writing in 1958 (poetry) and to science-fiction in 1964 (at last!). Likes reading, music, movies, cats, skiing, good food and bad puns. Has taught literature on and off at various universities in Quebec (since immigration, in 1973). Did and is still doing a lot of SF translations from English to French (more recent one: Guy G. Kay's The Fionavar Tapestry, 1995.) Despite a PhD. in Creative Writing (1987), gave SF Writing Workshops during ten years, has been the literary editor for the SF & F Quebecois magazine Solaris from 1979 to 1990 (is still a contributing editor), and is now a full-time writer. Is guilty of organizing the first Quebecois SF convention in 1979, and of recidiving twice after that. Three short stories collections published in French, (two in Quebec, L'Oeil de la nuit, Ailleurs et au Japon, one in France, Janus), several more stories in various SF magazines (idem). More than half a dozen stories translated in English (Canada). Several stories published in the States (in Amazing and in Tomorrow). Three Canadian Casper Awards (now «Aurora Awards») for Best Short Story in French (1987: "La carte du Tendre", 1990, "Cogito", in the Canadian SF anthology Tesseracts 3, and "Ici des Tigres", 1991), three for Best Book in French (Histoire de la Princesse et du Dragon, 1991, Ailleurs et au Japon, 1992, Chroniques du Pays des Meres, 1993). Is editor, with translator Jane Brierley, of Tesseracts Q, an anthology of Quebecois SF to be published in 1996. First novel published in France in 1981, (Le Silence de la Cite), received several awards in 1982, among which le Grand Prix de la SF Francaise. As The Silent City, it has been published in Canada in 1986 (Press Porcepic), in the UK in 1990 (Women's Press), and in the States (1992, Bantam). In the Mothers' Land, another SF novel, has been published simultaneously in French (Chroniques du Pays des Meres) and in English (Bantam, 1992, as In the Mothers' Land; Beach Holme, Canada, 1993, as The Maerlande Chronicles); it has received the 1993 Philip K. Dick Special Award and was a finalist of the Tiptree Award (USA), as well as being the 1993 winner of the Grand Prix Logidec de la SF quebecoise and other Quebecois and Canadian awards (Boreal, Aurora). A third SF novel, The Reluctant Voyagers, has been published in the States by Bantam and in Canada in 1996 by Tesseract Books, (in French, 1994, Les Voyageurs malgre eux) it was a finalist of the 1995 P.K. Dick Award. Tyranael, a five books SF saga, is in the works (the two first books are due in the Fall of 1996), as well as two short story collections. One fantasy novel for young adults in Quebec in 1993, Les Contes de la Chatte Rouge and one science fiction and fantasy book in 1994, Contes & Legendes de Tyranael.

Resources:

• Wikipedia article on Élisabeth Vonarburg