Allan Stratton
Allan Stratton (born 1951) is a Canadian playwright and novelist.
Life and career
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (March 2021) |
Stratton was born in
Throughout this period, Stratton continued to write, and in 1977 his first professional stage play, 72 Under the 0, was produced by
In 1982, he moved to
Stratton returned to Canada in the late 1980s, and moved to
Other plays include The 101 Miracles of Hope Chance, which premiered at the
In the mid-1990s, Stratton headed the Drama Department at the
For the past few years, his focus has been fiction. The results of this work include two novels released in fall 2000: The Phoenix Lottery, a social satire about art, commerce and untidy family relationships, published by the Riverbank Press; and Leslie's Journal, a
The Phoenix Lottery was nominated for the
Leslie's Journal was selected for The American Library Association's "Best Books for Young Adults, 2002", "Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2003" and "Best Reading List, 2003". Other citations include The Canadian Bookseller's "The Best of Canadian Young Adult: Gems of 2000", The Young Adult Learning Services Association (A.L.A.)'s "Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers 2001", The McNally Robinson Booksellers' "Our Choice 2001", and The Canadian Children's Book Centre's "Best Books for Young Adults". A revised edition incorporating cyberbullying in its narrative structure was released in 2008.
Allan's next novel was the internationally acclaimed bestseller Chanda's Secrets, 2004. Set against the
In 2010, Chanda's Secrets was made into the award-winning film
Allan followed up Chanda's Secrets, with the stand-alone sequel Chanda's Wars, 2008. It was published to acclaim by HarperCollins in the US and Canada, by Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag in Germany, Van Goor Uniebok in the Netherlands, Editora Pruno in Brazil, and Bayard Jeunesse in France. It won the Canadian Library Association's Best Young Adult Canadian Book Award and was a Junior Library Guild selection.
Borderline, 2010, was published to acclaim in the United States, Canada and France and was nominated for multiple awards including the Arthur Ellis Award, CLA Best YA Fiction Award, and the inaugural John Spray Award. It was an ALA Best Fiction and Bank Street's Best Book selection.
The Grave Robber's Apprentice, 2012, was published by Harper in the United States and Canada, Faber and Faber in the UK, and is also scheduled for publication in France and Brazil. It is a Times of London's Children's Book of the Week and has been nominated for The Governor General's Award and the Silver Birch Award.
Curse of the Dream Witch will be published by Faber and Faber in spring 2013 and by Scholastic Canada, with publication by Bayard Jeunesse, France, and others, scheduled later. Allan's second adult novel, The Resurrection of Mary Mabel McTavish will be published by Dundurn Press in 2014.
Aside from his novels and plays, Allan has written for international events, including the evenings for Stephen Sondheim, Robert Rauschenberg and Guy Laliberté at The Harbourfront Centre World Leaders' Festival, Toronto. He also maintains an active public speaking and theatre adjudication schedule. In private life, he enjoys reading, weightlifting, and travel; his interests have taken him to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean and throughout Europe and North America. For several years, he volunteered at a Manhattan soup kitchen, and has undergone Santerian purification rituals, witnessed an exorcism in Botswana, and slept between rail cars behind the former Iron Curtain.
His work is published internationally by HarperCollins, Faber and Faber, Penguin Books, Samuel French, The Riverbank Press, Annick Press, Deutscher Taschenburg Verlag, Allen and Unwin, The Chicken House, Bayard Jeunesse, Asunaro Shobo, Hsiao Lu Publishing, Random House: Joong Ang, Zalozba Mis, Van Goor, Thuong Huyen Books, Hangilsa Publishing Company, Editora Planeta, Editora Pruno, Sinnos, Scholastic Canada, Coach House Press, and Playwrights Canada, among others, and has been widely anthologized. He and his spouse live in Toronto with their four cats.
Personal life
Stratton is gay and happily married.[1]
Prizes and honours
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (March 2021) |
- 1981 Chalmers Award for Rexy!
- 1981 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Rexy!
- 1985 Chalmer's Award, Outstanding New Play for Papers
- 2005 Canadian Library Association Young Adult Canadian Book Award for Chanda's Secrets
- 2005 Independent Publisher Book Award (U.S.A.), Best Juvenile and YA Fiction, for Chanda's Secrets
- Runners-up, booklists, etc.
- 1986 Finalist, Governor General's Award for Papers
- 1986 Finalist, Dora Mavor Moore Award for Papers
- 1992 Finalist, Toronto Book Awards for Bag Babies
- 1996 Finalist, Dora Mavor Moore Award - Best New Play for Dracula
- 2000 Stephen Leacock Award of Merit for The Phoenix Lottery
- 2002 American Library Association: "Best Books for Young Adults" for Leslie's Journal
- 2002 McNally Robinson Booksellers Online: "Our Choice 2001" for Leslie's Journal
- 2005 Michael L. Printz Honor Book for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, awarded by the American Library Association, for Chanda's Secrets
- 2005 American Library Association, Best Books for Young Adults Chandra's Secrets
- 2005 Booklist, Editor's Choice for Chanda's Secrets
- 2005 Shortlisted, Ontario Library Association: Forest of Reading White Pine Award for Chanda's Secrets
- 2009 Shortlisted, Ontario Library Association: Forest of Reading White Pine Award for Chanda's Wars
- 2011 Shortlisted, Ontario Library Association: Forest of Reading White Pine Award for Borderline
Works
Novels
- Phoenix Lottery (2000) Riverbank Press
- Leslie's Journal ]]
- Chanda's Secrets (2004) Annick Press
- Chanda's Wars (2008) HarperCollins Canada
- Borderline (2010) HarperCollins Canada
- Grave Robber's Apprentice (2012) HarperCollins Canada
- The Resurrection of Mary Mabel McTavish (2013) Dundurn Press
- The Dogs (2015)
Plays
- Bingo! (1977)
- Nurse Jane Goes To Hawaii (1980)
- Rexy! (1981)
- Joggers (1982)
- Friends Of A Feather (1984)
- Papers (1985)
- The Hundred and One Miracles of Hope Chance (1987)
- Bag Babies (1990)
- A Flush of Tories (1991)
- Dracula (1995)
- The Dogs (2015)
References
- ^ "Secret garden: The fertile origins of children's lit". Jeffrey Canton. Daily Xtra!. December 13, 2000.
External links
Archives at | ||||||
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How to use archival material |
- Official website
- Allan Stratton at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Allan Stratton at Library of Congress, with 17 library catalogue records