Linda Holeman (née Freeman; born December 24, 1949, in Winnipeg, Manitoba)[1] is a Canadian author of fiction.

Linda Holeman
Born
Linda Freeman

(1949-12-24) December 24, 1949 (age 74)
Education
Children3
AwardsMcNally Robinson Book for Young People Award (2000, 2002)
Websitelindaholeman.com

Personal life and education

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Holeman was born December 24, 1949, in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[1] She received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and psychology from the University of Winnipeg in 1972, then attended the University of Manitoba, where she received a Bachelor of Education in 1975 and Master of Education in 1982.[1]

She currently lives and writes in Toronto, Ontario. She has three children: Zalie, Brenna, Kitt.[1]

Career

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Education

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Holeman taught in the Frontier School Division in northern Manitoba in the mid-70s, after which she taught in the Fort Garry School Division in Winnipeg.[1] In the 1990s, she taught at the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba.[1] Later, she was a writer-in-residence at the Winnipeg Public Library.[1]

Writing

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Holeman is the author of fourteen books of fiction, which have sold millions of copies worldwide. Her work has been translated into twenty languages, and includes two adult collections of literary short stories, Flying to Yellow and Devil's Darning Needle, as well as the historical novels The Linnet Bird, The Moonlit Cage, In A Far Country, The Saffron Gate, The Lost Souls of Angelkov, and The Devil On Her Tongue. Her particular interest in writing historical fiction is demonstrating the plight of women in the 18th and 19th centuries, from the point of view of strongly drawn female protagonists. She travels widely to research her novels in great depth, and her ability to capture place and era has consistently met with positive critical review. Amnesty International UK has chosen The Moonlit Cage as one of the "Ten Great Books on Human Rights", along with To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, The Help, and Mosquito.

Her young adult body of work consists of a collection of short stories, Saying Good-Bye, which was re-released as Toxic Love, and four novels: Promise Song, Mercy's Birds, Raspberry House Blues, and Search of the Moon King's Daughter. She has also written a first-chapter book for younger readers, Frankie on the Run. Linda has been the recipient of numerous awards, honours and nominations for her young adult work.

As well as being published in many journals and periodicals, Holeman's short stories have been widely anthologized in Canada – most noticeably in The Journey Prize Anthology[2] – and abroad. She was twice short-listed for the CBC Literary Competition, and won the Larry Turner Award for Non-Fiction, the Canadian Author/Winnipeg Free Press Non-Fiction Competition, and the Canadian Living Magazine National Writing Competition.

Linda acted as guest editor for a young adult issue of Prairie Fire Magazine,[3] for which she was awarded the Vicky Metcalf Short Story Editor Award. She has been a member of the Manitoba Artists in the Schools Program and CANSCAIP, toured with the Canadian Children's Book Centre, acted as a mentor in the Manitoba Writers' Guild Mentor Program, and taught creative writing through the University of Winnipeg's Continuing Education Programme. She has served on a number of juries across Canada, including the Governor-General's Award for Children's Literature,[4] and created and facilitated writing workshops on many aspects of the writing process to both students and adults nationally and internationally. She held a nine-month term as Writer-in-Residence at the Millennium Library in Winnipeg,[5] and served on the editorial advisory board for Turnstone Press and on the board of the Manitoba Writers' Guild. She is a member of the Writers' Union of Canada.[6]

Awards and honours

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Awards for Holeman's writing
Year Title Result Award
1997 Promise Song Geoffrey Bilson Award Finalist [7]
1998 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award Finalist [8][9]
1999 Mercy's Birds Forest of Reading Red Maple Award Finalist [8][9]
2000 Raspberry House Blues McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award Winner [10]
2001 Forest of Reading Red Maple Award Finalist [8][9]
2002 Search of the Moon King's Daughter McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award Winner [11]
2003 Geoffrey Bilson Award Finalist [7]

Publications

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  • Saying Good-Bye. Toronto, ON: Lester Publishing (1995). ISBN 1-895555-47-7

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Holeman, Linda 1949-". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  2. ^ Holeman, Linda (1996). The Journey Prize Anthology 8. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McClelland & Stewart Inc. ISBN 0-7710-4427-5.
  3. ^ Holeman, Linda (1998). Prairie Fire. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: Prairie Fire Press Inc. ISBN 978-0-00-821112-7.
  4. ^ Holeman, Linda. "Jury Member, Governor-General's Awards for Children's Literature". Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  5. ^ Holeman, Linda. "Winnipeg Millennium Library". Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  6. ^ Holeman, Linda. "Profile – Writers' Union of Canada". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Previous Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People Winners and Finalists". Canadian Children's Book Centre. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Research Guides: Forest of Reading®, 7 to 12 Programs: Red Maple Winners & Nominees, 1998-2023". Queen's University Library. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Ontario Library Association. "Red Maple Award™ Winners and Nominees 1998–2021" (PDF). Forest of Reading. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "2000 McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award Recipient: Linda Holeman". Canadian Children's Book Centre. Archived from the original on November 29, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  11. ^ "2002 McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award Recipient: Linda Holeman". Canadian Children's Book Centre. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.

Sources

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