Brett Josef Grubisic
Encyclopedia
Brett Josef Grubisic is a Canadian
novelist and editor, and professor of English at the University of British Columbia
. He obtained degrees from University of Victoria (B.A., M.A.) and the University of British Columbia (Ph.D.)
He has edited one anthology of gay male fiction
, and co-edited an anthology of upcoming Canadian writers. The former collection highlights stories that represent lives outside the urban middle-class mainstream; the latter, featuring such acclaimed writers as Annabel Lyon
, Steven Heighton
, Camilla Gibb
, Michael Turner
, and Larissa Lai
, aims to redress an absence the editors claim to have noticed in Canadian literature: sexually frank fiction. Grubisic's debut novel
, The Age of Cities, was published in 2006, and was a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Prize. Set predominantly in the late 1950s, the novel-within-a-novel traces the uncertain evolution of a librarian as he struggles between two disparate choices, one urban and the other rural. Understanding Beryl Bainbridge, Grubisic's comprehensive study of the British author's fiction, was published in 2008; it examines Bainbridge as a blackly comic novelist as well as a writer of historiographic metafiction. Appearing in 2009, American Hunks: The Muscular Male Body in Popular Culture, 1860-1970, a pictorial social history co-authored with David L. Chapman, charts changes in the depictions of and attitudes toward the nude and semi-nude male body in North America. National Plots: Historical Fiction and Changing Ideas of Canada, co-edited with Andrea Cabajsky, was published in 2010. The authors of the collection's fourteen essays explore the diverse ways that a wide range of historical fiction (published between 1850 and 2005) contributes to the formation of national identity.
He writes about books and writers for National Post
, Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail, and Xtra.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
novelist and editor, and professor of English at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
. He obtained degrees from University of Victoria (B.A., M.A.) and the University of British Columbia (Ph.D.)
He has edited one anthology of gay male fiction
Gay pulp fiction
Gay pulp fiction, or gay pulps, refers to printed works, primarily fiction, that include references to male homosexuality, specifically male gay sex, and that are cheaply produced, typically in paperback books made of wood pulp paper; lesbian pulp fiction is similar work about women...
, and co-edited an anthology of upcoming Canadian writers. The former collection highlights stories that represent lives outside the urban middle-class mainstream; the latter, featuring such acclaimed writers as Annabel Lyon
Annabel Lyon
Annabel Lyon is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. She's published two collections of short fiction, two young adult novels, and an adult historical novel, The Golden Mean.-Life and work:...
, Steven Heighton
Steven Heighton
Steven Heighton is a Canadian novelist, short story writer and poet. He is the author of ten books, including two short story collections, three novels, and five poetry collections...
, Camilla Gibb
Camilla Gibb
Camilla Gibb is a writer living in Toronto.Born in London, England, she grew up in Toronto and studied at the North Toronto Collegiate Institute and the Jarvis Collegiate Institute...
, Michael Turner
Michael Turner
Michael Turner may refer to:*Michael Turner , American Football running back for the Atlanta Falcons*Michael Turner , Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club...
, and Larissa Lai
Larissa Lai
Larissa Lai is a Canadian writer, critic, and professor.Born in La Jolla, California, she grew up in St. John's, Newfoundland. She attended the University of British Columbia and, in 1990, graduated with a B.A. in Sociology. Subsequently, she earned her MA from the University of East Anglia, and...
, aims to redress an absence the editors claim to have noticed in Canadian literature: sexually frank fiction. Grubisic's debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
, The Age of Cities, was published in 2006, and was a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Prize. Set predominantly in the late 1950s, the novel-within-a-novel traces the uncertain evolution of a librarian as he struggles between two disparate choices, one urban and the other rural. Understanding Beryl Bainbridge, Grubisic's comprehensive study of the British author's fiction, was published in 2008; it examines Bainbridge as a blackly comic novelist as well as a writer of historiographic metafiction. Appearing in 2009, American Hunks: The Muscular Male Body in Popular Culture, 1860-1970, a pictorial social history co-authored with David L. Chapman, charts changes in the depictions of and attitudes toward the nude and semi-nude male body in North America. National Plots: Historical Fiction and Changing Ideas of Canada, co-edited with Andrea Cabajsky, was published in 2010. The authors of the collection's fourteen essays explore the diverse ways that a wide range of historical fiction (published between 1850 and 2005) contributes to the formation of national identity.
He writes about books and writers for National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, Vancouver Sun, Globe and Mail, and Xtra.
Non-fiction
- Understanding Beryl Bainbridge (University of South Carolina Press, 2008)
- American Hunks: The Muscular Male Body in Popular Culture, 1860-1970 (Arsenal Pulp, 2009)
- National Plots: Historical Fiction and Changing Ideas of Canada (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010)
Anthologies
- Contra/Diction: New Gay Male Fiction. (Arsenal Pulp, 1998)
- Carnal Nation: Brave New Sex Fictions (Arsenal Pulp, 2000), edited with Carellin Brooks