Famous Canadian Novelists

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet and novelist. Her works encompass themes, such as religion and myth, climate change, and gender and identity. An award-winning writer, many of Atwood's works have been made into films and television series; her work, The Handmaid's Tale, has had several adaptations. Perhaps, Margaret Atwood's most important contribution is her invention of the LongPen device.

Canadian actor James Doohan was initially a soldier in the Canadian army and had even sustained injuries in World War II. He later soared to fame with his Saturn Award-nominated role of Montgomery Scott in the Star Trek film and TV franchise. He also voiced the character in various video games.

William Gibson is an American-Canadian essayist and speculative fiction writer. He is widely credited with pioneering cyberpunk, a science fiction subgenre. His early works, which he produced during the late-1970s and early-1980s, helped create an iconography for the information age even before the dawn of the Internet in the 1990s. William Gibson is also credited with coining the term cyberspace.

Meg Tilly is an actress best known for her role in the drama mystery film Agnes of God, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She began her career as a dancer and eventually took up acting roles. She loves to write as a hobby and is the author of many novels. 

Canadian author Yann Martel gained international fame with his Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi, which was later made into an Oscar-winning movie. Born to a diplomat and poet father, Martel lived in places such as Spain and France in childhood and worked odd jobs before he began writing.

Canadian novelist Steven Erikson is best-known for authoring the widely acclaimed ten-volume epic-fantasy series Malazan Book of the Fallen. Other notable works of Erikson include The Kharkanas Trilogy, a prequel to Malazan Book of the Fallen series; the Willful Child Trilogy, a spoof on Star Trek; and The Witness Trilogy, first novel of which is planned for a November-2021 release.

Alex Awards winning Irish-Canadian playwright, literary historian, short story writer, novelist, and screenwriter Emma Donoghue is best known for authoring award winning novels like Room and Hood. Room, an international best-seller, was adapted into a film bearing same title that not only emerged as a critical and commercial success but also garnered four Oscar nominations at the 88th Academy Awards.

Robert W. Service was a British-Canadian poet and writer. Popularly called "the Bard of the Yukon," he wrote some of the most commercially successful poetry of his era. A bank clerk by profession, he often wrote while traveling for work. Besides poetry, he also wrote fiction and non-fiction. He was often compared to English writer and novelist Rudyard Kipling. 

Canadian author and social reformer Nellie McClung had struck gold with her first novel, Sowing Seeds in Danny, a bestseller. She also spoke widely about woman suffrage and was part of the Alberta legislature. She was part of The Famous Five, a group of women who launched the Persons Case.

Robertson Davies was a Canadian novelist, critic, playwright, professor, and journalist. One of the most popular Canadian authors of all time, Davies was honored with several prestigious awards such as the Dominion Drama Festival Award, the Stephen Leacock Award, the Lorne Pierce Medal, and the Governor-General's Literary Award.

Michael Ondaatje is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, writer, and filmmaker. Born in Sri Lanka, he eventually migrated to Canada. He studied at Bishop's University and embarked on a teaching career. His literary works include poems, novels, and essays. He is the recipient of multiple prestigious awards, including the Giller Prize and the Booker Prize. 

A. E. van Vogt was a Canadian author whose bizarre narrative style had a major impact on many future science fiction writers like Philip K. Dick. One of the most influential and popular science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century, van Vogt was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1996.

Canadian author and environmentalist Farley Mowat is best known for his books on his experiences as a naturalist. A zoology student at the University of Toronto, he dropped out without a degree. His bestselling novel People of the Deer related his concern about the plight of the Ihalmiut of the Arctic.

Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist and artist who popularized the term “Generation X” mentioned in his international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. He has published several novels, collections of short stories, and works of non-fiction. His art is frequently exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. 

Thomas King is a Canadian broadcast presenter and writer best known for his books and interviews about the aboriginal people and their rights. Many of his works have earned prestigious awards. His book A Short History of Indians in Canada was honored with the McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award in 2006.

Robert J. Sawyer is a Canadian writer whose short fiction has appeared in popular magazines like On Spec, Amazing Stories, and Analog Science Fiction and Fact. An ardent supporter of Canadian science fiction, Sawyer played a key role in the establishment of the Canadian Region of SFWA. He has won many awards like the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award.

Initially a herbalist’s apprentice, Simon Newcomb later deviated to mathematics and astronomy. Born to a schoolteacher, he had loved math since age 5 but wasn’t formally educated. He later joined Harvard University, taught math at the US Navy, detected locations of celestial bodies, and wrote a science-fiction novel, too.

English-Canadian writer Susanna Moodie is best known for her realistic depictions of her life in “the bush” or the wilderness of Canada, which was a British colony back in her time. Her most popular work remains Roughing it in the Bush. She had initially also penned several children’s stories.

Charles de Lint is a Canadian writer who primarily writes fantasy fiction in the subgenres of urban fantasy,  mythic fiction, and contemporary magical realism. He is considered one of the pioneers of the genre of urban fantasy. His most popular works include Widdershins and The Blue Girl. He is married to  MaryAnn Harris, who is also his business manager. 

Spider Robinson is a musician and science fiction author best known for his humorous stories and hard science fiction. Over the course of his illustrious career, Spider Robinson has won many prestigious awards, such as the Hugo Award, John W. Campbell Award, and Nebula Award. At the 2018 World Science Fiction Convention, Spider Robinson was named a Guest of Honor.

Peter Wildeblood was an Anglo-Canadian novelist, journalist, gay rights campaigner, and playwright. One of the first men to declare his homosexuality in the UK, Wildeblood's career was largely overshadowed by his struggles against the law. Peter Wildeblood penned down his experiences as an openly gay man in a book titled Against the Law.

Ann-Marie MacDonald is a Canadian actress, playwright, author, and broadcast host. Her maiden novel, Fall on Your Knees, received the Commonwealth Writers Prize. Ann-Marie MacDonald is perhaps best known for her play Goodnight Desdemona, which earned her several awards including the Governor General's Award for Drama, the Canadian Authors Association Drama Award, and the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award. 

Gordon R. Dickson was an influential science fiction writer whose 1969 novel Wolfling inspired the creation of the lightsaber, a sword showcased in the Star Wars franchise. During his illustrious career, Dickson won many prestigious awards, including three Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award. In 2000, he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.