Donna Morrissey (born January 13, 1956, in The Beaches, Newfoundland) is a Canadian author.
At age 16, Morrissey left her birthplace of The Beaches, a small outport on the west coast of Newfoundland. She lived in various places in Canada before returning to St. John's, where she studied at Memorial University and obtained a Bachelor of Social Work and a diploma in adult education. Morrissey now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Morrissey has written six national best sellers and prize-winning novels — Kit's Law, Downhill Chance, Sylvanus Now, What They Wanted, The Deception of Livvy Higgs, and The Fortunate Brother — as well as one Gemini-nominated screenplay. In 2021 She published a memoir, Pluck: A Memoir of a Newfoundland Childhood and the Raucous, Terrible, Amazing Journey to becoming a Novelist.
Morrissey defended Frank Parker Day's novel Rockbound in Canada Reads 2005. Rockbound eventually won the competition. In the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, an "all-star" competition pitting the five winning advocates from previous years against each other, Morrissey returned to champion Anosh Irani's novel The Song of Kahunsha.
Morrissey had a double mastectomy due to breast cancer,
Bibliography
edit- Kit's Law
- Downhill Chance
- Sylvanus Now
- What They Wanted
- The Deception of Livvy Higgs
- The Fortunate Brother
- Pluck: A memoir of a Newfoundland Childhood and the Raucous, Terrible, Amazing Journey to Becoming a Novelist
- Rage The Night
Filmography
edit- Clothesline Patch (screenplay)
nominated for Gemini for Best Writing
Awards and recognition
edit- For Sylvanus Now:
- Winner of the Thomas Head Raddall Award
- Atlantic Booksellers Choice Award
- Short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
- For Downhill Chance:
- Winner of the Thomas Head Raddall Award
- For Kit's Law:
- Winner of the Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award
- Winner of the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize
- Winner of the American Library Association Alex Award
- Shortlisted for the Books in Canada First Novel Award
- Shortlisted for the Atlantic Provinces Booksellers' Choice Award
- Shortlisted for the Thomas Head Raddall Award
- For Clothesline Patch:
- Winner, Best Production, 2002 Gemini Awards
nominated Best Writing
- For The Deception of Livvy Higgs:
- One Book Nova Scotia selection, 2016
For "The Fortunate Brother":
Winner of the Thomas Head Raddall Award
Winner of Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Book of 2017