Isabel Huggan

In 1970, she married journalist Robert Huggan. They lived in [[Toronto]] for two years and then bought an old farm house in [[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]] in eastern Ontario, where she was a reporter, photographer and columnist for the local newspaper, The Intelligencer, and he taught journalism at the local community college. In the mid-1970s she began publishing poetry and short stories in Canadian literary magazines; in 1977, after leaving her job, she gave birth to a daughter.

In 1970, she married journalist Robert Huggan. They lived in [[Toronto]] for two years and then bought an old farm house in [[Belleville, Ontario|Belleville]] in eastern Ontario, where she was a reporter, photographer and columnist for the local newspaper, The Intelligencer, and he taught journalism at the local community college. In the mid-1970s she began publishing poetry and short stories in Canadian literary magazines; in 1977, after leaving her job, she gave birth to a daughter.

In 1976, Huggan won first prize in a [[National Film Board of Canada]] contest for women scriptwriters for a film script based on her short story "Celia Behind Me". She contributed two further stories about Elizabeth, the central character in "Celia Behind Me", for an anthology (''First Impressions'', Oberon Press, 1980). Another in the same series was published in the annual Oberon Press collection ''Best Canadian Stories'' the following year. In 1980, the family moved to Ottawa and she met with Oberon Press editors who published her entire eight-story sequence as ''The Elizabeth Stories'' (1984). The book received favorable reviews across the country, and Huggan, by now in her early 40s, began to be recognized as one of Canada's "new writers".

In 1976, Huggan won first prize in a [[National Film Board of Canada]] contest for women scriptwriters for a film script based on her short story "Celia Behind Me". She contributed two further stories about Elizabeth, the central character in "Celia Behind Me", for an anthology (''First Impressions'', [[Oberon Press]], 1980). Another in the same series was published in the annual Oberon Press collection ''Best Canadian Stories'' the following year. In 1980, the family moved to Ottawa and she met with Oberon Press editors who published her entire eight-story sequence as ''The Elizabeth Stories'' (1984). The book received favorable reviews across the country, and Huggan, by now in her early 40s, began to be recognized as one of Canada's "new writers".

In 1987, the family moved to Kenya where her husband worked in international development. During this time, The Elizabeth Stories was published in Britain and the United States. The posting in Kenya lasted for three years and was followed by a three-year assignment in France, which led to a five-year stay at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Before leaving France in 1993, Isabel Huggan produced a second collection of short stories, ''You Never Know'', which established her international reputation as a writer.

In 1987, the family moved to Kenya where her husband worked in international development. During this time, The Elizabeth Stories was published in Britain and the United States. The posting in Kenya lasted for three years and was followed by a three-year assignment in France, which led to a five-year stay at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Before leaving France in 1993, Isabel Huggan produced a second collection of short stories, ''You Never Know'', which established her international reputation as a writer.

==Writing==

==Writing==

Eight stories tracing the growth of the child Elizabeth Kessler over a ten-year period during the 1950s was published as ''The Elizabeth Stories'' by Oberon Press in 1984, and in 1987 by Viking Penguin in Great Britain and the United States, where it won the Quality Paperback New Voice Award in 1988 as well as the Best Fiction Prize from the Denver Quarterly. ''The Elizabeth Stories'' has been translated into French, Spanish and Turkish: several stories are anthologized in Dutch and Italian as well as often being used in English-language anthologies, especially those for secondary schools and universities. Isabel Huggan's reputation as a short story writer is international.

Eight stories tracing the growth of the child Elizabeth Kessler over a ten-year period during the 1950s was published as ''The Elizabeth Stories'' by Oberon Press in 1984, and in 1987 by Viking Penguin in Great Britain and the United States, where it won the Quality Paperback New Voice Award in 1988 as well as the Best Fiction Prize from the [[Denver Quarterly]]. ''The Elizabeth Stories'' has been translated into French, Spanish and Turkish: several stories are anthologized in Dutch and Italian as well as often being used in English-language anthologies, especially those for secondary schools and universities. Isabel Huggan's reputation as a short story writer is international.

All but two stories of the collection ''You Never Know'' (Knopf Canada and Viking Penguin USA, also translated into French) focus on adult experience, and the various settings—Scotland, France, Canada and Kenya—reflect Huggan's expanding view of the world and of human nature. These stories were a clear departure from her earlier work, and proved that childhood was not the only territory from which she derived inspiration. Several of these stories have been anthologized since appearing in ''You Never Know'' and continue to be used in current collections such as ''Best Canadian Stories'' (Penguin Canada, 2007).

All but two stories of the collection ''You Never Know'' (Knopf Canada and Viking Penguin USA, also translated into French) focus on adult experience, and the various settings—Scotland, France, Canada and Kenya—reflect Huggan's expanding view of the world and of human nature. These stories were a clear departure from her earlier work, and proved that childhood was not the only territory from which she derived inspiration. Several of these stories have been anthologized since appearing in ''You Never Know'' and continue to be used in current collections such as ''Best Canadian Stories'' (Penguin Canada, 2007).

The process of settling into a new country, learning another language and culture (at the same time as retaining her Canadian identity) forms the basis for Huggan's third book, ''Belonging: Home Away From Home'', a mix of memoir and fiction, published in 2003 by Knopf Canada and in 2004 by Random House Australia. It immediately received extremely favorable attention from critics and the public. In April 2004, it was awarded the prestigious Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-fiction in Canada, and in Australia was for some time on the bestseller list.

The process of settling into a new country, learning another language and culture (at the same time as retaining her Canadian identity) forms the basis for Huggan's third book, ''Belonging: Home Away From Home'', a mix of memoir and fiction, published in 2003 by Knopf Canada and in 2004 by [[Random House]] Australia. It immediately received extremely favorable attention from critics and the public. In April 2004, it was awarded the prestigious Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-fiction in Canada, and in Australia was for some time on the bestseller list.

''Belonging'' was reprinted in Canada and Australia. Readers find their own experiences mirrored in the memoir, as Huggan's life story reminds them of their own: moving from one house or city or country to another, making home over and over again – this is common to more people now than ever before.

''Belonging'' was reprinted in Canada and Australia. Readers find their own experiences mirrored in the memoir, as Huggan's life story reminds them of their own: moving from one house or city or country to another, making home over and over again – this is common to more people now than ever before.