Ablutions patrick dewitt

Canadian novelist and screenwriter

Patrick deWitt (born 1975) is a Canadian novelist and screenwriter. Born on Vancouver Island, deWitt lives in Portland, Oregon, and has acquired American citizenship. As of 2023, he has written five novels: Ablutions (2009), The Sisters Brothers (2011), Undermajordomo Minor (2015), French Exit (2018) and The Librarianist (2023).

Biography

DeWitt was born on Vancouver Island in Sidney, British Columbia.^[1] The second of three brothers, he spent his childhood moving back and forth across the west coast of North America. He credits his father, a carpenter, with giving him his "lifelong interest in literature."^[2] DeWitt dropped out of high school to become a writer.^[3][4] He moved to Los Angeles, working at a bar.^[5] He left Los Angeles to move back in with his parents in the Seattle area,^[6] on Bainbridge Island.^[2] When he sold his first book, Ablutions (2009), deWitt quit his job as a construction worker to become a writer, and moved to Portland, Oregon.^[6]

Although born a Canadian citizen, deWitt was raised primarily in Southern California and later became a U.S. citizen.^[7] He married screenwriter Leslie Napoles,^[8] an American,^[9] with whom he has a son.^[10] He is separated from his wife, but they are amicable and share the care of their son.^[2]

Career

His first book, Ablutions: Notes for a Novel (2009), was named a New York Times Editors' Choice book. His second, The Sisters Brothers (2011), was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize, the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize,^[11] the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize,^[12] and the 2011 Governor General's Award for English-language fiction.^[13] He was one of two Canadian writers, alongside Esi Edugyan, to make all four award lists in 2011.^[11] On November 1, 2011, he was announced as the winner of the Rogers Prize,^[14] and on November 15, 2011, he was announced as the winner of Canada's 2011 Governor General's Award for English-language fiction.^[15] On April 26, 2012, the novel won the 2012 Stephen Leacock Award. Alongside Edugyan, The Sisters Brothers was also a shortlisted nominee for the 2012 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction.^[16]The Sisters Brothers was adapted as a film of the same name by Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain, and released in 2018.

His third novel, Undermajordomo Minor, was published in 2015.^[17] The novel was longlisted for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize.^[18]

His fourth novel, French Exit, was published in August 2018 by Ecco Press, an imprint of HarperCollins.^[19][20] The book was named as a shortlisted finalist for the 2018 Giller Prize.^[21] He wrote the screenplay for the 2020 film of the same name.^[22]

In 2019, deWitt had a small role in First Cow, a film directed by his friend Kelly Reichardt.^[23]

DeWitt's most recent novel, The Librarianist, was published on July 4, 2023, by Ecco Press. It follows a retired librarian named Bob Comet and is billed as a "wide-ranging and ambitious document of the introvert's condition."^[24] It was the winner of the 2024 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.^[25]

Bibliography

Novels

Nonfiction

• Help Yourself Help Yourself (2007)

Screenplays

References

External links