Yann Martel

Yann Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain, in 1963 to French Canadian parents. His father was a teacher turned diplomat, so childhood meant moving between Western Canada, the United States, Central America and Europe. He studied philosophy at Trent University, drifted through odd jobs and years of travel, and settled on writing at 27. French is his background; English is the language he writes in.

His first book was a story collection, The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios (1993). Its title story had already won the 1991 Journey Prize, and it follows two friends facing HIV/AIDS with imagination as their defence. Self (1996) followed, a fictional autobiography about identity and gender. Later came Beatrice and Virgil (2010) and The High Mountains of Portugal (2016). He also ran an unusual public project: from 2007 to 2011 he sent Prime Minister Stephen Harper a book every two weeks with a letter explaining the choice, collected as 101 Letters to a Prime Minister.

Life of Pi (2001) made him an international name. It won the 2002 Man Booker Prize and became an Academy Award-winning film directed by Ang Lee. He has also received the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, and in 2021 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Start with Life of Pi. It is the book that earned the Booker and the one most readers arrive through. If it works for you, try The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios for a shorter, quieter look at the same fascination with storytelling.