Myriam J. A. Chancy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Myriam J. A. Chancy
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Chancy at the 2024 Texas Book Festival.
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| Born | 1970 (age 54–55) |
| Alma mater | University of Manitoba; Dalhousie University; University of Iowa |
| Occupation | Writer |
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Notable work
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Searching for Safe Spaces: Afro-Caribbean Women Writers in Exile (1997); Framing Silence (1997); The Loneliness of Angels (2010); Village Weavers (2024) |
| Awards | Guyana Prize for Literature (2011); OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature (2025) |
Myriam J. A. Chancy (born 1970) is a talented writer from Haiti, Canada, and the United States. She is known for her amazing stories and books. She is also a special fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Since 2008, she has been a professor at Scripps College.
Myriam Chancy writes about Haitian culture and the lives of women in the Caribbean. Her novels have won many important awards. These include the Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Award and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.
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Myriam Chancy's Early Life and Education
Myriam Chancy was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She grew up there before moving to Quebec City, Canada. Later, her family moved to Winnipeg.
She went to the University of Manitoba. There, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Philosophy. She then got her master's degree in English literature from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. In 1994, she completed her Ph.D. in English at the University of Iowa.
Myriam Chancy's Career as a Writer and Professor
Myriam Chancy has taught at many universities. She taught English and Women's Studies at places like Vanderbilt University and Arizona State University. She also taught at Louisiana State University.
She was a visiting professor at Smith College and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before that, she was a Professor of English at the University of Cincinnati. She taught about African Diaspora Studies and Caribbean Literature. She also taught creative writing.
From 2002 to 2004, she was the main editor for an academic journal called Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism. She even won an award for her work as an editor.
Myriam Chancy's Novels and Academic Books
Myriam Chancy's first novel was Spirit of Haiti (2003). It was a finalist for the Commonwealth Prize. Her next novel was The Scorpion's Claw.
Her third novel, The Loneliness of Angels, won a big award in 2011. It received the Guyana Prize in Literature Caribbean Award for Best Fiction.
Chancy also wrote important academic books. Her book Searching for Safe Spaces: Afro-Caribbean Women Writers in Exile (1997) was one of the first to discuss how being in exile affects Afro-Caribbean women.
Her second book from 1997, Framing Silence, was the first book to focus on Haitian women's literature. It looked at the works of six different writers. These two books helped her become a tenured professor early in her career.
In 2012, she published From Sugar to Revolution: Women's Visions of Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. In 2014, she received the famous Guggenheim Fellowship for Literary Criticism.
Her novel What Storm, What Thunder was published in 2021. This book is about the terrible 2010 Haiti earthquake. It was nominated for several awards.
Her most recent novel, Village Weavers (2024), won the top prize at the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.
Myriam Chancy's Literary Works
- Searching for Safe Spaces: Afro-Caribbean Women Writers in Exile (Temple University Press, 1997)
- Framing Silence: Revolutionary Novels by Haitian Women (Rutgers University Press, 1997)
- Spirit of Haiti (London: Mango Publications, 2003)
- The Scorpion's Claw (Peepal Tree Press, 2005)
- The Loneliness of Angels (Peepal Tree Press, 2010)
- From Sugar to Revolution: Women's Visions of Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2012)
- What Storm, What Thunder (Harper Collins Canada, 2021)
- Village Weavers (Tin House, 2024)
Myriam Chancy's Awards and Honors
- 1998: Outstanding Academic Book Award by Choice for Searching for Safe Spaces
- 2004: Phoenix Award for Editorial Achievement from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals
- 2011: Guyana Prize in Literature Caribbean Award (Best Fiction) for The Loneliness of Angels
- 2014: John S. Guggenheim Fellowship
- 2025: Fiction winner of OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for Village Weavers
- 2025: Overall winner of OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
