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Brief Biography
Elaine McCluskey's novel, Going Fast, is being published in Spring 2009 by Goose Lane Editions in Fredericton. Her debut collection of short stories, The Watermelon Social, was published in the spring of 2006 by Gaspereau Press. The title story of that collection was a finalist in The Journey Prize contest. Elaine has been published in The Fiddlehead, The Antigonish Review, The Dalhousie Review, Gaspereau Review, Room of One's Own, Other Voices, and Pottersfield Portfolio. Elaine has completed a second short story collection and is working on her next novel, The Houdini. She lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with her husband, a photojournalist, and their two children.
Selected List of Publications
- Going Fast. Goose Lane Editions, 2008, ISBN 9780864925251.
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- "I Visited the Grand Canyon." Room. Volume 30.4, Fall 2007.
- "Queen of the Losers." Gaspereau Gloriatur. Volume II, Prose, Fall 2007.
- "Little Eric." The Fiddlehead. 230 Winter 2007.
- The Watermelon Social. Gaspereau Press, 2006. ISBN 1-55447-020-X.
- "Elaine McCluskey's The Watermelon Social is a slice of life every bit as juicy and mouthwatering as the title suggests. This debut collection of 10 short stories is a picnic of literary delights that serves up both the comedy and the tragedy of the human condition." - The Canadian Press
- "Then we meet Bouncy and his drug-dealing bro, Crustachio, a.k.a. C. In One Bad Bounce, McCluskey narrows her sights and produces a concise, sardonic lament for all hormone-addled kids whose innocence has succumbed to a jargon-blighted, faux-rapper hell. An offhand slight to musical taste can tip the balance. "Why you be listenin to that lollipop shit? [...] You goin soft, C, like Snoop?" A Caddy SUV gets hotwired and a boy-man with a barcode tattoo and ecstasy pumping his ego puts pedal to the metal. After 130 pages, McCluskey achieves her tragic edge." - The Globe and Mail
- "Little Eric." The Fiddlehead. 230 Winter 2006.
- "The Houdini." The Dalhousie Review. 86.2 Summer 2006.
- "Valery the Great." Other Voices. Volume 18, No. 2, Winter 2005.
- "Lulu Says She's Sorry." A Room of One's Own. Volume 28:2 Spring/Summer 2005.
- "The Watermelon Social." The Journey Prize Stories. Anthology #16, 2004 / The Antigonish Review, #132, Winter 2003.
- "Bad Boys." Pottersfield Portfolio. Volume 22, Number 1, Autumn/Winter 2001.
- "Merry Christmas Wherever You Are." Gaspereau Review. 14, Winter 2001.
Awards
Going Fast, Winner of the H.R. (Bill) Percy Award given out by the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia.
Final three in Journey Prize Stories contest 2004 for "The Watermelon Social."
Winner of Other Voices Annual Short Fiction Contest 2005 for "Valery the Great."
Winner of Pottersfield Portfolio's Compact Fiction Contest for "Bad Boys."
Honourable Mention Writers' Federation of New Brunswick Contest 2008: David Adams Richards Prize for unpublished manuscript or short stories for The Houdini.
Winner of the Saturday Night diamond contest.
Honourable Mention Writers' Federation of New Brunswick Contest 2008: short story category for "The Favorite Nephew."
Shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards for "Maurice."
Finalist for John and Margaret Savage First Book Award.
Final three in Journey Prize Stories contest 2004 for "The Watermelon Social."
Winner of Other Voices Annual Short Fiction Contest 2005 for "Valery the Great."
Winner of Pottersfield Portfolio's Compact Fiction Contest for "Bad Boys."
Honourable Mention Writers' Federation of New Brunswick Contest 2008: David Adams Richards Prize for unpublished manuscript or short stories for The Houdini.
Winner of the Saturday Night diamond contest.
Honourable Mention Writers' Federation of New Brunswick Contest 2008: short story category for "The Favorite Nephew."
Shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards for "Maurice."
Finalist for John and Margaret Savage First Book Award.
