Yann Martel On Writing and Making Sense of it All

Yann Martel will discuss what writing can be: a telescope, a microscope, a shovel, a screwdriver, a hammer, a scar, a refrigerator, and so much more. He will also talk about his next books, one inspired by the Trojan War and the Iliad, the other by his mother's Alzheimer's.

About the speaker

Yann Martel is a spring 2024 recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Saskatchewan. He is best known as the author of Life of Pi, the no. 1 international bestselling novel and winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize. The novel was made into an award-winning feature film by celebrated director Ang Lee and has been adapted for the stage in New York and London. Martel has also written the collection of short stories The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, the novels Self, Beatrice & Virgil, and The High Mountains of Portugal, as well as the collection of letters, 101 Letters to a Prime Minister. Martel, who served as a visiting scholar in the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of English from 2005-2007, was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2021 – one of the country’s highest civilian awards – for his “contributions to literature and his philanthropic commitment to the betterment of his region” and earned the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in Saskatchewan in 2022.

Host or Publisher College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan