Soderstrom, Mary

Mary Soderstrom, born 1942 in Walla Walla Washington, is a novelist, short story and nonfiction writer. She has been involved in a number of literary organizations since she began her writing career in the 1970s. Soderstrom was a founding member of the Quebec Writers’ Federation; she sat on the National council of the Writers’ Union of Canada; and served on the Quebec program Writers in Schools where she was a liaison with the Conseil des arts et lettres du Quebec. She was also one of the founders of Write pour écrire, a bilingual literary show that was held in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Write pour écrire is seen as a precursor to the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival.

Soderstrom has been involved in provincial politics for more than 30 years, primarily the NDP and Québec Solidaire. She was the President of the Outremont NDP riding association during Thomas Mulcaire’s tenure as party leader.

Soderstrom has been nominated for numerous prestigious awards. She was shortlisted twice for the QSPELL Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction (finding the Enemy (1997) and Endangered Species (1995)) and was a finalist for the Books in Canada First Novel Award (1977). Green City: People, Nature and Urban Places (2007) was one of the Globe and Mail’s 100 best books of 2007.

Soderstrom has written a number of fiction and non-fiction books. Non-fiction publications include Concrete: From Ancient Origins to a Problematic Future (2020); Frenemy Nations: Love and Hate Between Neighbo(u)ring States (2019); Road Through Time: The Story of Humanity on the Move (2017); Making Waves: The Continuing Portuguese Adventure (2010); The Walkable City: From Haussmann’s Boulevards to Jane Jacobs’ Streets and Beyond (2008); Green City: People, Nature and Urban Places (2006); and Recreating Eden: A Natural History of Botanical Gardens (2001). Fiction publications include River Music (2015), Desire Lines: Stories of Love and Geography (2013), The Violets of Usambara (2008), After Surfing Ocean Beach (2004), The Truth Is (2000), The Words on the Wall; Robert Nelson and the Rebellion of 1838 (1998), Finding the Enemy (1997), Endangered Species (1995), and The Descent of Andrew McPherson (1976). Soderstrom also wrote the children’s book Maybe Tomorrow I'll Have a Good Time (1981). The Descent of Andrew McPherson was shortlisted for the Books in Canada First Novel Award.

Created 2022-03-08

Mary Soderstrom. Writers union of Canada, Member profile, Retrieved from https://www.writersunion.ca/member/mary-soderstrom