Oct 20 2009 - Acclaimed Canadian Author Nino Ricci to Speak

Nino Ricci, acclaimed Canadian author and past president of the Canadian Centre of International PEN, will read from his newest novel, "The Origin of Species," on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the Alumni Conference Room, on the second floor of the Angell College Center, at SUNY Plattsburgh, 101 Broad Street.

The reading will be held from 3 4:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

Nino Ricci's first novel, "Lives of the Saints," garnered international acclaim, appearing in 15 countries and winning a host of awards. These included two Canadian honors: the Governor General's Award for Fiction and the Books in Canada First Novel Award; and two British honors: the Betty Trask Award and the Winifred Holtby Prize. The novel formed the first volume of a trilogy that was completed by "In A Glass House" and "Where She Has Gone," a book which was shortlisted for the Giller Prize for Fiction. The "Lives of the Saints" trilogy was adapted as a miniseries starring Sophia Loren, Sabrina Ferilli, and Kris Kristofferson.

Ricci is also the author of "Testament," which was the winner of the Trillium Award and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize for Canada and the Caribbean and for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. In 2006, Ricci was the winner of the inaugural Alistair MacLeod Award for Literary Achievement.

Born in Leamington, Ontario, to parents from the Molise region of Italy, Ricci completed studies at York University in Toronto, at Concordia University in Montreal and at the University of Florence.

He has taught both in Canada and abroad. In addition to being a past president of the Canadian Centre of International PEN, he has served as a writer-in-residence and as a visiting lecturer at institutions across North America. He is currently the Killam Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts.

According to the Toronto Star, his newest novel, "The Origin of the Species" is "Ricci's masterstroke to date . . . An ambitious, thrilling novel that resists encapsulation and takes not a single misstep."

"The Origin of Species" earned Ricci his second Governor General's Award for Fiction. The novel will be released in the United States by Other Press in April 2010.

Ricci also recently published a biography of Pierre Elliott Trudeau as part of Penguin's Extraordinary Canadians series.

For additional information, please phone Cherice G. Granger, executive administrative coordinator, Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Quebec Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh at 518-564-2384 or Cherice.Granger@plattsburgh.edu.