Background
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Livingston grew up in Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia.
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- Works
book
The Crooked Heart of Mercy: A Novel
( From acclaimed Canadian novelist Billie Livingston come...)
From acclaimed Canadian novelist Billie Livingston comes this powerful U.S. debut that unfolds over a riveting dual narrative—an unforgettable story of ordinary lives rocked by hardship and scandal that follows in the tradition of Jennifer Haigh, A. Manette Ansay, and Jennifer Egan. Ben wakes up in a hospital with a hole in his head he can't explain. What he can remember he’d rather forget. Like how he’d spend nights as a limo driver for the wealthy and debauched….how he and his wife, Maggie, drifted apart in the wake of an unspeakable tragedy…how his little brother, Cola, got in over his head with loan sharks circling. Maggie is alone. Again. With bills to pay and Ben in a psych ward, she must return to work. But who would hire her in the state she’s in? And just as Maggie turns to her brother, Francis, the Internet explodes with video of his latest escapade. The headline? Drunk Priest Propositions Cops. Francis is an unlikely priest with a drinking problem and little interest in celibacy. A third DUI, a looming court date.…When Maggie takes him in, he knows he may be down to his last chance. And his best shot at healing might lie in helping Maggie and Ben reconnect—against all odds. Simmering with dark humor and piercing insights, The Crooked Heart of Mercy is a startling reminder that redemption can be found in the most unlikely of places.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062413775/?tag=2022091-20
Going Down Swinging
(A remarkable debut novel and bittersweet tale of the unfl...)
A remarkable debut novel and bittersweet tale of the unflinching love and devotion between a mother and daughter.Razor sharp and darkly funny Going Down Swinging chronicles two years in the life of the Hoffmans. Eilleen Hoffman has just told Danny, her con-artist lover and father of her youngest daughter Grace, to get out — for good. Once a teacher, Eilleen lived a middle-class life, but her taste in men coupled with a predilection for pills and booze has brought her down. Desperate to prevent her family from sinking deeper into poverty, Eilleen reluctantly goes on welfare. Eventually she turns to the only friends she has left, hustlers and hookers, to learn how a woman makes fast money, no investment necessary.With Eilleen on welfare and her older daughter Charlotte a teenaged runaway, child welfare authorities descend on the Hoffmans. As Eilleen trails through several attempts at drying out, the well-intentioned Children's Protection Society finally intervenes to apprehend Grace. With the threat of prolonged separation now a stark reality, Eilleen and Grace must rally to confront their demons with grit, determination and humour. Unblinkingly observed and brilliantly written, Going Down Swinging is about the powerful bond between mother and child. And with her skilful narrative interplay, Billie Livingston illustrates poignantly how the truth of our stories lies not so much in the black and white, as it does in the grey.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679310738/?tag=2022091-20
Billie Livingston
Edit ProfileCareer
She lives in Vancouver. Her second novel, Cease to Blush, was published in 2006 and subsequently chosen as one of the year"s best books by The Globe and Mail, January Magazine, and The Tyee. Livingston"s One Good Hustle, a novel about a young woman"s fear that she is genetically doomed to become a con artist, was long-listed for the 2012 Giller Prize and selected by The Globe and Mail, January Magazine, and Toronto"s Now Magazine as one of the year"s best books
Livingston"s short story collection, Greedy Little Eyes, was cited by The Globe and Mail as one of 2010"s best books and by The Georgia Straight as one of the fifteen most outstanding books of the year.
In 2013, her story, The Trouble with Marlene, was made into the feature film, Sitting on the Edge of Marlene, directed by Ana Valine, and starring Suzanne Clément, Paloma Kwiatkowski, and Callum Keith Rennie. The film is slated for release in 2014.
In addition to publications in journals and magazines around the world, Livingston"s poetry has appeared in textbooks and on public transit through the TransLink " in Transit" program She has received fellowships from The Banff Centre, MacDowell Colony, Escape to Create (Seaside, Florida), Ucross Foundation and Omi International Arts Center.
Achievements
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Her critically acclaimed first novel,Going Down Swinging (2000), was followed by The Chick at the Back of the Church (2001), a poetry book that was shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Award. In 2011 Greedy Little Eyes won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award for Best Short Story Collection as well as the Canadian Broadcasting Company"s Bookie Award.
Works
book
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Going Down Swinging
(A remarkable debut novel and bittersweet tale of the unfl...)
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The Crooked Heart of Mercy: A Novel
( From acclaimed Canadian novelist Billie Livingston come...)
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Going Down Swinging
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Born
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Nationality
Canada
Awards
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Pat Lowther Award; Journey Prize; Danuta Gleed Literary Award
The Writers' Trust of Canada, or La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada, is a charitable organization which provides financial support to Canadian writers.; The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman.The Writers' Trust of Canada, or La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada, is a charitable organization which provides financial support to Canadian writers.; The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman.
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Pat Lowther Award; Journey Prize; Danuta Gleed Literary Award
The Writers' Trust of Canada, or La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada, is a charitable organization which provides financial support to Canadian writers.; The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman.The Writers' Trust of Canada, or La Société d'encouragement aux écrivains du Canada, is a charitable organization which provides financial support to Canadian writers.; The Pat Lowther Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the League of Canadian Poets to the year's best book of poetry by a Canadian woman.