Austin Clarke

Austin Clarke

Austin Clarke’s novel The Polished Hoe is the winner of the 2003 Commonwealth Prize; the 2002 Giller Prize – Canada’s most prestigious literary award; and Ontario’s 2002 Trillium Book Award. It is a Canadian and American bestseller. Austin Clarke is the winner of the 1999 W.O. Mitchell Prize, awarded each year to a Canadian writer who has produced an outstanding body of work and served as a mentor to other writers. Born in Barbados, Austin Clarke came to Canada in 1955 and now lives in Toronto. He has enjoyed a varied and distinguished career as a broadcaster, civil rights leader, professor and diplomat, and is the author of six short-story collections and ten novels. More, his second novel with Tindal Street Press, will be published in 2010.