additional information
EDUCATION
Humber School for Writers, Humber College, 2009
Christopher was accepted to the Humber School for Writers to work on Vortex of Bohemia. MG Vassanji, whose novel The Assassin's Song was short-listed for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award, was his writing mentor for this novel.
Humber School for Writers, Humber College, 2007
Christopher was accepted to the Humber School for Writers to work on Poor Man’s Galapagos, which is forthcoming with Blue Denim Press in November 2015. David Adams Richards, who was co-winner of the 2000 Giller Prize (for his novel “Mercy Among the Children”) with Michael Ondaatje (for his novel “Anil’s Ghost”), was his writing mentor for this novel.
Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto, 1995.
PROFESSIONAL LICENSES/ CERTIFICATIONS
Canadian Authors Association Professional Member, 2014.
Professional Engineering certification obtained from Professional Engineers Ontario, 2000.
PROFESSIONAL AND ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS
Past President, Canadian Authors Association Toronto Branch, Served as President 2014-2018
Member at Large and Treasurer, Canadian Authors Association Toronto Branch, 2010-2014.
WRITING EXPERIENCE/ PUBLICATIONS
New Novel (April 2020), Details to follow!
Poor Man’s Galapagos (Blue Denim Press, November 21, 2015).
Poor Man’s Galapagos is a novel of literary fiction about Tómas Harvey, an irrigation engineering student living on a small, impoverished island in Ecuador, South America. He is conscripted into military service in a border war where he is certain he will die a senseless death. His father, a renowned British travel writer, is accused of embezzling government funds and quickly leaves the island. Tómas searches for answers amidst the backdrop of a fight for conscientious objection; the construction of a luxury hotel designed to attract tourists and infrastructure; a priest promoting the philosophy that it is against the precepts of religion to focus on spiritual needs while ignoring the worldly ones; and a nurse who longs for escape from serving as a doctor in a remote rural community. Tómas embarks on a journey of discovery that may lead him closer to his father, his biological mother who abandoned him at birth, and away from his home country for the first time in his life. The novel explores the enduring themes of duty, honour, obligation, sacrifice, and how the struggle to improve the condition of our lives sometimes comes with an inestimable expense...
Abundance of the Infinite (Quattro Books, 2012)
A psychologist specializing in dream interpretation travels to a small coastal fishing town in South America, where his father lived. There, he discovers many unsettling truths about himself and his family which eventually transform his reality into a lucid, disparaging dream from which he may not be able to escape…
Abundance of the Infinite shortlisted in the 2012 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest.
“An expedition through the emotional terrain of a man on a quest, Abundance of the Infinite is a succinctly crafted gem of a story. Author Christopher Canniff’s intuitive writing style masterfully blurs the line between dream and reality, torment and tenderness.”
- Edward Brown, author of Playing Basra
“Canniff’s novella, with its Borgesian-like surrealism, sharp, insightful analyses, and De Quincey atmosphere, is a brilliant, unforgettable exploration of guilt in the service of love.”
-Royston Tester, author of Summat Else
Descant Magazine (Spring 2011, Issue 152)
Christopher’s short story entitled The Russian Soldier, an excerpt from Vortex of Bohemia, was published in this edition of Descant Magazine.
Matrix Litpop Awards for Fiction, 2010
Christopher was shortlisted in the 2010 Matrix Litpop Awards for fiction (Montreal) for his short story entitled Songs and Letters of Lost Love, an excerpt from Vortex of Bohemia.
CBS Broadcasting, Twilight Zone Radio Dramas, 2008
Christopher was commissioned by Falcon Picture Group to write two radio scripts for CBS Broadcasting, for this nationally-syndicated radio show based out of Chicago, Illinois, USA.
LWOT (Lies With Occasional Truth) 3-Hour Novel Contest Winner, 2006.
Christopher won a “3-Hour Novel Contest” (www.lwot.net/contest.htm) for his entry Clean Conscience, in this online Canadian literary magazine started in 1908 in Montreal. He was featured in an online interview.
Tightrope Books, In the Dark Anthology, 2006
Christopher’s short story entitled Solitude was published in this anthology of Canadian writers.
EDUCATION
Humber School for Writers, Humber College, 2009
Christopher was accepted to the Humber School for Writers to work on Vortex of Bohemia. MG Vassanji, whose novel The Assassin's Song was short-listed for both the Giller Prize and the Governor General's Award, was his writing mentor for this novel.
Humber School for Writers, Humber College, 2007
Christopher was accepted to the Humber School for Writers to work on Poor Man’s Galapagos, which is forthcoming with Blue Denim Press in November 2015. David Adams Richards, who was co-winner of the 2000 Giller Prize (for his novel “Mercy Among the Children”) with Michael Ondaatje (for his novel “Anil’s Ghost”), was his writing mentor for this novel.
Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering, University of Toronto, 1995.
PROFESSIONAL LICENSES/ CERTIFICATIONS
Canadian Authors Association Professional Member, 2014.
Professional Engineering certification obtained from Professional Engineers Ontario, 2000.
PROFESSIONAL AND ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIPS
Past President, Canadian Authors Association Toronto Branch, Served as President 2014-2018
Member at Large and Treasurer, Canadian Authors Association Toronto Branch, 2010-2014.
WRITING EXPERIENCE/ PUBLICATIONS
New Novel (April 2020), Details to follow!
Poor Man’s Galapagos (Blue Denim Press, November 21, 2015).
Poor Man’s Galapagos is a novel of literary fiction about Tómas Harvey, an irrigation engineering student living on a small, impoverished island in Ecuador, South America. He is conscripted into military service in a border war where he is certain he will die a senseless death. His father, a renowned British travel writer, is accused of embezzling government funds and quickly leaves the island. Tómas searches for answers amidst the backdrop of a fight for conscientious objection; the construction of a luxury hotel designed to attract tourists and infrastructure; a priest promoting the philosophy that it is against the precepts of religion to focus on spiritual needs while ignoring the worldly ones; and a nurse who longs for escape from serving as a doctor in a remote rural community. Tómas embarks on a journey of discovery that may lead him closer to his father, his biological mother who abandoned him at birth, and away from his home country for the first time in his life. The novel explores the enduring themes of duty, honour, obligation, sacrifice, and how the struggle to improve the condition of our lives sometimes comes with an inestimable expense...
Abundance of the Infinite (Quattro Books, 2012)
A psychologist specializing in dream interpretation travels to a small coastal fishing town in South America, where his father lived. There, he discovers many unsettling truths about himself and his family which eventually transform his reality into a lucid, disparaging dream from which he may not be able to escape…
Abundance of the Infinite shortlisted in the 2012 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest.
“An expedition through the emotional terrain of a man on a quest, Abundance of the Infinite is a succinctly crafted gem of a story. Author Christopher Canniff’s intuitive writing style masterfully blurs the line between dream and reality, torment and tenderness.”
- Edward Brown, author of Playing Basra
“Canniff’s novella, with its Borgesian-like surrealism, sharp, insightful analyses, and De Quincey atmosphere, is a brilliant, unforgettable exploration of guilt in the service of love.”
-Royston Tester, author of Summat Else
Descant Magazine (Spring 2011, Issue 152)
Christopher’s short story entitled The Russian Soldier, an excerpt from Vortex of Bohemia, was published in this edition of Descant Magazine.
Matrix Litpop Awards for Fiction, 2010
Christopher was shortlisted in the 2010 Matrix Litpop Awards for fiction (Montreal) for his short story entitled Songs and Letters of Lost Love, an excerpt from Vortex of Bohemia.
CBS Broadcasting, Twilight Zone Radio Dramas, 2008
Christopher was commissioned by Falcon Picture Group to write two radio scripts for CBS Broadcasting, for this nationally-syndicated radio show based out of Chicago, Illinois, USA.
LWOT (Lies With Occasional Truth) 3-Hour Novel Contest Winner, 2006.
Christopher won a “3-Hour Novel Contest” (www.lwot.net/contest.htm) for his entry Clean Conscience, in this online Canadian literary magazine started in 1908 in Montreal. He was featured in an online interview.
Tightrope Books, In the Dark Anthology, 2006
Christopher’s short story entitled Solitude was published in this anthology of Canadian writers.
