Fraser, Marian Botsford 1948-

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FRASER, Marian Botsford 1948-

PERSONAL: Born 1948; divorced; children: one. Education: Attended Kirkland Lake Collegiate and Vocational Institute, 1960-65; University of Western Ontario, B.A. (English and philosophy), 1969; Victoria University, New Zealand, M.A. (English literature); University of British Columbia, A.B.D., 1976-82.

ADDRESSES: Home—Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Agent—Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists, 94 Harbord Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1G6, Canada. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Warner Bros., London, England, transportation research/writing, 1969-72; Pacific Films, New Zealand, assistant film editor, 1973-74; Radio New Zealand, script editor, 1975-76; freelance critic, New Zealand, 1973-76; New Zealand Bookworld, book review editor, 1975-76; CBC Stereo, host of Testament, 1983-85, interviewer, 1984-88; The Knowledge Network, writer, host, 1986-88; CBC Radio, Ideas program, documentary producer, 1982-95, script editor, 1989-92; Arctic Council Panel, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, coordinator, editor, writer, 1992-98; Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, speechwriter, 1992-98; freelance editing, writing, speechwriting, documentary-making, 1992-98. Communicati ons strategy work for CARE Canada, Health Canada, Saugeen First Nation, and Canadian Policy Research Networks.

AWARDS, HONORS: Nonfiction grant, Canadian Council, 1992; grants, Ontario Arts Council, 1997-2001.

WRITINGS:

Walking the Line: Travels along the Canadian/American Border, Douglas & McIntyre (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1989.

Solitaire: The Intimate Lives of Single Women, Macfarlane, Walter & Ross (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2001.

Contributor to Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, and Financial Post. Contributor to Writing Home: A PEN Canada Anthology.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A collection of linked short stories.

SIDELIGHTS: Marian Botsford Fraser is a freelance writer, broadcaster, and critic. She is a contributor to Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, Elm Street, and the Financial Post, and has been a regular contributor to CBC Radio.

Fraser traveled along the United States-Canadian border. along the way she visited towns, met people, and viewed the scenery. In Walking the Line: Travels along the Canadian/American Border, Fraser provides information on what she saw, interviews with the locals, and her own feelings and impressions.

There are more than four million single women in Canada between the ages of twenty and ninety. Being one of those four million, Fraser wanted to learn more about single women in Canada, and to do so she set out on a three-year journey across the country. She interviewed 150 single women of different ages. Solitare: The Intimate Lives of Single Women was the result. Quill & Quire contributor Jenefer Curtis called the work "A book that offers some of the most frank, fascinating, and amusing writing for women and by women to hit the mainstream press in a long while."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Books in Canada, March, 1990, review of Walking the Line: Travels along the Canadian/American Border, p. 18; May, 2002, Jana Prikryl, "Women Wanter about Love," pp. 12-13.

Canadian Geographic, June, 1990, Arthur Charity, review of Walking the Line, p. 78.

Chatelaine, February, 2002, "Going Solo," p. 20.

Library Journal, March 15, 1990, Mary Hemmings, review of Walking the Line, p. 106.

Maclean's, February 18, 2002, "Suddenly Single," p. 31.

Quill & Quire, November, 2001, Jenefer Curtis, review of Solitaire: The Intimate Lives of Single Women, p. 27.