Joan Clark, a Canadian author who spent much of her life in Newfoundland and Labrador, died April 11. She was 88. Clark wrote more than 15 books, including the novels An Audience of Chairs; Latitudes of Melt; and Eiriksdottir: A Tale of Dreams and Luck. Her work has been translated into at least six languages and published around the world.
In a tribute posted on Instagram, Penguin Random House Canada described Clark as "a central figure in our literary lives at Penguin Random House Canada, being published by Penguin Canada, Doubleday Canada, as well as Knopf Canada.... Joan will be missed by all who shared in her joy of discovery."
Friend and fellow author Kevin Major told CBC that Clark "was a very vital force within the cultural and literary community of Newfoundland.... I think by coming here it maybe propelled her writing in a different direction than she would have thought beforehand. It was a mutual relationship, the landscape and the history of Newfoundland and Joan's ability to write about it. That was a great coming together and we should be very thankful for that."
Clark did not set out to be an author. She told CBC in a 2012 interview that she started writing during her first child's nap times, and soon filled three notebooks with what became the manuscript of her first novel for children, Girl of the Rockies. Its publication kick-started her career in 1968, and she continued to write novels aimed at younger readers.
In 1988, Clark published her first novel for adults, The Victory of Geraldine Gull, which garnered nominations for several honors, including the Governor General's Award and the Books In Canada First Novel Award. Clark is the only writer to receive both the Marian Engel Award, recognizing her body of work in adult fiction, and the Vicky Metcalf award, honoring her contributions to children's literature. She was presented with the Order of Canada in 2010 for her work in the literary arts communities in Alberta and Newfoundland. In addition, she was a two time winner of the BMO Winterset Award.
"Joan was a very generous woman with her time and very helpful to other writers," said Major. "She was very supportive of any activities that could bring writers together." Clark served as Writer in Residence in locations such as Banff Centre of the Arts and the University of New Brunswick, where she completed her last novel, The Birthday Lunch.
Dean Cooke, founder of the CookeMcDermid Literary Management Agency, represented Clark beginning with her 2001 novel Latitudes of Melt, the international success of which he credits as being a pivotal moment in establishing his agency.
Cooke noted that Clark remained focused on improving the literary industry for generations to come: "I don't know if authors today are aware of the efforts that she made on their behalf on things like copyright protection and the income that was generated by library lending and photocopying.... Anyone who cares to look into her career and all of the activism that she engaged in, around publishing and writing, can only be grateful ultimately to Joan for the things that she contributed. And it was out of sincere love for writers, writing and publishing."