Darren Greer

Darren Greer
Born	(1968-01-01) January 1, 1968 (age 57) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Occupation	Novelist, essayist
Language	English
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	University of King's College
Years active	2001–present
Notable works	Still Life with June (2004) Just Beneath My Skin (2014) Advocate (2016)
Notable awards	ReLit Award (2004) Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award (2015) Jim Connors Dartmouth Book Award (2017)

Darren Greer (born 1968) is a Canadian novelist and essayist. He is best known for his novels Still Life with June (2004), which won the ReLit Award, Just Beneath My Skin (2014), winner of the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award, and Advocate (2016), winner of the Jim Connors Dartmouth Book Award. His fiction often examines poverty, family trauma and small-town hostility, and he has been described as an important voice in queer Canadian literature. ^{[1] [2]}

Life and education

Greer grew up in Nova Scotia and began writing as a child. In an Atlantic Books interview he recalled discovering “the power of writing” at age eight while attending a two-room schoolhouse in Greenfield, Queens County, Nova Scotia; after he read a story aloud to classmates and they laughed, he understood how writing could move people. ^[1] A high-school teacher later encouraged him to write professionally and challenged him to improve his craft. ^[1] He studied at the University of King's College in Halifax. ^[3]

Writing career

Early novels and essays

Greer’s first novel, Tyler’s Cape (2001), introduced his interest in rural Nova Scotia and marginalized characters. His second novel, Still Life with June (Cormorant Books, 2004), follows Cameron Dodds, a struggling writer and recovering addict who works at a Salvation Army treatment centre and fabricates stories by appropriating clients’ lives. In a discussion of the future of queer studies, Xtra magazine noted that Greer’s characters are queer yet their sexual identities are not the source of their problems. ^[4] Still Life with June won the 2004 ReLit Award and was a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT fiction. ^[2]

Greer’s essay collection Strange Ghosts (2006) contains sixteen autobiographical essays ranging from travel pieces to cultural and political commentary. The opening essay, “Remembering Felix Partz”, recounts Greer’s recovery from cocaine addiction, his appreciation of modern art and the arts collective General Idea, his HIV diagnosis, and their influence on Still Life with June. ^[5] Other essays chronicle his travels to Cambodia, his reflections on homosexuality and in the titular essay “Strange Ghosts" the discovery of his father’s indigenous heritage, as well as his mother’s refusal to enter the United States during the Iraq War.

Just Beneath My Skin (2014)

Greer’s third novel, Just Beneath My Skin, alternates between two narrators: Jake McNeil, a young man who fled the impoverished town of North River, and Nathan, the eight-year-old son he abandoned. The story explores themes of love, loss, family violence and small-town inertia. ^[6] The book won the 2015 Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. ^[7]

Advocate (2016)

Greer’s subsequent novel, Advocate, is set partly during the 1980s AIDS crisis. It centres on Jacob McNeil, a gay health counsellor living in Toronto who returns to his hometown of Advocate, Nova Scotia, to confront the legacy of his uncle David, who had returned home to die from AIDS. Advocate won the Jim Connors Dartmouth Book Award for fiction at the 2017 Atlantic Book Awards. ^{[8] [9]}

Later work

Greer published the novel Outcast in 2018, continuing his exploration of family, memory and social exclusion. ^[2] He has also worked on poetry and other fiction; his short fiction and poems have appeared in periodicals such as the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, Found Press and Bywords Magazine. ^[2]

Activism and themes

Greer is an HIV/AIDS activist and has used his writing to address stigma and marginalization. His work frequently depicts characters grappling with addiction, poverty, sexuality and prejudice, and reviewers have noted his ability to capture small-town desperation and the emotional fallout of public health crises. ^{[2] [10]}

Awards and honours

• Nominee — Pearson Readers’ Choice Award (The Word On The Street, Toronto) (2003), Still Life With June. ^[11]
• NOW Magazine Top Ten Books of the Year (2003), Still Life With June. ^[12]
• Winner — ReLit Award (2004), Still Life With June. ^[13]
• Finalist — Ferro-Grumley Award for Gay Fiction (2006), Still Life With June. ^[14]
• Winner — Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award (2015), Just Beneath My Skin. ^[15]
• Shortlisted — Jim Connors Dartmouth Book Award (Fiction) (2015), Just Beneath My Skin. ^[16]
• Shortlisted — ReLit Award (2015), Just Beneath My Skin. ^[17]
• Selected — One Book Nova Scotia (2015), Just Beneath My Skin. ^[18]
• Winner — Jim Connors Dartmouth Book Award (Fiction) (2017), Advocate. ^[19]
• Shortlisted — Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award (2017), Advocate. ^[20]
• Finalist — Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction (2017), Advocate. ^[21]

Bibliography

Novels

• Tyler’s Cape (2001)
• Still Life with June (2004)
• Just Beneath My Skin (2014)
• Advocate (2016)
• Outcast (2018)

Collections

• Strange Ghosts (essays, 2006)

See also

• ReLit Award
• AIDS in Canada
• Still Life With June

Notes

1. Atlantic Books. "Origin Stories: That Time Darren Greer Used Words to Make His Classmates Laugh"
2. Darren Greer. The Stockholm Review of Literature
3. "Greer, Darren 1975(?)-". Encyclopedia.com
4. Rau, Krishna. "What’s in store for the future of queer studies?". Xtra Magazine
5. Wiersema, Robert J. "Strange Ghosts". Quill & Quire
6. Parks, Joy. "Just Beneath My Skin". Quill & Quire
7. Robertson, Becky. "2015 East Coast Literary Awards winners announced". Quill & Quire
8. Valelly, Jonathan. "Advocate". Quill & Quire
9. Q&Q Staff. "Darren Greer, Alex Marland, and Erin Wunker among winners at the 2017 Atlantic Book Awards". Quill & Quire
10. Valelly, Jonathan. "Advocate". Quill & Quire
11. "Darren Greer". THIN AIR Winnipeg. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
12. "Top 10 Books of 2003". NOW Toronto. December 25, 2003. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
13. "Strange Ghosts". Quill & Quire. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
14. "The Ferro–Grumley Awards". The Publishing Triangle. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
15. "Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award". Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
16. "Darren Greer to Read Just Beneath My Skin Across Province". Government of Nova Scotia. September 22, 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
17. "ReLit Award nominees include Ken Babstock, Lee Maracle". Quill & Quire. January 4, 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
18. "Read. Discuss. Get Involved". Government of Nova Scotia. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
19. "Darren Greer, Alex Marland, and Erin Wunker among winners at the 2017 Atlantic Book Awards". Quill & Quire. May 24, 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
20. "The 2017 East Coast Literary Awards Shortlists Released". Atlantic Books Today. April 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
21. "The Ferro–Grumley Awards". The Publishing Triangle. Retrieved 22 August 2025.

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