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David John Chariandy (born in 1969 in Scarborough, Ontario) is a Canadian writer and academic, presently working as a Professor of English literature at the University of Toronto. His 2017 novel Brother won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and Toronto Book Award.
Chariandy has a Master of Arts from Carleton University and a PhD from York University."Meet the underdog; Newcomer David Chariandy may be surprise giant killer at Governor General's Awards". Calgary Herald, 25 November 2007. For many years he lived in Vancouver and taught in the Department of English at Simon Fraser University. In 2024 he joined the faculty of the University of Toronto as a Professor in the Department of English.
In his work, he explores the truest meaning of origins and birthplace for immigrants and their children growing up in another part of the world but still belonging to another.
Chariandy's family includes his wife and two children: a son and a daughter.
Chariandy told the Toronto Star:
If I’m honest, I always wanted to write a story that evoked the complexities of growing up young and Black in Scarborough...Throughout my entire life growing up in Scarborough and returning to it even as a young adult, I always felt so discomforted by the negative stories of Scarborough that would circulate in the newspapers and tabloids and sometimes by word of mouth, among people who really didn’t know Scarborough that well.His novels offer up a story of Scarborough that admit "challenges, but tell that bigger story of life and vitality that you don’t always see in headlines."
His non-fiction book I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to My Daughter was inspired by both a racist incident he experienced while at a Vancouver restaurant with his three-year-old daughter and then, years later, by the Quebec City mosque shooting in 2017.
Chariandy's novel Brother, the 2017 winner of the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize was optioned for film, "David Chariandy's novel Brother optioned for film with Clement Virgo at the helm" . CBC Books, September 7, 2018. and went into production in fall 2021 under the direction of Clement Virgo.Liza Sardi, "Rising stars assemble for Brother" . Playback, October 18, 2021. The film, Brother, premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, and won 12 Canadian Screen Awards at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023.
Soucouyant has also gone into development as a feature film, slated to be directed by Ian Harnarine.
| +Awards for Chariandy's writing !Year !Title !Award !Result !Ref. | ||||
| 2007 | Soucouyant | Books in Canada First Novel Award | Shortlist | |
| Governor General's Award for English-language fiction | Shortlist | |||
| Scotiabank Giller Prize | Longlist | |||
| 2008 | Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize | Shortlist | ||
| Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book of Canada and the Caribbean | Shortlist | "Outside chance for Outlander; Gil Adamson a finalist in Commonwealth race". Edmonton Journal, 15 February 2008. | ||
| International Dublin Literary Award | Longlist | "Canadian authors on IMPAC list". Prince George Citizen, 17 November 2008. | ||
| ReLit Award for Fiction | Shortlist | |||
| Toronto Book Award | Shortlist | |||
| 2017 | Brother | Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize | Winner | |
| Scotiabank Giller Prize | Longlist | |||
| 2018 | Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize | Winner | ||
| Not The Booker Award | Longlist | |||
| Toronto Book Award | Winner | |||
| 2019 | Aspen Words Literary Prize | Shortlist | ||
| CBC Canada Reads | Longlist | |||
| Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Fiction | Nominee | |||
| Orwell Prize for Political Fiction | Longlist | |||
| PEN Open Book Award | Longlist |
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