Thomas Trofimuk writes poetry, micro-fictions, plays and novels. He’s published and reviewed in literary magazines across Canada, and on CBC radio. 

He has six novels out in the world: The 52nd Poem, Doubting Yourself to the Bone, This is All a Lie, The Elephant on Karluv Bridge (in Canada, Serbia and China), Saudade, and Waiting for Columbus (in Canada, the US, the UK, Serbia, Poland, Brazil, China and Quebec (in translation). Waiting for Columbus won a fancy-pants literary award (the City of Edmonton Book Prize), and was nominated for the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.It was also a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for fall 2010 and was picked as one of Richard and Judy’s 100 Books of the Decade. The Columbus novel has been optioned for film. 

He’s a long-time teacher at YouthWrite, a fantastic writing camp for kids in in Alberta. Thomas lives in Edmonton, Alberta with his wife, several neighbourhood cats that visit, a healthy fear of Death, and far too many books.

Literary Awards

•   Winner, Alberta Culture’s playwriting competition for one-act plays, 1992; (for The End; the play)

•   Winner, The Manuela Dias Best Book Design Award, The 2003 Manitoba Book Awards, for The 52nd Poem

•   Winner, The 2003 City of Edmonton Book Prize, for The 52nd Poem

•   Winner, Georges Bugnet Award for Novel, 2003 Alberta Literary Awards, for The 52nd Poem

•   CBC Alberta Anthology “Centennial edition” short-fiction (professional category) winner. 2005

•   Doubting Yourself to the Bone, named to the Globe & Mail top 100 must read books of 2006

•   Winner, The 2010 City of Edmonton Book Prize, for Waiting for Columbus

•   Shortlisted -- Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction, 2010 Alberta Literary Awards, for Waiting for Columbus

•   Nominee 2011 - International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, Waiting for Columbus

•   Picked as one of Richard and Judy Book Club selection

•   Selected as a Richard and Judy’s “100 Books of the decade”

•      Shortlisted -- Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction, 2023 Alberta Literary Awards, for The Elephant on Karluv Bridge

NOTE: All of this seems impressive. But I have it on good authority that Trofimuk knows for a fact he's only as good as his last book. He thinks of himself not as a novelist, but rather, someone who writes 'complicated story-puzzles.' Awards and nominations are great but the win is always in the writing of a story, creating something to the best of his ability. That's it. That's the win.