Yann Martel

International bestselling author Yann Martel uses the power of fiction to explore the larger truths of the universe.

Yann Martel was born in Spain, of Canadian parents who were doing graduate studies, travelling widely both in his childhood years, and as an adult. He obtained a degree in Philosophy from Trent University, then worked at a variety of odd jobs before taking up writing full-time from the age of 27.

In 2002 Yann Martel came to public attention when he won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for his second novel, Life of Pi (2002), an epic survival story with an overarching religious theme. Life of Pi has been published in over forty countries and territories, representing well over thirty languages, and a film of the book, adapted by Ang Lee, was released in 2012.

Yann Martel approaches his themes in unusual, imaginative, and provocative ways. He has received numerous award over the years, including the Boeke Prize (South Africa) 2002, Commonwealth Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) 2002, Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction (Canada)2001, Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction (Canada), to name a few.

In Yann’s words: “I write to understand issues that are important to me, to express my creative energies and to pass the time in a meaningful way.”

Yann Martel lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with writer Alice Kuipers and their four children.