Elise Gravel

Elise Gravel
Born1977 (age 46–47)
Montreal, Canada
OccupationWriter
Notable awards
RelativesFrançois Gravel (father)
Website
elisegravel.com/en

Elise Gravel (born 1977[1]) is a Canadian writer from Montreal, Quebec.

Gravel's original books[2] and graphic novels[3] focus on wacky and often gross content.[4] In 2012, she won a Governor General's Award for Children's Illustration in French[5] for her book La clé à molette.[6]

Gravel has written more than thirty books, and her work has been translated into over twelve languages.[7][8] She studied graphic design, before becoming an illustrator. Gravel publishes in both English and in French.[1]

She is the daughter of writer François Gravel and Murielle Grégoire.[9] As of 2024, she is married with two daughters.[1]

In 2022, the Writers' Trust of Canada awarded Gravel the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People in honour of her body of work.[10]

In February 2024, the Jewish Public Library of Montreal moved her books to their closed stacks, following Instagram posts that the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs described as antisemitic.[11][12] A few days later, the library restored the books.[13][14]

  1. ^ a b c Gravel, Elise. "info-bio". Elise Gravel. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Elise Gravel". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  3. ^ "If Found... Please Return to Elise Gravel". Spring 2017 Books Preview. CBC Radio-Canada. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  4. ^ Goedhart, Bernie (2016). "Books for Kids: Elise Gravel gleefully grosses us out with The Toad". Montreal Gazette. July 5, 2016.
  5. ^ Medley, Mark (7 August 2014). "Q&A: Elise Gravel makes a few gross points with her Organization for the Defence of Disgusting Critters". National Post. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  6. ^ "David Johnston, right, Governor General of Canada congratulates Élise Gravel for her award in the Children's Literature, Illustration category". Vancouver Sun. 28 November 2012. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Elise Gravel Creators / Featured Guest / Kids Comics Creator / Kids Feature Guest". Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  8. ^ "Meet Canada's 'hyperactive' illustrator, Elise Gravel". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  9. ^ Larochelle, Claudia (21 April 2015). "Élise Gravel, Michèle Marineau et François Gravel: Sainte tribu". Les libraires.
  10. ^ Dundas, Deborah (2 November 2022). "Writers' Trust 2022 book award winners collect $270,000 in prizes". Toronto Star.
  11. ^ Riga, Andy (7 February 2024). "Montreal library moves children's books over author's Israel comments". The Gazette. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  12. ^ Bongiorno, Joe; François, Mélissa (7 February 2024). "Children's author Élise Gravel rejects accusations of antisemitism as books removed from library's shelves". CBC News. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  13. ^ Drimonis, Toula (16 February 2024). "Toula Drimonis: In the end, Jewish Public Library gets it right". The Gazette. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  14. ^ Riga, Andy (15 February 2024). "Under pressure, Jewish Public Library puts Elise Gravel books back on public shelves". The Gazette. Retrieved 20 February 2024.