Donna Morrissey

Donna Morrissey (born January 13, 1956, in The Beaches, Newfoundland) is a Canadian author.

At age 16, Morrissey left her birthplace of The Beaches, a small outport on the west coast of Newfoundland. She lived in various places in Canada before returning to St. John's, where she studied at Memorial University and obtained a Bachelor of Social Work and a diploma in adult education. Morrissey now lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Morrissey has written six national best sellers and prize-winning novels — Kit's Law, Downhill Chance, Sylvanus Now, What They Wanted, The Deception of Livvy Higgs, and The Fortunate Brother — as well as one Gemini-nominated screenplay. In 2021 She published a memoir, Pluck: A Memoir of a Newfoundland Childhood and the Raucous, Terrible, Amazing Journey to becoming a Novelist.

Morrissey defended Frank Parker Day's novel Rockbound in Canada Reads 2005. Rockbound eventually won the competition. In the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, an "all-star" competition pitting the five winning advocates from previous years against each other, Morrissey returned to champion Anosh Irani's novel The Song of Kahunsha.

Filmography
nominated for Gemini for Best Writing
 * Clothesline Patch (screenplay)

Awards and recognition
nominated Best Writing For "''The Fortunate Brother":
 * For Sylvanus Now:
 * Winner of the Thomas Head Raddall Award
 * Atlantic Booksellers Choice Award
 * Short-listed for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
 * For Downhill Chance:
 * Winner of the Thomas Head Raddall Award
 * For Kit's Law:
 * Winner of the Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award
 * Winner of the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize
 * Winner of the American Library Association Alex Award
 * Shortlisted for the Books in Canada First Novel Award
 * Shortlisted for the Atlantic Provinces Booksellers' Choice Award
 * Shortlisted for the Thomas Head Raddall Award
 * For Clothesline Patch:
 * Winner, Best Production, 2002 Gemini Awards
 * For The Deception of Livvy Higgs:
 * One Book Nova Scotia selection, 2016

Winner of the Thomas Head Raddall Award

Winner of Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Book of 2017