Calgary author Suzette Mayr has published multiple novels, including her most recent, The Sleeping Car Porter (2022), which received many accolades, including the 2022 Giller Prize.
But her path to literary success was not necessarily direct.
At 10 years old, Mayr was an avid reader, eagerly turning the pages of beloved books — with firm favourites like Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh and The Ghost Belonged to Me by Richard Peck.
Her early writing during these formative years was like fan fiction, and it wasn’t until university that Mayr truly began finding her voice.
Initially pursuing science — with an interest in biology and zoology — Mayr was “forced” to take an English class as part of her studies at the University of Calgary. This class reawoke her childhood love of fiction. Mayr then applied for, and was accepted to, a poetry writing class that sparked the opportunity to learn from a series of creative writing instructors who furthered her passion.
One of Mayr’s earliest mentors was Aritha van Herk (The Tent Peg). Van Herk worked with Mayr on her first manuscript and, subsequently, her first published novel, Moon Honey (1995). The novel’s Landmark Edition was republished last month and features an author interview with Karina Vernon, an associate professor at The University of Toronto, and an afterword by award-winning poet and novelist Kaie Kellough (Dominoes at the Crossroads).
“Ever since then, I’ve just been writing because it’s what I like to do,” says Mayr, who is also a creative writing professor at the University of Calgary. Mayr has since published an additional five novels.
“I’ve always been of the mind that I don’t ever want to write the same thing twice,” says Mayr. She adds that “long and unwieldy” sentences, influenced by her poetry background, are a common thread in her writing — along with a penchant for the supernatural.
“I grew up in a haunted house. Well, haunted in a metaphorical way,” says Mayr, whose maternal grandparents and paternal grandfather died before she was born. “That’s what I think about — the Gothic idea of living in a house where the dead are present and vibrant.”
“[Suzette] is able to mash together high literature, pop culture, horror and social significance all into one package in a way that I don’t come across very often,” says Alana Wilcox, editorial director at Coach House Books, and Mayr’s editor and publisher.
Wilcox, who has worked with Mayr since 2009, adds that as a person Mayr is smart but approachable and as a writer, she is incredibly dedicated.
“I think the Suzette you encounter in your books is the Suzette you meet; and I mean that as the highest of compliments,” says Wilcox. “I’m only ever surprised by how she exceeds my expectations.”
Wilcox’s expectations were particularly exceeded with The Sleeping Car Porter. Mayr had worked on the novel’s manuscript for 20 years.
“I try to make it a habit, if I can, to always overlap novels,” says Mayr. “I tend to get quite depressed when I don’t have a project on the go.”
Since The Sleeping Car Porter had been Mayr’s “backup plan” for so long, with the award-winning book now published, the novelist notes she is “in a bit of a panic.”
“I’m not sure what the next book will be, but I’m hunting.”
Mayr likens “hunting” for inspiration to holding a butterfly net and hoping something flies into it. She sees these figurative butterflies as sparking an idea, and these ideas often lead her down a rabbit hole of research until a novel emerges.
“It feels to me like seeing snakes in the grass and chasing the tails and hoping one takes you to someplace interesting,” she says.
Mayr’s role as a professor provides here with a lot of research support, including archive access — which is fortuitous, as her body of work tends to focus on Southern Alberta. Teaching also offers a touch-point with the world — Mayr notes that seeing how other people live and interact provides additional material to write about.
“And the other thing I love [about teaching] is that I get to meet young writers. Actually, I also love meeting students who aren’t creative writers,” says Mayr. “Even if you’re going into medicine, having an imagination is important — which is why fiction is important.”
Mayr’s advice for those young writers? “Follow the joy.”
