Lori Saint-Martin was an acclaimed Canadian author and literary translator, as well as a tireless champion of literary translation. With husband Paul Gagné, she translated over a hundred books into French, including the works of authors such as Maya Angelou, Naomi Klein and Margaret Atwood. The pair won the John-Glassco Award in 1993, the Cole Foundation Prize for Translation in 2004, 2006 and 2008, and the Governor General’s Award for Literary Translation in 2000, 2007, 2015 and 2018. Saint-Martin also published several books as a writer, including Un bien nécessaire: Éloge de la traduction littéraire (Boréal, 2022), a love letter to literary translation. She was a professor of literary studies at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Translated works

  • Solomon Gursky (2015) by Mordecai Richler, Boréal (with Paul Gagné).
  • La stratégie du choc (2009) by Naomi Klein, Actes Sud (with Paul Gagné).
  • L’odyssée de Pénéloppe (2005) by Margaret Atwood, Boréal/Flammarion (with Paul Gagné).
  • La Perte et le Fracas (2001), by Alistair McLeod, Boréal (with Paul Gagné).