Mary Soderstrom

Mary Soderstrom (born 1942) is a novelist, short story and nonfiction writer. Cormorant Books published her 14th book and sixth novel River Music in May 2015. Her third short story collection, Desire Lines: Stories of Love and Geography, was published by Oberon Press in November 2013. It received a starred review in the January–February 2014 Quill and Quire: This collection is not to be missed," writes reviewer Joy Parks.
Her most recent non-fiction book is Making Waves: The Continuing Portuguese Adventure (Véhicule Press, Fall 2010). Her novel, The Violets of Usambara (Cormorant Books, March 2008), was supported by a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec which allowed her to do research in East Africa. That experience also shows up in her book Green City: People, Nature and Urban Places (Véhicule Press). Tanga, Tanzania, the gateway to the East Usambara Mountains, is one of the 11 cities she uses in Green City as points of departure for discussing the way people have brought nature into cities over history .
This travel, as well as what she did for her non-fiction book The Walkable City: From Haussmann's Boulevards to Jane Jacobs' Streets and Beyond (Véhicule Press, 2008) prompted her to consider the role of the Portuguese over the last 700 years in the European exploration of the world. Their story lies at the heart of Making Waves.