Biography
Born in Angola, and raised in Portugal, paulo da costa is a writer, editor and translator living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies (Moh’kins’tsis / Calgary, Alberta). He is thrice the recipient of the James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction (2024, 2023 and 2020), the 2024 Outstanding Calgary Artist Award, as well as the 2003 Commonwealth First Book Prize for the Canada-Caribbean Region, the W. O. Mitchell City of Calgary Book Prize and the Canongate Prize for short-fiction. His poetry, fiction and non-fiction have been published widely in literary magazines around the world and translated into Italian, Spanish, Serbian, Slovenian and Portuguese.
Trust the Bluer Skies: Meditations on Fatherhood, a book of creative non-fiction, was published in 2024 with University of Regina Press.
AWARDS:
2024 Outstanding Calgary Artist Award
2024 James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction
2023 James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction
2020 James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction
2003 Caribbean & Canada Region Commonwealth Writers Prize – First Book
2002 W.O. Mitchell City of Calgary Book Prize
2001 Canongate Short-Fiction Prize (Scotland)
1999 CBC Alberta Anthology – Short Story
Portuguese
2023 Prémio Alberto Bastos – Poesia (Poetry Prize – Portuguese)
2003 ProVerbo . Prémio – Poesia (Poetry Prize – Portuguese)
2003 ProVerbo . Prémio – Conto (Short-Story Prize – Portuguese)
paulo da costa lives in Mohkinstsis / Calgary which is located on the lands of the Treaty 7 People:
The Blackfoot from Siksika, Kainai and Piikani Nations.
The Dene-Sarceee from Tsuut’ina Nation.
And the Îethka Stoney-Nakoda Nation that includes the Morley, the Bearspaw, Chiniki and Good Stoney Bands.
He also walks in the footsteps of the Northwest Métis and the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, Métis Nation Battle River Territory, Nose Hill Métis District 5 and Elbow Métis District 6 of Alberta.