Eve Zaremba (born 1930 in Kalisz, Poland)[1] is a Canadian mystery writer.[1] She was active in the Women’s Liberation Movement in the seventies and eighties.[2][3] She has published several novels focusing on Helen Keremos, a private detective who has been described as the first lesbian character in literary history to be the main character in an ongoing series of mystery novels.[4]

Eve Zaremba
Born1930
Poland
OccupationAuthor
Notable workHelen Keremos series
Websitehttp://www.evezaremba.com/

Life and career

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Born in Poland, Zaremba moved to the United Kingdom with her family at the start of World War II, spending the remainder of her childhood in Scotland and England.[4] She later emigrated to Canada in 1952,[4] and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1963.

Zeremba's first Helen Keremos novel, A Reason to Kill, was published in 1978 by Paperjacks. At the time, it received little attention except for a feature in The Body Politic.[5] Zaremba wrote five more books in the series and titles have been translated into German and Chinese editions.[2] In 2019 Zaremba announced that a graphic novel adaptation of her second novel, Work for a Million, was expected to be published by Bedside Press in 2020.[6] Following the closure of Bedside Press in 2019,[7][8] the graphic novel (adapted by Amanda Deibert and illustrated by Selena Goulding ) was published by McClellend & Stewart in 2021.[9][10]

Oral history interviews with Zaremba are archived at The ArQuives.[11]

In addition to her writing, Zaremba was a co-founder of Broadside, A Feminist Review,[12] one of Canada's first major lesbian publications. She also helped to found The Women's Place,[13] the Lesbian Organization of Toronto (LOOT),[4] and Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW).[14] She is member of the Writers' Union of Canada.[15] She has also worked in advertising, marketing, real estate and publishing, as well as owning a used book store.[4] She lives with her spouse, Ottie Lockey.[2]

Works

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Novels

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  • A Reason to Kill (1978)
  • Work for a Million (1986)
  • Beyond Hope (1987)
  • Uneasy Lies (1990)
  • The Butterfly Effect (1994)
  • White Noise (1997)
  • Work for a Million (Graphic Novel adaptation) (2021)

Non-fiction

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  • Privilege of Sex: A Century of Canadian Women (1972) - editor
  • The Broad Side, Reflections on a Long Life (2015)

References

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  1. ^ a b W. H. New, Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada (p. 1234). University of Toronto Press, 2002. ISBN 0802007619.
  2. ^ a b c "Eve Zaremba". Broadside. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  3. ^ "Eve Zaremba Writer | Artist". www.evezaremba.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  4. ^ a b c d e Robert Aldrich and Garry Votherspoon, Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History Vol. 2: From World War II to the Present Day. p. 460. Taylor & Francis, 2001. ISBN 0203994086.
  5. ^ "The 88-year-old creator of mystery's first lesbian detective reflects on the character's return". Quill & Quire, February 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "1980's Dyke Detective Helen Keremos Is Returning Online and In Bookstores Across the Country". The ArQuives, May 2, 2019.
  7. ^ "Hope Nicholson Closes Bedside Press Following Sexual Assault Admission". Multiversity Comics. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  8. ^ Parkin, JK (2019-11-26). "Bedside Press shuts down". SMASH PAGES. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  9. ^ CBCBooks (August 2, 2021). "Work for a Million, Amanda Deibert & Eve Zaremba, illustrated by Selena Goulding". CBC. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Work for a Million (Graphic Novel) by Amanda Deibert, Eve Zaremba, and Selena Goulding". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  11. ^ Collective, Lesbians Making History (1986). "Oral History with Eve Zaremba, 1986". digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca. Lesbians Making History Collective. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  12. ^ "Broadside: A Feminist Review – Rise Up! Feminist Digital Archive". riseupfeministarchive.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  13. ^ "The Women's Place (Toronto) – Rise Up! Feminist Digital Archive". riseupfeministarchive.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  14. ^ "Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW) – Rise Up! Feminist Digital Archive". riseupfeministarchive.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  15. ^ "Eve Zaremba Writer | Artist". www.evezaremba.com. Retrieved 2024-03-08.