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Marcello Di Cintio
http://www.marcellodicintio.blogspot.com
Marcello Di Cintio was born in Calgary and studied Microbiology and English at the University of Calgary. Di Cintio was also a member of the U of C wrestling team. After graduating in 1997 with a pair of degrees ( BA and BSc) and two cauliflower ears, Di Cintio travelled to West Africa with a “volunteer abroad” outfit called Canadian Crossroads International. He taught biology in a Ghanaian village for three months, then travelled through western and northern Africa for nine months more. Di Cintio’s time in Africa resulted in his first published stories and , eventually, his first book published by Insomniac Press in 2002.
In 2003 and 2004, Di Cintio travelled to Iran to discover the connection between Persian poets and traditional wrestlers. Knopf Canada published the resulting book in 2006.
In addition to writing for magazines, Di Cintio is busy on a third book. This project investigates communities in the world that live in the shadows of walls, fences and other “hard” barriers. So far, the research for this book has brought him to the edges of India, Cyprus, Palestine, Israel and North Africa.
These days, however, Di Cintio is closer to home. He is happily ensconced in his office as the 2009-2010 Markin-Flanagan Canadian Writer-in-Residence at the University of Calgary.
Awards
Event Creative Non-Fiction Contest #13, Event Magazine, 2000
MacLean-Hunter Endowment for Creative Non-Fiction, MacLean-Hunter, 2002
Henry Kreisel Award, Writers Guild of Alberta, 2003
Wilfred Eggleston Award, Writers Guild of Alberta, 2003, short-listed
Dave Greber Freeland Writers Award, 2005
W.O. Mitchell City of Calgary Book Prize, 2006, short-listed
Wilfred Eggleston Award, Writers Guild of Alberta, 2007
Edna Staebler Award for Creative non-Fiction, 2007, short-listed
Dave greber Freelance Writres Award, 2009
