TAMAKI Mariko
Born 1975 in Toronto.
In 1994, this writer and performance artist graduated in English studies from McGill University. Shortly after with Allyson Mitchell, and Ruby Rowan she founded Pretty, Porky and Pissed Off a performance art collective that operated from 1996 to 2005, and she participated in Keith Cole’s Cheap Queers an annual performance night of LGBT entertainers at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre [Toronto].
In 2000 her first text novel Cover Me was published. This was followed by True Lies: The Book Of Bad Advise [2002]; Fake ID [2005]; (You) Set Me On Fire [2012]; Tomb Raider [2016] and Saving Montgomery Sole [2016].
She wrote and her cousin Jillian Tamaki illustrated Skim which in 2008 won a Governor General’s Award, followed in 2009 by a Shuster Award, a Doug Wright Award and an Ignatz Award. Interestingly enough Skim was originally developed as a play for Nightwood Theatre [Toronto]. After Skim she wrote Eriko Superstar [2008] with Steve Rolston as illustrator. The Tamaki cousins teamed up again to produce This One Summer which won a 2014 Governor General’s Award for children’s illustration and in 2015 a Caldecott Honour and a Printz Honour. In 2016 it was awarded the German Rudolph-Dirks Award for the Youth/Drama/Coming of age category.
Following these activities Mariko has been writing for Marvel and DC.
WORK:
CARTOONIST:
PERIODICAL TEXT:
Content story:
Descant, 164, Spring 2014: “Christine’s Smile.” With Car., Gillian Goerz: 103-113.
WRITER:
BOOK GRAPHIC;
Content novel:
Skim. Illus., Jillian Tamaki. Groundwood Books, 2008
Roaming. Illus., Jillian Tamaki. Drawn & Quarterly, 2023.
BOOK TEXT & GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY:
Content story:
The Secret Loves Of Geek Girls. Bedside Press, 2015: “Montreal, 1993.” Illus., Fiona Smyth: 243-247.
SOURCE:
Article book:
Skim. Writ., Mariko Tamaki. Illus., Jillian Tamaki. Groundwood Books, 2010: “Author information”: Back cover.
Article periodical:
Descant, 164, Spring 2014: 255.
Article newspaper:
The Expositor [Brantford], 13 April 2017: “You can’t read that!” Writ., Tristan Hopper: C8.
Internet:
“Mariko Tamaki.” Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. 29 March 2018. Accessed 14 April 2018.
“Keith Cole.” Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. 7 December 2017. Accessed 14 April 2018.
“Pretty Porky Pissed Off.” Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. 2 May 2017. Accessed 14 April 2018.