Author Biography
The name Thomas Trofimuk is an obvious pseudonym. Nobody's sure what his real name is, or what he actually looks like, or where he lives. There are Trofimuks scattered throughout Canada and US, as well as in Russia and Spain. Though there are pictures of this person in existence, it's highly unlikely they are what they seem to be. Rumours abound. One rumour suggests his real name is Thelonious Pinsky and that he lives on Vancouver Island. A website tagged The Failed Buddhist.com suggests that he's actually a woman, teaching at the University of Lethbridge. There is no question that this fictitious Trofimuk person writes fine poetry, short-fiction, and novels. His first novel, The 52nd Poem, was published by Great Plains Publications in the spring of 2002. The book went on to win a few awards including the 2003 Alberta Novel of the Year and the City of Edmonton Book Prize. A second novel, Doubting Yourself to the Bone, was published fall 2006 by Cormorant Books and has received high praise from critics-including being named as one of the top 100 Must Read books for 2006 by the Globe & Mail.
His most recent novel, Waiting for Columbus, was released August 25th, 2009 in Canada (McClelland & Stewart) and the US (Knopf-Doubleday), February 2010 in the UK (Picador). Serbian, Polish and Brazilian publications will follow. The book was also published as an audiobook in the US. Waiting for Columbus won the 2010 City of Edmonton Book Prize.
Trofimuk is more than likely married and based on his poetry it's fairly safe to say that he and his wife have a child. Regardless of having a mailing address in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, one persistent story has it that he actually lives in a small town in British Columbia, in the mountains-possibly Slocan City, or somewhere near Kaslo, B.C. with his wife, daughter and cat of unknown colour and demeanor. Some say he lives just outside of Golden, B.C., where he is an ardent fly fisherman, bathes outdoors and likes to tromp through the woods with several Irish wolf-hounds. A 1979 article that appeared in a Belgian literary magazine called Zeist, suggested Trofimuk lives in Paris-somewhere in the eleventh arrondissement. A 1999 article in an on-line cigar magazine had an oblique reference to the fact that Trofimuk, by necessity, must live close to a cigar shop. A 2003 Canadian federal government report on the Canadian wine industry made an indirect and somewhat puzzling mention of a Trofimuk residence somewhere in the Osoyoos region of southern B.C. Most recently, rumours about Trofimuk living and writing at a nudist resort south of Cancun, Mexico have been floating around FaceBook and Twitter -- none of these rumours have been substantiated.
Rudy Rubinski is a freelance journalist who lives in Langley, B.C., Canada.
Below, is a PDF biography that isn't being playful..and promises not to pull your leg.
PDF Version of Trofimuk's Bio (2009) [260kB]
