David Arnason

David Arnason (born 1940 ) is a Canadian author and poet who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with his partner Mhari Mackintosh.

Life
Born in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada, Arnason is of Icelandic descent and often writes about the Icelandic community in Canada. He is the son of Baldvin and Gudrun Arnason, the eldest of seven children. He attended the University of Manitoba where he received a B.A. and M.A., and has a Ph.D. from the University of New Brunswick where he received a Ph.D.

He has taught at the University of Manitoba since 1972, and was the head of the English Department from 1997 to 2006. He was Acting Head of the Department of Icelandic, at the University of Manitoba from 1998 to 2006. His archives are held at University of Manitoba.

Arnason co-founded the Journal of Canadian Fiction with John Moss at the University of New Brunswick in 1972.

He was one of the co-founders of Queenston House Press in Winnipeg and has been an editor of Turnstone Press in Winnipeg since 1975. He was chairman of the Literary Press Group and a member of the executive of the Association of Canadian Publishers. He served on the Manitoba Arts Council 1985-1987.

Recognition
The Imagined City (2005), edited by Arnason and Mhari Mackintosh, won both The Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award and The Mary Scorer Book Award for best book by a Manitoba publisher in 2005.

Publications

 * Marsh Burning. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1980.
 * Fifty Stories and a Piece Of Advice. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1982.
 * The Circus Performers' Bar. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1984.
 * Skrag. Winnipeg : Turnstone Press, 1987.
 * The Happiest Man in the World and other stories. Vancouver, BC: Talonbooks, 1989.
 * The Pagan Wall. Vancouver : Talonbooks, 1992.
 * The Dragon and the Dry Goods Princess (stories). Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1994.
 * If Pigs Could Fly: Stories. Winnipeg: : Turnstone Press, 1995
 * King Jerry (novel). Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 2001.
 * The Demon Lover. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 2002.
 * Baldur's Song: A Saga. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 2010.

Non-fiction

 * Isolation in Canadian literature : questions and bibliography. Toronto Macmillan 1975.
 * The Icelanders. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1981.
 * The Development of Prairie Realism : Robert J. Stead, Douglas Durkin, Martha Ostenso and Frederick Philip Grove. Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1981.
 * The New Icelanders: A North American Community. Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1994.

Edited

 * The Imagined City: A Literary History Of Winnipeg (edited by David Arnason & Mhari Mackintosh). Winnipeg : Turnstone Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-88801-298-2

Edited

 * Nineteenth Century Canadian Stories''. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1976.