Allison Mitcham

1932-

Allison Mitcham (novelist, short-story writer, and English professor) was born in 1932 in Tisadale, Saskatchewan. For most of her life, however, she has resided in Sackville, New Brunswick, where she raised three children with her husband Peter. Peter, who passed away 30 November 2010, also illustrated many of her books. Mitcham came to New Brunswick to complete her master’s degree at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in Fredericton. She later completed her PhD in English there as well. In her early career, she taught language at UNB and in Saskatchewan. She also was a professor at Université de Moncton, where she taught graduate and undergraduate English literature courses before retiring in 1987 and devoting herself exclusively to writing.  Some of Mitcham’s books are Offshore Islands of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (1984), Three Remarkable Maritimers (1985), and, with Theresia Quigley, Maritime Voices: Twentieth Century Stories by Women (2000).

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Sackville, Fredericton

Archival Material

• Allison Mitcham fonds
  ⌄
  Location

  University of Saskatchewan Archives & Special Collections

  Website/Catalogue Record

  View Archival Record

  Retrieval Number

  MG 106

  Date Range of Material

  1913, 1932-2015

  Extent

  8.56 m of textual records

  Scope and Content Note

  Fonds includes extensive correspondence with family and colleagues, as well as materials relating to Dr. Mitcham's career as an academic and an author. It also contains manuscript drafts, research notes, and related materials regarding her books "The Last Utopia," "Taku," "Island Keepers," "Grey Owl's Favorite Wilderness," and "Ivan Hicks," among others. The fonds also includes biographical material.

• Mitcham family fonds
  ⌄
  Location

  Mount Allison University Archives

  Website/Catalogue Record

  View Archival Record

  Retrieval Number

  2014.068, 2015.61, 2016.59 and 2017.08

  Date Range of Material

  1935-2016

  Extent

  Approx. 17 cm of textual records and graphic materials;
  1 audio cassette of sound recordings (1 hour, 32 minutes)

  Scope and Content Note

  Fonds consists of records that were created, edited and / or illustrated by Allison Mitcham or Peter Mitcham. There are also some biographical information, correspondence, reviews, articles and promotional items relating to various members of the Mitcham family. These are accompanied by a book of remembrance for Peter Mitcham and family photographs. The contents of the fonds document the literary and artistic pursuits of these two academics. Accrual to the fonds consists of personal correspondence with related enclosures, a limited edition published work by Allison Mitcham, and an interview with noted Sackville musician, Ivan Hicks, and a number of his musical colleagues discussing his musical history. Fonds includes clippings and references relating to Allison Mitcham’s literary output along with royalty and public lending rights statements.