McLEAN, Maria Coletta 1946-

PERSONAL:

Born May 25, 1946, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; son of Loreto (a truck driver) and Josephine (a homemaker; maiden name, Giorgio) Coletta; married Robert McLean (in business), August 22, 1964; children: Rob, Ken, Carole McLean Garvin, Paula, Kathryn, Christopher. Ethnicity: "Italian-Canadian." Education: York University, B.A. (with honors), 1995. Politics: Liberal. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES:

Home—R.R.1, Bradford, Ontario, Canada L3Z 2A4; fax 416-745-4560. Agent—Carolyn Swayze, WRPS, Box 29588, White Rock, British Columbia, Canada V4A 9P3. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, 1993—. Columbia Coffee and Tea Co., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, vice president, 1995—, currently president.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal (Canada), 2002, for service to community and nation.

WRITINGS:

My Father Came from Italy (memoir), Raincoast Book Distribution (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada), 2000.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

A novel, The Woman Who Ran Away.

SIDELIGHTS:

Maria Coletta McLean told CA: "In my first book My Father Came from Italy I wanted to take the reader on a journey to my father's village in Italy, to share the sights, sounds, and smells. Since I wrote the stories strictly from the heart, the reader is able to laugh and cry along with us. Readers tell me they feel they were walking the cobblestone streets of Supino with me. They say they read more slowly as they reached the last few pages because they didn't want the story to end. They say they want to go to Italy, and they say thank you."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

ONLINE

Maria Coletta Web site,http://www.mariacoletta.com/ (November 18, 2003).