one of the most prolific writers in Canada, with some 1,300 radio and television scripts and some 50 books to his credit. He was hailed as a literary genius after the publication of Agaguk (1958), a poignant tale about an Inuit (Eskimo) family faced with the white man's code of law.

Thériault, who dropped out of school at the age of 15, held a variety of jobs before becoming a writer for the National Film Board (1943–45) and Radio Canada (1945–50). His works include Aaron (1954), which explored the problems faced by a Jewish family in a Gentile world; Ashini (1960), a lyrical tale of the last chief of the Innu (Montagnais) to live by ancestral customs; and N'Tsuk (1968), the life story of a 100-year-old Inuit woman. Thériault's works were widely translated and won him many awards.