Donna McFarlane (born 1958)^[1] is a Canadian writer, who was a shortlisted nominee for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 1994 Governor General's Awards for her novel Division of Surgery.^[2] Published by Women's Press of Canada, Division of Surgery was an autobiographical novel about McFarlane's own experience in the medical system after being diagnosed with Crohn's disease.^[3]

Born in Quebec and raised in Ottawa,^[3] McFarlane graduated from York University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts,^[1] and was working as a librarian at the time of her Crohn's diagnosis.^[3] The novel began life as a journal that she kept during her hospital stays,^[3] and later submitted to CKLN-FM after Arnie Achtman's documentary series Life Rattle broadcast a story about another woman battling chronic illness.^[3] Achtman helped McFarlane organize her notes into a novel,^[3] and later became McFarlane's partner.^[4]

The doctor in the novel, known only by the name "The Prophet", was based on Mount Sinai Hospital surgeon Zane Cohen.^[5]

At the time of her award nomination, she was working as a program coordinator for Windfall, a charity organization that distributed clothing to needy women.^[3] She subsequently published a number of short stories in literary magazines, but has not published any further books.

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