John Wilson (Canadian writer)

John Alexander Wilson (born August 3, 1951, in Edinburgh, Scotland)[1] is a Canadian author of historical fiction and non-fiction.[2] He is the author of over 30 books, 300 articles and essays, and 30 poems.

John Wilson
BornJohn Alexander Wilson
(1951-08-03) August 3, 1951
Edinburgh, Scotland
OccupationNovelist
NationalityCanadian (formerly British)
EducationUniversity of St. Andrews (BSc, 1975)
Period1987 to present
GenreHistorical Fiction, Non-fiction
Notable worksFour Steps to Death
SpouseJenifer Mary Wilson
Children3
Website
johnwilsonauthor.com

Biography

Wilson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on August 3, 1951, to James Annan and Evelyn Victoria Marguerite Wilson.[1] He grew up on the Island of Skye, and in Paisley.[3]

In 1975, Wilson received a Bachelor of Science with honours in geology from the University of St Andrews.[1] After graduation, he worked as a geologist in Zimbabwe before moving to Canada.[3] For nine years, he worked for the Alberta Geological Survey in Edmonton.[3]

In 1991, Wilson began writing full-time.[3]

Wilson now lives in Lantzville on Vancouver Island. He is married to Jenifer Mary Wilson and has three children: Sarah, Fiona, and Iain.[1]

Awards and honours

A Soldier’s Sketchbook and Death on the River are Junior Library Guild selections.[4][5]

In 2017, the Chicago Public Library named A Soldier’s Sketchbook one of the best Informational Books for Older Readers of the year.[4]

Awards for Wilson's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
1998 Across Frozen Seas Geoffrey Bilson Award Finalist [6]
Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize Finalist
2002 Righting Wrongs Norma Fleck Award Finalist [7]
2004 Discovering the Arctic Norma Fleck Award Finalist [7]
Dancing Elephants and Floating Continents Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize Finalist
2005 Flames of the Tiger Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee [8]
2006 Four Steps to Death Geoffrey Bilson Award Finalist [6]
Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize Finalist
2007 The Alchemist's Dream Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature Finalist
Four Steps to Death Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee [9]
Red Goodwin Forest of Reading Red Maple Award Finalist [10][11]
Where Soldiers Lie Geoffrey Bilson Award Finalist [6]
2008 The Alchemist's Dream Geoffrey Bilson Award Finalist [6]
Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize Finalist
Where Soldiers Lie Forest of Reading Red Maple Award Finalist [10][11]
2010 Crusade Geoffrey Bilson Award Finalist [6]
2012 Shot at Dawn Geoffrey Bilson Award Finalist [6]
Written in Blood Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee [12]
2016 Wings of War Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee [13]

Publications

Fiction

  • Across Frozen Seas (1997)
  • Adrift in Time (2003)
  • Dancing Elephants and Floating Continents: The Story of Canada Beneath Your Feet (2003)
  • Ghosts of James Bay (2006)
  • Red Goodwin (2006)
  • The Alchemist's Dream (2007)
  • Lost Cause (2012)
  • The Ruined City (2018)
  • The Third Act (2018)

Caught in Conflict collection

  • Lost in Spain (1999)
  • And in the Morning... (2002)
  • Flames of the Tiger (2003)
  • The Flags of War (2004)
  • Battle Scars (2005)
  • Four Steps to Death (2005)
  • Where Soldiers Lie (2007)
  • Germania (2008)
  • Death on the River (2009)

Desert Legends trilogy

  • Written in Blood (2010)
  • Ghost Moon (2011)
  • Victorio's War (2012)

Heretic's Secret trilogy

  • Crusade / Heretic (2009)
  • Quest / Grail (2010)
  • Rebirth (2013)

I Am Canada books

  • Shot at Dawn: World War I, Allan McBride, France, 1917 (2011)
  • Graves of Ice (2014)

Steve series

  1. The Missing Skull (2016)
  2. Lost Cause (2012)
  3. Broken Arrow (2014)

Stolen duo

  • Stolen (2013)
  • Bones (2014)

Tales of War trilogy

  • Wings of War (2014)
  • Dark Terror (2015)
  • A Dangerous Game (2016)

Weet trilogy

  • Weet (1995)
  • Weet's Quest (1997)
  • Weet Alone (1999)

Non-Fiction

  • Norman Bethune: A Life of Passionate Conviction (1999)
  • Righting Wrongs: The Story of Norman Bethune (2001)
  • Discovering the Arctic: The Story of John Rae (2003)
  • Desperate Glory: The Story of WWI (2008)
  • Bitter Ashes: The Story of WWII (2009)
  • Ghost Mountains and Vanished Oceans: North America from Birth to Middle Age (2009)
  • Failed Hope: The Story of the Lost Peace (2012)
  • The Final Alchemy: A Novel of Murder, Magic and the Search for the Northwest Passage (2012)
  • John Franklin: Traveller on Undiscovered Seas
  • Lands of Lost Content (2020)
  • A Man Exact and Truthful: John Rae and the Northwest Passage (2022)
  • The Journal of James Fitzjames (2022)

Poetry

  • Love, Death and Nonsense: A Diversity of Verse (2022)

References

  1. "Wilson, John 1951- (John Alexander Wilson)". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-25. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  2. "John Wilson". WorldCat.org. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  3. "About John". John Wilson. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  4. "A Soldier's Sketchbook: The Illustrated First World War Diary of R.H. Rabjohn by John Wilson". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  5. "Death on the River by John Wilson". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  6. "Previous Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People Winners and Finalists". Canadian Children's Book Centre. Archived from the original on 2022-12-01. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  7. "Previous Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction Winners and Finalists". The Canadian Children's Book Centre. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  8. "2005". Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  9. "2007". Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  10. "Research Guides: Forest of Reading®, 7 to 12 Programs: Red Maple Winners & Nominees, 1998-2023". Queen's University Library. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  11. Ontario Library Association. "Red Maple Award™ Winners and Nominees 1998–2021" (PDF). Forest of Reading. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  12. "2012". Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  13. "2016 Nominees". Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award. Archived from the original on 2023-02-08. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
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