John Wilson (Canadian writer)

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John Wilson
BornJohn Alexander Wilson
(1951-08-03) August 3, 1951 (age 72)
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

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.

Biography[edit]

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.[citation needed] He is married to Jenifer Mary Wilson and has three children: Sarah, Fiona, and Iain.[1]

Awards and honours[edit]

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[edit]

Fiction[edit]

  • 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[edit]

  • 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[edit]

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

Heretic's Secret trilogy[edit]

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

I Am Canada books[edit]

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

Steve series[edit]

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

Stolen duo[edit]

  • Stolen (2013)
  • Bones (2014)

Tales of War trilogy[edit]

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

Weet trilogy[edit]

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

Non-Fiction[edit]

  • 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[edit]

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

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "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. ^ a b c d "About John". John Wilson. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  4. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c d e f "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b 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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