Geoffrey Ursell (March 14, 1943 – February 21, 2021)
''Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan''. was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer, who won the Books in Canada First Novel Award in 1985 for his novel ''Perdue, or How the West Was Lost''."Writer from Regina wins book award". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', March 29, 1985.

Career

Predominantly known as a playwright, Ursell's stage and musical plays have included ''The Running of the Deer'' (1981), ''Saskatoon Pie'' (1982), ''The Willowbunch Giant'' (1983), ''The Secret Life of Railroaders'' (1986), ''The Rum Runners of Rainbow Ravine'' (1990), ''The Park'' (1994), ''Deer Bring the Sun'' (1998), ''Gold on Ice'' (2003), ''Winning the Prairie Gamble'' (2005), ''The Walnut Tree'' (2010) and ''Dead Midnight'' (2011). He has also adapted ''The Rum Runners of Rainbow Ravine'' as a

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drama, and wrote the teleplay ''Distant Battles'' for

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

. With his wife Barbara Sapergia and colleagues Bob Currie and Gary Hyland, Ursell was a cofounder of Coteau Books in the 1970s. In 1987, Ursell and Sapergia pitched a series to

called ''Midnight in Moose Jaw'', a sitcom-variety hybrid set in a

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-era speakeasy which would centre around live performances by real comedians and musicians,"Moose Jaw TV series pondered by CBC". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', July 17, 1987. with

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and Colin James as the guest performers in the pilot. The series was not picked up by the CBC. His other published books have included the poetry collections ''Trap Lines'' (1982), ''The Look-Out Tower'' (1989) and ''Jumbo Gumbo: Songs, Poems, and Stories for Children'' (1990), and the short story collection ''Way Out West'' (1990). He has served as president of the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild and the Saskatchewan Playwrights' Centre, has been writer-in-residence for the

Saskatoon Public Library The Saskatoon Public Library is a publicly funded library system in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is available for use by any member of the public; library cards are free for all Saskatonians. Saskatoon Public Library was established in 1913 ...

and the

Winnipeg Public Library The Winnipeg Public Library (french: Bibliothèque publique de Winnipeg) is a public library system in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Branches provide programming for children, teens, and adults. The Library also contains an Outreach Department which works ...

, was an editor of the literary magazine ''

Grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

'',"Local writers in Grain bumper crop". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'', May 3, 1992. and has taught literature and creative writing at the University of Regina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ursell, Geoffrey 1943 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian poets Canadian male poets 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian musical theatre composers Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers Canadian radio writers Canadian television writers Canadian children's writers Writers from Saskatchewan People from Moose Jaw Canadian book publishers (people) Canadian magazine editors Academic staff of the University of Regina Canadian male screenwriters Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian male television writers Amazon.ca First Novel Award winners