Harley Rustad is a Canadian journalist, magazine editor, and author of ''Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas'' and ''Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees.''

Early life

Rustad was born on

Salt Spring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled by ...

, British Columbia, Canada, where he spent the first few months of his life in a tent while his parents built their home. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Journalism career

Rustad has been an editor and writer at

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, non-profit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an 8-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a national s ...

, a Canadian general interest magazine, since 2014. His writing has appeared in publications including '' Outside'', ''

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

. He is a faculty editor at the

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, formerly known as The Banff Centre (and previously The Banff Centre for Continuing Education), located in Banff, Alberta, was established in 1933 as the Banff School of Drama. It was granted full autonomy as ...

’s Mountain and Wilderness Writing Residency.

Big Lonely Doug

His first book, ''Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees,'' a nonfiction book published in 2018 is about the second-largest Douglas fir in Canada that was a saved by a logger who wrapped green LEAVE TREE ribbon around its trunk, and the fight to protect old-growth forests in British Columbia. The tree,

Big Lonely Doug Big Lonely Doug is a large Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) tree located in the Gordon River Valley of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is the second largest Douglas-fir tree in Canada after the Red Creek Fir in nearby ...

, is growing in the middle of a clear cut near

Port Renfrew A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

, British Columbia. The book started as a magazine article in ''

.'' The book was nominated for the 2018

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best nonfiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writer ...

, the 2019

Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize The Roderick Haig-Brown Prize is part of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes The BC Book & Yukon Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia and Yukon writers and publishers. The prizes, as well as the Lieutenant Governor ...

, and the 2018 Banff Mountain Book Competition.

Lost in the Valley of Death

His second book, ''Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas,'' was published in 2022 and investigates the 2016 disappearance of Justin Alexander Shetler in the

Parvati Valley Parvati Valley is situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. From the confluence of the Parvati River with the River Beas, the Parvati Valley runs eastwards, through a steep-sided valley from the town of Bhuntar, in the Kullu di ...

, India. It was nominated for a 2022 Banff Mountain Book Award and a Crime Writers of Canada Award, was a Canadian bestseller, and appeared on the cover of the February 13, 2022, New York Times Book Review. ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' won two awards at the 2023 Poland Mountain Book Awards and a 2023 US Religion News Association Award.

Awards and honors

* 2023 Mountain Literature Awards, Poland (winner non-fiction category and winner Grand Prix) for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'', Polish translation * 2023 Religion News Association Award (winner) for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' * 2023 Crime Writers of Canada Award (finalist) for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' * 2022 Banff Mountain Book Award (finalist) for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' * 2022 CBC Best Canadian Non-fiction Books of the Year for ''Lost in the Valley of Death'' * 2018

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 f ...

Best Books of the Year for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2018 CBC Best Canadian Non-fiction Books of the Year for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2018

(finalist) for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2018 Banff Mountain Book Award (finalist) for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2019

(finalist) for ''Big Lonely Doug'' * 2016 National Magazine Award (silver) "Big Lonely Doug" published in ''The Walrus''. * 2015 National Magazine Award (honourable mention) for "Where the Streets Have No Names" published in ''

Bibliography

* ''Big Lonely Doug: The Story of One of Canada’s Last Great Trees.'' House of Anansi Press. 2018. ISBN 978-1487003111 * ''Lost in the Valley of Death: A Story of Obsession and Danger in the Himalayas.'' Harper. 2022. ISBN 978-0062965967

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rustad, Harley Canadian magazine journalists Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian nature writers Canadian travel writers Writers from British Columbia Living people 21st-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 1985 births