John Bemrose is a Canadian arts

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, novelist, poet and playwright. His arts reviews have appeared in ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' and on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. Bemrose was born and raised in

Paris, Ontario Paris (2021 population, 14,956) is a community located in the County of Brant, Ontario, Canada. It lies just northwest from the city of Brantford at the spot where the Nith River empties into the Grand River. Paris was voted "the Prettiest Littl ...

, where his father, Fred Bemrose, a 2009 recipient of the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement, remains the town historian. He graduated from the

Victoria University in the University of Toronto Victoria University is a federated university forming part of the wider University of Toronto, and was founded in 1836. The undergraduate section of the university is Victoria College, informally ''Vic'', after the original name of the univers ...

in 1970, where he published early poems in

Acta Victoriana ''Acta Victoriana'' is the literary journal of Victoria University, Toronto. It was founded in May 1878 and is the oldest continuous university publication in Canada; its 140th volume was published in 2016. It is published twice a year. Though ori ...

. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''The Island Walkers'', was published in 2003. It was a nominee for that year's

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

. and well as making the longlist for the Man Booker Prize. He has also published a play, ''Mother Moon'', and two volumes of poetry. His second novel, ''The Last Woman'', was published in 2009 by

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. History It was founded ...

. It is set in Ontario's cottage country and is being touted by its publisher as a vehicle for the vivid characterizations for which he's become known.

Reviews

The ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' said in a review of The Island Walkers: "Bemrose’s characters ��live as real people live: contradictory, capable of kindness and disdain, of near-simultaneous love and hate, of gross betrayal….""Familiar territory", ''The Globe and Mail'', Steven Hayward, Friday, Oct. 16, 2009
/ref>

External links

References

Canadian male non-fiction writers Canadian male novelists Journalists from Toronto Writers from Toronto Living people People from the County of Brant Canadian male poets Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Maclean's writers and editors 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Year of birth missing (living people) {{Canada-poet-stub