Linwood Barclay (born 1955) is an American-born
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 ...
author, noted as a novelist,
humorist
A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...
, and (former)
columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...
. His popular detective novels are bestsellers in Canada and internationally, beginning with ''No Time for Goodbye'' in 2007.
Biography
Linwood Barclay was born in
Darien, Connecticut
Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any n ...
, son of Muriel and Everett Barclay. His father was a professional illustrator who moved his family to Canada in 1959 where he had accepted a job with William R. Templeton Studios in Toronto. In 1966 the family purchased a vacation campground in
Bobcaygeon, Ontario
Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent–Severn Waterway in the City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada.
Bobcaygeon was incorporated as a village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas". Its recorded name ''bob-c ...
, which they ran for about five years until his father died from lung cancer when Barclay was sixteen.
Barclay recognized his interest in writing detective fiction at an early age, inspired by the works of
Ross Macdonald
Ross Macdonald was the main pseudonym used by the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar (; December 13, 1915 – July 11, 1983). He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in Southern California and featur ...
, who had grown up in
Kitchener, Ontario
)
, image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg
, image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg
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, image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg
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.
After graduating from high school Barclay studied literature at
Trent University
Trent University is a public liberal arts university in Peterborough, Ontario, with a satellite campus in Oshawa, which serves the Regional Municipality of Durham. Trent is known for its Oxbridge college system and small class sizes. in
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...
, where one of his teachers was the noted novelist
Margaret Laurence
Jean Margaret Laurence (née Wemyss; July 18, 1926 – January 5, 1987) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-pr ...
. While attending university, he began a correspondence with Macdonald that proved inspirational for Barclay. They met once, at which time Macdonald inscribed one of his books to Barclay: "For Linwood, who will, I hope, someday outwrite me".
[
After graduation with an English literature degree from Trent, he could not sell any of his novels so he found work on a number of local newspapers beginning with the '']Peterborough Examiner
''The Peterborough Examiner'' is a newspaper that services Peterborough, Ontario and area. The paper started circulation in 1847, and is currently owned by Torstar and operated by its Metroland division. Between 1942 and 1955, it was edited by Can ...
''. He subsequently moved to the ''Toronto Star'' in 1981. In 1993, following the death of Gary Lautens
Gary Lautens (November 3, 1928 – February 1, 1992) was a Canadian humorist and newspaper columnist. He wrote for the ''Toronto Star'' from 1962 until his death in 1992.
Biography
Lautens was born on November 3, 1928, in Fort William, Ont ...
, he began to write a thrice-weekly humour column for the paper. He also released podcasts of his articles and published three collections: ''Mike Harris Made Me Eat My Dog'', ''Father Knows Zilch: A Guide for Dumbfounded Dads'', and ''This House Is Nuts!''. Between 2004 and 2007, while still writing his column, he published four mystery/comedies, all featuring a sleuth named Zack Walker who works as a newspaper columnist by day. The books were published in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and were modestly successful.[
His break came in 2007 when he published '' No Time for Goodbye''. A runaway bestseller in the UK, it quickly sold a million copies there and elsewhere.][ He took a one-year ]sabbatical
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work.
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
to promote his novel and he had planned to return to the ''Star'' in September 2008. But on June 28, 2008, he wrote his last column, announcing his retirement from the newspaper. His 2012 novel ''Trust Your Eyes'' was a finalist for the Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read from the UK Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards
The Crime Thriller Awards is a British awards ceremony dedicated to crime thriller fiction. The inaugural event was held on 3 October 2008 at the Grosvenor Hotel, hosted by comedian and ''Jonathan Creek'' actor Alan Davies. It was televised on ...
. At the time of its publication, it was announced that ''Trust Your Eyes'' had been optioned by a Hollywood studio. Barclay made the cover of ''Variety Magazine'' because of the bidding war it had caused between Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
and Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
Barclay lives in Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. At its Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population of 213,759, it is List of tow ...
, with his wife of more than three decades, Neetha, with whom he has two children - Spencer and Paige.
Bibliography
Non-fiction
*''Last Resort: A Memoir'' (2000, finalist for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour)
Humour
* ''Mike Harris Made Me Eat My Dog''
*''Father Knows Zilch: A Guide for Dumbfounded Dads''
*''This House Is Nuts! : Surviving the Absurdities of Everyday Life''
Fiction
References
External links
Columns, ''Toronto Star''
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, Linwood
21st-century Canadian novelists
Canadian crime fiction writers
Canadian humour columnists
Canadian male novelists
Canadian mystery writers
Living people
1955 births
21st-century Canadian male writers
Canadian thriller writers
Thriller writers
Canadian male non-fiction writers