Professional Experience
I am the author of Al Christie: Hollywood's Forgotten Film Pioneer, which was published in July 2023. I have co-authored 10 other books with Ottawa writer Randy Ray including the bestsellers The Great Canadian Trivia Book and I Know That Name!: The People Behind Canada’s Best-Known Brand Names From Elizabeth Arden to Walter Zeller. Our most recent book, published in 2017, was As The Years Go By: Conversations with Canada's Folk, Pop & Rock Pioneers. I'm a long-time member of The Writers' Union of Canada
I am also a contributing author to three books: The Fur Bearing Trout... and Other True Tales of Canadian Life, Prose to Go: Tales from a Private List, and Shakin’ All Over: The Rock ‘N’ Roll Years in Canada.
As a writer, I’ve sold more than 2,000 articles to some 80 publications in Canada and the U.S. My work has appeared in Toronto Life, Canadian Living, Golf Digest, The Saturday Evening Post, The Globe and Mail, London CityLife Magazine, The Financial Times, The London Free Press, Marketing Edge, Stitches, Western Alumni Gazette, eat/drink magazine and The Cleveland Plain-Dealer among others. As a columnist, my work has appeared in The Toronto Star, The Calgary Herald, The Toronto Sun, Boomer Life, and Chill magazine.
I’ve also written for a variety of business clients including the Ministry of Government Services, Ontario Cabinet Office, Credit Union Central of Ontario, St. Willibrord Community (now Libro) Credit Union, and Union Gas.
I have appeared on dozens of radio and TV programs across Canada talking trivia and music, including Canada AM, CBC Radio, Breakfast Television, CTV London and Kitchener, CHCH-TV, CFRB, and Rogers Daytime.
I teach writing for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and journalism for the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University. A course I developed and taught for many years, LOL-Humour Writing, was named in Maclean’s Student Guide 2015 as one of the “coolest electives” at Western.
I was the Arts and Humanities Nominee for the Angela Armitt Award for Excellence in Teaching by Part-Time Faculty, 2016-17 and 2017-18. I received the Dean’s Award of Excellence for teaching from the Faculty of Media and Information Studies in 2022, 2020, 2018, 2015 and 2013. I’ve been given the University Students Council Teaching Awards of Excellence eight times since 2004. I’ve also taught at Western’s Continuing Studies Program since 1991.
I’ve been a member The Professional Writers Association of Canada and the Canadian Freelance Guild for 35 years. I’m also a long-time member of The Writers’ Union of Canada.
