William Ferguson is one of the most highly regarded travel writers in Canada, while his humorous novels have also been praised for their wry observations on Canadian history and culture. Born in 1964, Ferguson’s parents separated when he was just six years old, and he has often cited this as an important life event that made him question his surroundings.
While Ferguson has taken in many different public positions during his career, he is particularly associated with his outspoken criticism of the Canadian monarchy. This criticism has been made both in public statements and in his books, and Ferguson is often sought out by media when the issue of monarchy is being debated.
Ferguson was awarded the Alexander Rutherford Scholarship in all available categories as an adolescent, before joining the Canadian government funded programs Katimavik and Canada World Youth. The latter enabled him to travel extensively in South America, and Ferguson then went on to study film production and screenwriting at York University in Toronto.
Although Ferguson has delivered stinging critiques of various social, political, and cultural phenomena, he is also known for his particularly humorous grasp on issues. Indeed, Ferguson has won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour three times.
Several of Ferguson’ as novels have won other literary prizes, and he is generally treasured in Canada as an author of rare insight, wit, and ability.
