We have inherited an easy life in Canada. A life of calm. It is freedom of a lazy sort, a freedom so pervasive we barely notice it, and one that we claim by virtue of our citizenship. But it is also worth remembering that people – in the words of Bulgarian-born Canadian philanthropist Ignat Kaneff – ‘crawl across minefields to get here.
Will Ferguson of Calgary is a best-selling author whose poetic work describes historic, human and geographic landscapes, expressing the shifting nature of humanity in genres as diverse as the novel, essay, travelogue and memoir, and in his reflections on Canadian identity. His work has contributed to greater understanding and awareness of contemporary Canada, as well as the nation’s rich history, among Canadian and international audiences alike.
William Stener Ferguson was born on October 9, 1964, in the former fur-trading post of Fort Vermilion. His father, John Ferguson, was a schoolteacher who later taught at Brandon University. His mother, Lorna Bell, was a former psychiatric nurse who would later work as an x-ray lab technician at St. Theresa Hospital before becoming an adult literacy coordinator for northern Alberta.
His parents’ marriage ended when Will was five, and his mom raised six children as a single parent – Will was the fourth – with the help of Will’s grandmother, Lily Bell. They were a lively family of storytellers, the kids vying to make their mother laugh. “People from the city often lament the passing of oral history, but where I grew up it was still very much alive,” he says.
Even as a child, Will enjoyed writing and dreamed of becoming a writer. But in high school at Red Deer, he decided to study political science instead, with an eye toward a law degree. In 1983, he was accepted at the University of Alberta but joined Katimavik instead – and never looked back. The youth volunteer program paid “a dollar a day and all the granola we could eat,” he says.
The following summer, Will joined Canada World Youth (CWY), which became a pivotal experience for him. CWY is an overseas exchange program between Canada and the developing world. His tenure with CWY (1985-86) took him first to New Liskeard, ON, and then to Ecuador in South America, where he lived with a local family in the village of Malacatos during the winter of 1985.
“The lesson learned in Canada World Youth is a simple one: local actions have global repercussions. The good news: this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The village work projects, the friendships that span cultures and oceans, the small victories: these too have global repercussions,” says Will. “Canada World Youth did not make me a good person – that would be asking too much – but it did make me a better person, and for that I will always be grateful.”
Returning from South America, he enrolled in the York University Film Program in Toronto where he graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Special Honours) in Film Production. But it soon became evident that Will preferred screenwriting to filmmaking. Still, he credits his degree with teaching him about the nuts and bolts of writing. “Film school brought me around full circle, back to writing,” he says.
Shortly after graduating from York, Will headed to Japan to teach English, initially as part of the JET Program (Japan Exchange Teachers), and then privately. While in Asia, he backpacked across Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and mainland China. He also hitchhiked the length of Japan, following the “Cherry Blossom Front” as it moved north. While in Japan, he met Terumi Matsumoto at a dinner hosted by a mutual friend from Calgary. They were married in a Shinto ceremony in Kumamoto City in 1995.
Will and Terumi returned to Canada, settling in the Maritimes, first in St. Andrews, NB, and later PEI. In 1997, Will sold his first book: the irreverent and ironic Why I Hate Canadians, which would go on to sell more than 75,000 copies. That year, Will and Terumi also welcomed their first son, Genki Alex, who would grow up to become an author in his own right.
With the success of Why I Hate Canadians, Will and Terumi returned to Alberta to raise their family. They moved to Calgary where their second son, Yūki Alister, was born. Will published two more books in 2001: How to Be a Canadian, co-written with his brother Ian, and his debut novel Generica (later titled Happiness), which sold to publishers in 31 different markets around the world and was published in 24 languages.
Will didn’t pursue a career as much as he relentlessly chased one down, writing 21 books in 27 years (and counting) and becoming a fixture on Canada’s literary landscape. He is a versatile author, easily switching between history, travel, dramatic fiction, memoir, satire, anthology and mystery. His gentle humour and acerbic wit are always at the ready.
Will’s non-fiction writing has contributed to Canadians’ understanding and awareness of contemporary Canada and its history. He has addressed Canadian history directly in his books Bastards & Boneheads: Canada’s Glorious Leaders Past and Present (1999) and Canadian History for Dummies (2000). Many other works focus indirectly on Canadian history and identity, such as his hilarious memoir I Was a Teen-Age Katima Victim: A Canadian Odyssey (1998); his heartfelt tribute Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada (2005); his richly layered Coal Dust Kisses: A Christmas Memoir (2010); and his tour de force collection of essays Canadian Pie (2011).
“I think it’s the ‘story’ in history that I like. The sense of characters and events colliding and shaping our world, for better or worse,” says Will.
Alberta and the West never appear as afterthoughts or footnotes in Will’s work. Through his writing, he has introduced audiences to themes such as life in small-town northern Alberta, the outsider’s perspective (his family settled in a largely Métis community), and the ever-changing self-identity of his adopted hometown, Calgary.
Will’s writing is alive with historical details, sensory description and first-person experience. His historical works include well-known Alberta figures such as the irascible newspaperman Bob Edwards and the Famous Five behind the Persons Case that advanced women’s rights, as well as pilot Wop May who made a mercy flight to Fort Vermilion in 1929 during a diphtheria outbreak.
Will has written for The New York Times, Esquire UK, Flare, Zoomer, The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, National Post, and Canadian Geographic. For several years, he wrote a column in Maclean’s magazine titled “Will Ferguson’s Canada.” In 2010, he was the head writer for the Vancouver Winter Olympics closing ceremonies, penning material for the likes of William Shatner and Michael J. Fox.
Helping others has long been a priority for Will. While teaching in Japan, he mentored newly arrived Canadian teachers. Today, he visits schools, speaks at local book clubs, and meets with young and emerging authors. His engaging talks regularly attract standing-room-only crowds. As a board member of the Chawkers Foundation, he has championed Alberta and Western Canadian authors as literary grant recipients. As editor of The Penguin Anthology of Canadian Humour (2006), he made a special effort to include western authors in the national project. “Whenever possible, I try to help and encourage fellow writers because we’re all in this together,” he says.
Will’s fiction and non-fiction have garnered acclaim in Canada and abroad. He won Canada’s prestigious Giller Prize in 2012 for his dark literary thriller 419, which went on to win the 2013 Libris Award from the Canadian Booksellers Association for Fiction Book of the Year. He has received the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media (Pierre Berton Award) in 2005 and no less than three Stephen Leacock Medals for Humour for Happiness, Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw, and Beyond Belfast. Among other recognitions, he won 2021 Book of the Year from the Canadian Crime Writers Awards for his novel, The Finder; the Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction (2002); and the Northern Lights Award for Travel Writing (2004). In 2016, an honorary degree in English was bestowed upon Will by Mount Royal University in Calgary.
As an independent writer, Will could have worked and lived anywhere; instead, he shows aspiring authors that they can make the long climb to literary excellence without having to leave home. “My travels have taken me to six continents and as far afield as Iceland, the Australian Outback, Okinawa, Bali, Argentina, New Zealand, the Faroe Islands and central Africa. But Alberta was always the tether that brought me back. Alberta is home,” says Will.