Richard Scrimger

Richard Scrimger is the award-winning author of eight novels for young readers, three picture books, and three books for adults. Columns detailing Richard’s adventures in parenthood have been published in The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, and Today’s Parent. His first children’s novel, The Nose from Jupiter, won the 10th Annual Mr. Christie’s Book Award. His first adult novel, Crosstown, was shortlisted for the City of Toronto Book Award. He and his family live in Cobourg, Ontario.

Richard Scrimger will be speaking on Friday night (session D1).

John Seagrave

John Seagrave was born in Toronto, Ontario, but from an early age felt like a cultural orphan in his own community. To escape the inevitable factory job he joined the “Gentleman Adventurers” of the Hudson’s Bay Company as a modern-day fur trader. It was the 1970s and, like many other Bay Boys, he was transferred from pillar to post (ultimately 17 outposts) in northern Ontario and Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories.

Seagrave felt kinship to, and learned from, both Natives and Inuit, spending twenty years working hard as an HBC factor and experiencing many adventures along the way. In the end, the local people helped Seagrave find peace with who he was.

After retiring from the HBC to Yellowknife, Seagrave decided to write down his tales of northern adventure. It was time to record what he witnessed as the fur trade collapsed, as electricity and television found their way into the remotest of communities, and as a revolution in transportation was occurring. Seagrave describes this short period of intense change with humour, compassion, and insight.

John Seagrave will be speaking on Saturday night (session L1).