Brian Brennan

I am the author of sixteen best-selling books, most about the social history and colourful personalities of Canada's past.

Born, raised, and educated in Dublin, Ireland, I have called Canada home for the past fifty years. Since 1974, I have lived and worked in Calgary, where I spent twenty-five years as a staff columnist and features writer with the Calgary Herald.

Before that, I toured Canada as a professional musician and worked as a radio announcer in Prince George, British Columbia.

I have won numerous awards for my journalism, including two Western Magazine Gold Awards, the national Hollobon Award for medical reporting, and the Professional Writers Association of Canada Features Writing Award for a profile of Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi.

I have also won awards for my books, including the first Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for Romancing the Rockies, and the Petroleum History Society's Lifetime Achievement Award "for making numerous contributions to the body of literature concerning the Canadian petroleum industry, including many focused on its colourful personalities and significant events."

My interest in Canadian history was sparked in 1992 when I was assigned by the Calgary Herald to write a daily feature column about the lives of extraordinary individuals who had recently died. When I left the Herald in 1999, I revisited several of those columns to incorporate the stories into my books.

One of my most constantly sought-after books is Scoundrels and Scallywags, which sold more than ten thousand copies and topped the regional best-seller charts for more than eighteen months. A sale of five thousand copies, according to generally-accepted industry standards, qualifies as a best-seller in Canada.

When not writing books and delivering speaking engagements, I play the piano, mostly for fun and sometimes for profit.