Jim Shilliday

Jim Shilliday's latest book, A Memory of Sky: A Pilot's View of Canada's Century of Flight, was published by Great Plains Publications Oct. 1, 2009. Included are stories and photos of Shilliday's experiences flying F-86 Sabre jets for NATO out of North Luffenham, Rutland, England, at the height of the Cold War. On his first night flight, because of instrument failure while landing, he missed the Ketton chimney by inches. Flypast Magazine, of Stamford, Lincs., has featured his work.

Shilliday's first book was a biography,Canada's Wheat King, The Life and Times of Seager Wheeler, that also has close ties to England. Wheeler was born a fisherman's son at Blackgang, Isle of Wight, and emigrated to Canada in 1885. He developed a wheat strain that turned Canada into the "breadbasket of the world", supplying wneat flour to Britain during the Wars.Canada's Wheat King was winner of the 2008 award for best book of non-fiction by a Manitoba writer.

His next book will be a novel, a cautionary tale about a dystopian world pitting North America against the rest of the world.

A retired daily newspaper editor,Shilliday is a member of the Air Force Association of Canada and the Canadian Aviation Historical Society. He writes for the Winnipeg Free Press, and for several aviation magazines. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Winnipeg Heritage Society, and is a past member of the Stonewall (Manitoba, Canada) Heritage Advisory Committee.

One of the prime participants in the observance of Canada's century of flight was Gerald Haddon, grandson of Douglas McCurdy, Canada's "First Pilot", in 1909. Haddon wrote of A Memory of Sky: "...the author made me feel I was there...like any five-star chef, he left me wanting more."

Of Canada's Wheat King, Haddon wrote: "An inspiring narrative of unsurpassed excellence about a humble and self-effacing individual who brought glory to Canada, year after year in his role as five times 'World Wheat King'. This extensively researched and beautifully written book should be required reading in every one of Canada's schools: our boys and girls should be acquainted with the life and times of Seager Wheeler."