Ian McKinley

Ian McKinley, a Writers' Federation of New Brunswick "Prélude Emerging Writer" at the 2016 Frye Festival (Atlantic Canada's largest literary event), writes Fantastic Realism, fantasy in which alignments and/or collisions of human interests and values drive the narrative rather than clashes of pure good against ultimate evil. He released his second novel, Harbinger, Book One of Northern Fire, in April in advance of the Frye Festival.

Ian was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Ten days later, his parents dragged him off to live in Northern Ireland until the age of five. Then they dragged him back to Canada, to live in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (Canada has interesting place names, many dealing with wildlife such as Moose Factory, Bear Beach, etc. or with body parts such as Elbow, Eyebrow [no, we're not having you on], or, dealing with both such as Moose Jaw). Of course, as soon as he breathed the pure Saskatchewan air, his blood turned the green of the Roughriders. It was a hard condition to avoid during the time of Ronny Lancaster and George Reed. Five years later, his parents dragged him off to Lethbridge, Alberta, where he spent the remainder of his youth and where he subsequently went to university.

Ian and his wife of 20 years, Josée Lanctôt, have a "modern" family that includes Sanja, adopted from an animal shelter and who is supposedly half labrador, half German shepherd. Both Ian and Josée are convinced that she has a third half ... cat! Together they all live in Bogotá, Colombia. They currently call Ottawa home base.

Ian is a career diplomat with Canada's foreign ministry who has served abroad in Colombia, Kenya, Zimbabwe and at the Canadian Mission to the United Nations in New York. He speaks English, French and Spanish.

More importantly than being a civil servant, Ian fancies himself as an author. He is also a proud fan of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders and Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League. As soccer increases its beachhead in North America, Ian has broadened his support for football clubs to include the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer and the Ottawa Fury of the North American Soccer League.

In addition to appreciating sports, Ian enjoys travelling, sports, canoeing and camping in remote areas, gastronomy, music, cinema, and, gaming with his friends.

If you follow Ian's Twitter feed, (@McKinleyWriting) you will know he also retweets in support of foundations that assist animals as well as the fight against cancer. Ian is a proud member of the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick as well as the Sunburst Award Society for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic.