Author Site
Coming June 27th!
a comedic murder mystery written with
Ian Ferguson
"The Fergusons have created a detective for the ages. Bravo!"
--Mark Critch
"A delightful romp of a novel."
--Hannah Mary McKinnon
"It will have you laughing out loud on every page."
--Bianca Marais

awards & nominations
2021 Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Fiction:
The Finder
2016 Charles Taylor Prize
longlist: Road Trip Rwanda
2014 IMPAC Dublin Award
longlist: 419
2014 Ian Fleming Steel
Dagger longlist: 419
2013 Libris Award Fiction
Book of the Year: 419
2012 Giller Prize: 419
2010 Leacock Medal:
Beyond Belfast
2010 AWG Award for Creative
Nonfiction: Beyond Belfast
2009 IMPAC Dublin Award
longlist: Spanish Fly
2008 Leacock Medal shortlist:
Spanish Fly
2005 Pierre Berton Award:
Governor General's Award for
History
2005 Leacock Medal:
Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw
2004 Northern Lights Award
for Travel Writing: "Polar Bear Haven: an Arctic Journey"
2002 Leacock Medal:
Happiness
2002 CAA Award for Fiction:
Happiness
2002 Commonwealth Prize
shortlist: Happiness
2002 Libris Award Non-Fiction
Book of the Year:
How to Be a Canadian
2002 Leacock Medal shortlist:
How to Be a Canadian

AUTHOR BIO
Will Ferguson is an award-winning travel writer and novelist.
He was born and raised in the teeming metropolis of Fort Vermilion (pop. 728), in northern Canada, closer to the Arctic Circle than the American border.
His debut novel, Happiness, sold into 23 languages around the world. His last novel, 419, won the Scotiabank Giller Prize. His new novel, The Finder, won the 2021 Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Fiction.
Ferguson has won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour three times and has been nominated for both the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and a Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.
In his early twenties, he lived and worked in Ecuador, South America, as part of Canada World Youth (similar to the American Peace Corps).
Will Ferguson studied film production and screenwriting at York University, graduating with a B.F.A. in 1990.
He joined the Japan Exchange Teachers Programme (JET) after university and spent five years in Asia, travelling through China, Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia. He married his wife Terumi in Kumamoto, Japan. They now live in Calgary, Canada, with their two sons.
His travel memoirs include:
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hitchhiking across Japan in Hokkaido Highway Blues (later re-titled Hitching Rides with Buddha)
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a 500-mile hike across Northern Ireland in Beyond Belfast
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travels in Canada in Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw
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a journey through central Africa in Road Trip Rwanda, which was nominated for the Charles Taylor Prize
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.
Ferguson has written for the New York Times, Esquire UK, Flare, Zoomer, the Globe & Mail, National Post and Canadian Geographic.
He sits on the board of The Chawkers Foundation, and in 2016 received an honorary degree in English from Mount Royal University.
Books

The sad, funny, heartbreaking story of a psychological experiment gone wrong.
National bestseller

A tale of heartbreak and revenge in the world of international cybercrime.
Winner of the Giller Prize

A coming-of-age story of con men and call girls, set amid the jazz halls of the Dirty Thirties.
published in the UK as
HUSTLE

A former TV sleuth find herself caught up in a real-life murder mystery during a small town amateur theater production
For a complete list of books by Will Ferguson, please visit his

IN THE PRESS

news & upcomiNg Events

Sometimes touching, sometimes amusing and always true, as a traveller and a wordsmith,
Ferguson knows where he is going.
Boston Globe
Beneath that thick skin lies a poetic soul.
The Sunday Times
For media inquiries, please contact
Shayla Leung, Publicist
(236) 330-1243
HarperCollins, 22 Adelaide St W
Toronto, ON M5H 4E3
For film rights, please contact
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Intellectual Property Group, 12400 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 500
Los Angeles, California 90025
(310) 402-5163
© 2017 / 2023 by Dry Inc. author photos © Genki Alex Ferguson
Intellectual Property Group, 0585 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 140,
Los Angeles, California 90025
For media inquiries, please contact
Catherine Whiteside, Publicity Manager