Will Ferguson

Will Ferguson (born William Stener Ferguson on October 12, 1964) is a Canadian writer and novelist who is best known for his humorous observations on Canadian history and culture. His success as a writer can be attributed to an innate ability to view Canada much the same way an outsider would, as described in his debut book, the ironically named "Why I Hate Canadians". Ferguson talks about this in a recent CBC radio interview as well (see link to podcast below). Ferguson was born fourth of six children in the former trading post of Fort Vermilion, Alberta approximately 800 km north of Edmonton. His parents split up when he was 6 during a brief interlude in Regina. At the age of 16 he quit school and moved to Saskatoon, Dauphin, and Red Deer. He then joined the Canadian government funded programs Katimavik and Canada World Youth. He studied film production and screenwriting at York University in Toronto graduating with a B.F.A. in 1990.

Ferguson joined the JET Programme in the early 1990s and lived in Kyushu, Japan for five years teaching English. He married his wife Terumi in Kumamoto, Japan in 1995. After coming back from Japan he experienced a severe reverse culture shock which became the basis for his first book "Why I Hate Canadians". He details his experiences hitchhiking across Japan in "Hokkaido Highway Blues" later retitled "Hitching Rides with Buddha".

Ferguson has won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour twice, for "Generica" (later renamed "Happiness^TM") in 2002 and "Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw" in 2005.

Ferguson championed "Sarah Binks" by Paul Hiebert in "Canada Reads 2003".

He currently resides in Calgary, Alberta with his wife and two sons. His older brother, Ian Ferguson, also won the Stephen Leacock Medal, for "Village of the Small Houses".

Ferguson is also an outspoken critic of the monarchy of Canada, both publicly and in his books. He is often quoted in the media when the monarchy issue is being debated, [ [http://www.canadian-republic.ca/telegraph_journal_10_05_02.htm St.John Telegraph-Journal - "Jubilee tour sparks debate"] ] [ [http://www.centreforcitizenship.org/international/canada.html The Centre for Citizenship - "The republicans"] ] [ [http://www.canadian-republic.ca/pdf_files/Royal%20Flush.pdf New Canadian Magazine - "Royal Flush - Should we ditch the monarchy?"] ] [ [http://www.politicalusa.com/columnists/marsden/marsden_014.htm Marsden, Rachel PoliticalUSA.com - "Defining a Nation"] ] particularly from his 1997 book "Why I Hate Canadians," in which he says "Royalty exists only through an act of willful ignorance on the part of their subjects. Call it a suspension of common sense." [ [http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Why-I-Hate-Canadians-Will-Ferguson/9781550546002-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527why+I+hate+Canadians%2527 Ferguson, Will - Why I Hate Canadians. Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1997 ISBN 1550546007] ] He contrasts this with profiles of Canadian secessionist and independence movements (such as the "Republic of Madawaska") in his book "Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw" (2004).

Bibliography

* "Why I Hate Canadians" (1997)
* "I Was a Teenage Katima-Victim!" (1998)
* "Hokkaido Highway Blues" (1998), republished in 2005 as "Hitching Rides with Buddha"
* "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Japan" (1998)
* "Bastards & Boneheads: Canada's Glorious Leaders Past and Present" (1999)
* "The Girlfriend's Guide to Hockey" (1999)
* "Canadian History for Dummies" (2000, revised 2005)
* "Generica" (2001), winner of the Stephen Leacock Award, later republished as "Happiness™"
* "How to Be a Canadian (Even if You Already Are One)" (2001), cowritten with Ian Ferguson
* "Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada" (2004), winner of the Stephen Leacock Award
* "The Penguin Anthology of Canadian Humour" (editor) (2006)
* "Spanish Fly" (2007)

References

External links

* [http://www.willferguson.ca/ Will Ferguson website]
* [http://www.januarymagazine.com/profiles/ferguson.html Interview with Will Ferguson]
* [http://www.thecommentary.ca/ontheline/20071108c.html Will Ferguson audio interview with THECOMMENTARY.CA October 2007]
* [http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/slc_20071114_3875.mp3 Will Ferguson CBC interview where he talks about growing up as an outsider in Canada]