Roy MacGregor

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Roy MacGregor OC is a Canadian author of fiction and non-fiction. Im Reading the many deaths of Tom Thomson by Gregory Klages. Basucally a book of facts about Thomsons death, lacking the finger pointing if whodunnit as many " authorities" have written. One in particular, Roy MacGregor in "factual" based story if events in Northern Lights, plus many more. Which many of McGregor writings have shaped our beliefs of what happened to Tom Thomson. After reading Northern Lights for a 2nd time , once at its release in 2011 and again more recently ,I am glad I did. Klages punches a lot or many holes in McGregor facts thru sloppy journalism and lazy research. As discouraged and taken in as I felt, I am glad I read Northern Lights as it does help us realize how insufficient evidence and false unaccountable fact can be construed as real facts. Small town chatter. People wanting their 15 minutes of fame. McGregor writes a good fictional story based on a true life event. Sadly.. making money as a thorough honest journalist is OK,he would be informing us honestly about a tragic history of Canada, in the name of Thomson. But the way he milked this event to write "stories" pushing aside facts or accepting untrye un based facts to sell his books, in my mind is underhanded, knowinhlgly, purposely sloppy to sell books. I'm not sure how he can have any respect amongst his peers. I'm sure he isn't hearing the whispers. Sadly, to understand what I am writing here you would have to read both books. I suggest reading Gregory Klages, first, then decide if you want to waste your time on McGregor "story of facts." Sign me duped..

Career[edit]

RoyMacGregor talks about Northern Light on Bookbits radio

Roy MacGregor was born in Whitney, Ontario, in 1948 and grew up in Huntsville, Ontario.[1] His work tends to focus on Canadian topics; Shelagh Rogers has dubbed him the "heir to Peter Gzowski". He has a longstanding interest in the life of Tom Thomson, and has written both a novel and a biography exploring the artist's life and mysterious death.[2]

MacGregor has also been called "the Wayne Gretzky of hockey writing" [3] and the Washington Post once declared him to be "the closest thing there is to a poet laureate of Canadian hockey."[4] In 2012, he was awarded the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association and named the media honouree to the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2015 he was named to the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame as winner of the Brian Williams Media Award.[5] He is also a member of the Huntsville Sports Hall of Fame, Huntsville being the small town where he played competitive hockey, lacrosse and baseball. In 1960, he played - as a second- and third-liner - on the Huntsville team that won the all-Ontario Pee Wee 'A' lacrosse championship.

He is the winner of multiple awards for his writing, including the prestigious Rutstrum Award, which is given out every five years to the best book on wilderness writing in North America. MacGregor won in 2001 for his memoir on his father, A Life in the Bush.[6] MacGregor is a multiple winner of National Magazine Awards, National Newspaper Awards and twice was awarded the ACTRA Award as Canada's top television dramatist, including for the 1978 film Tyler.[7] He has received honorary degrees from Laurentian University, Trent University and Loyalist College.

In 2005, Roy MacGregor was named an Officer in the Order of Canada. In 2012, he was awarded The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He and Ellen, an artist, live in Kanata, Ontario, and have four grown children and five grandchildren.

Bibliography[edit]

  • The Ice Chips and the Haunted Hurricane, with Kerry MacGregor, Illustrated by Kim Smith, Harper Collins, 2018.
  • The Ice Chips and the Magical Rink, with Kerry MacGregor, Illustrated by Kim Smith, Harper Collins, 2018.
  • Original Highways: Travelling the Great Rivers of Canada, Random House Canada, 2017, winner of Ottawa Book Award 2018 .
  • Canoe Country: The Making of Canada. Random House, Canada, 2015.
  • Wayne Gretzky's Ghost: And Other Tales from a Lifetime in Hockey. Random House, Canada, 2011.
  • Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him. Random House, Canada, 2010
  • Canadians: A Portrait of a Country and Its People. Viking/Penguin, Canada, 2007.
  • The Dog and I: Confessions of a Best Friend. Penguin Books Canada, 2006.
  • The Weekender: A Cottage Journal. Penguin Books Canada, 2005.
  • Canoe Lake. Novel, originally published as Shorelines, McClelland & Stewart, Canada, 2002.
  • Escape: In Search of the Natural Soul of Canada, McClelland & Stewart, Canada, 2002.
  • A Loonie for Luck: A True Fable about Hockey and the Olympics. McClelland & Stewart, Canada, 2002.
  • A Life in the Bush: Lessons from my father. Viking/Penguin, Canada, 1999.
  • The Seven A.M. Practice. McClelland & Stewart, Canada, 1996.
  • Valley Christmas. GenerTal Store Publishing House, Canada, 1996.
  • The Home Team: Fathers, Sons & Hockey. Viking/Penguin, Canada, 1995.
  • Road Games: A Year in the Life of the NHL. Macfarlane, Walter & Ross, Canada, 1993.
  • The Road Home: Images of the Ottawa Valley. Photography by Steve Evans. General Store Publishing House, Canada, 1992.
  • Quantity Time: Words of Comfort for Imperfect Parents. McClelland & Stewart, Canada, 1990.
  • Chief: The Fearless Vision of Billy Diamond. Viking/Penguin, Canada, 1989.
  • Home Game: Hockey and Life in Canada. Co-author with Ken Dryden, McClelland & Stewart, 1989.
  • The Screech Owls Mystery Series for young readers. 29 volumes, 1995-2015.

References[edit]

  1. ^ biography on Random House
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Allemang, John. "Globe and Mail, Nov. 7, 2012, p. S2".
  4. ^ Pearlstein, Steven. "Washington Post, April 16, 1999, p. A19".
  5. ^ Zeisberger, Mike. "The Toronto Sun, Sept. 20, 2015, p. A22".
  6. ^ Sokoloff, Heather. "National Post, Jan. 30, 2001, p. A2".
  7. ^ Donn Downey, "CBC scores landslide in ACTRA awards". The Globe and Mail, April 5, 1979.


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